School of Education Reading Comprehension & Précis I

BA. Ed group Semester 1

Pr. Zahra EL AOURI
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Cirque du Soleil: A dream makes the big time

1 There’s always plenty of speaking province in a predominantly

excitement when the circus comes to town. English-speaking
speaking country, Quebec has
Painted caravans and loaded tractor trailers proudly held onto its cultural identity and
roll in, the Big Top goes up, and bright nurtured its artists and performers. The
lights and lively music fill the fairgrounds. 1960s and 1970s were an explosive era of
Since 1871, when P. T. Barnum introduced social change, hippie counterculture, and
the first three-ring circus at the Brooklyn broad opportunities for young people to
World Fair, the traveling circus has break out of their parents’ mold. As a
captured the imagination of young and old. teenager, Laliberté got his first experience
What girl or boy has not dreamed at least as an impresario by organizing high school
oncee of running away to join the circus and events. After graduating, he spread his
travel the world? In the case of Guy wings and toured the province as an
Laliberté, the dream not only came true, accordion and harmonica player with a
but it has surpassed anyone’s wildest folk group. From there, he traveled to
imagination. Europe, and when he returned to Canada in
2 Born into a musical family in 1979 as a musician and fire breather, his
Quebec, Canada, Laliberté grew up in the search for a job to finance a trip to Florida
right place at the right time. A French
French- and Hawaii led him to the artist colony of

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Baie-Saint-Paul near Quebec City, where French explorer Jacques Cartier; to
stilt walkers, jugglers, dancers, musicians, celebrate, the government was handing out
and fire breathers gathered to perform. funding for local events. Laliberté
3 In Baie-Saint-Paul, Laliberté convinced the program manager to support
teamed up with Daniel Gauthier and Gilles a one-year project to develop a distinctly
Ste-Croix, who were running a youth Québecois circus that would tour 11 towns
hostel for street performers, and formed the over three weeks. On June 16, 1984, Le
Stilt Walkers of Baie-Saint-Paul with local Grand Tour de Cirque du Soleil gave its
talent. Laliberté secured a government first performance in the town of Gaspé. In
grant, and the group was able to tour the its first year, the newborn circus
province of Quebec in the summer of experienced logistical difficulties and
1980. Their acrobatic performances were tensions among the artists, but their
well received by audiences, but they lost success with audiences brought everyone
money. The following summer, after together. 1985 was International Youth
Laliberté returned from a winter in Hawaii, Year, and further government funding
they added a new act—the Dragon extended the circus project for two more
Parade— and ended up breaking even. years.
4 Encouraged by their success, they 6 The next challenge for Quebec’s
organized a street performer festival called first home-grown circus was to discover its
La Fête Forain. With Ste-Croix as artistic unique identity. From the very beginning,
director, Laliberté as producer, Gauthier as Cirque du Soleil had been Laliberté’s baby,
business manager, and Guy Caron, founder and although he remained the driving
of the National Circus School in Montreal, force, he also knew how to harness the
in charge of workshops, plus help from a energy of young artists and to recruit
lot of talented friends, the festival enjoyed creative minds. Inspired by European and
runs in three consecutive years and Chinese theater, Caron and Laliberté began
achieved financial success. Laliberté to integrate a storyline into the acrobatic
realized the festival’s potential, and while skeleton of the performances. When
he was watching the sunset on a beach in Laliberté hired Franco Dragone, René
Hawaii, the idea of Cirque du Soleil Dupère, and Michel Crête, Cirque du
(French for “circus of the sun”), a real Soleil came into its own artistically. As
circus under a big tent, came to him. director, Dragone brought his theatrical
5 The year 1984 marked the 450th expertise to the circus and created
anniversary of the discovery of Canada by characters whose story conveyed a
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message to the audience that life could be show into a movie, but he refused to
better and that ordinary people could compromise the circus’s independence
achieve extraordinary things. To open the and artistic integrity. At the end of the
show, Dragone had performers enter the year, Cirque du Soleil was debt-free, and
tent dressed in trench coats, then by the end of 1988, the company was
transform themselves into circus artists. making a profit. There were setbacks and
This opening became Cirque du Soleil’s internal crises, when, for example, Caron
trademark. and artists loyal to him left, but Laliberté
7 Added to the narrative was continued to believe in his vision and his
Dupère’s original musical scores, which team.
created a movie-like experience for the 9 In 1990, a revolutionary show,
audience. Costume designer Crête Nouvelle Expérience, put Cirque du Soleil
departed entirely from the traditional in the black. It was inspired by Jules
military style of circus costumes by adding Verne’s novel about a gold meteor that
color and range to create a distinctive look. crashes to earth and scatters a thousand
Crête also included children in the cast. jewels around the planet. After this show,
Together, Dragone and Crête developed the company never looked back
shows that had the visual appeal of financially, and since then it has achieved
paintings, and their artistic approach unparalleled status in the entertainment
enabled performers to transcend language business. Cirque du Soleil has expanded
barriers and communicate universal from one show to 19 running in more than
emotions to their audience. The team was 270 cities, and it employs more than 5,000
able to delight audiences in a way that no people in 100 different job categories. Its
other circus had ever done before. annual revenues are estimated at $810
8 Despite its successful artistic million. In addition to its international
innovations, the company was tours, Cirque du Soleil’s permanent Las
experiencing financial pressures. In 1987, Vegas venue entertains thousands of
Cirque du Soleil was invited to the Los visitors every night. Televised versions of
Angeles Festival. The company had only Cirque du Soleil’s shows have won
enough financial resources to get there, but numerous awards, among them four
the gamble paid off and Cirque du Soleil Primetime Emmys and three Geminis.
became a smash hit. Movie producers, 10 As a member of Business for Social
including Columbia Pictures, offered Responsibility and Business in the
Laliberté partnership deals to make the Community, Cirque du Soleil has taken its
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dream beyond entertaining audiences to other nongovernmental organizations,
building community. In 2003, Laliberté set ensures access to clean water and
up La TOHU, the City of Circus Arts, in sanitation projects for people in developing
the St-Michel district of Montreal. In countries.
addition to making Montreal the center of 11 The Circus of the Sun has gone
circus arts, La TOHU operates the biggest beyond one man’s idea to become a
environmental urban waste disposal site in shining example of the excellence people
North America. In October 2009, Laliberté can achieve when they believe in each
personally founded the One Drop other and dream a common dream.
Foundation, which, in partnership with