bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Vicki Williams

Cirque du Soleil is an avant-garde animal-free circus that combines  theatrical circus acts and performance art, creating breathtaking surreal worlds that are given dimension through innovative lighting and original musical scores.

Date of birth 1984

Celebrations for the 450th anniversary of Quebec's founder Jacques Cartier were being planned and the government was looking for a headlining show. Guy Laliberte, then a member of a street theatre group, presented a proposal for a show called Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun) and it was accepted.

Education

The streets of Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town near Quebec.

Experience

1985-86 Cirque du Soleil tours Canada.

1987-90 The show, We Reinvent the Circus, is taken to various cities in North America before heading to Europe.

1990-1991 A new show, Nouvelle Experience,  premieres in Montreal before touring North America for 19 months.

1992-93 Cirque makes its Las Vegas debut and begins a year-long engagement, followed by the signing of a 10-year contract to perform Mystere.

1992 Saltimbanco tours North America, then Europe (1995-1997), Japan and Asia-Pacific (1999-2001) and Europe (2002-2004).

1994 Alegria is created and heads off on a two-year tour of North America, then Japan (1996), Europe (1997-1998), Asia-Pacific (2001-2002), North America (2002-2004) and Japan (2004-2005).

1996  Quidam begins a three-year North American tour, followed by Europe (1999-2002), North America (2002-2004), Japan (2004) and Asia-Pacific (2004-2005).

1998 A new resident show, O,  begins in Las Vegas, and a permanent show, La Nouba, begins at Disneyland in Florida.

1999 Dralion sets off on a tour of North America for four years before heading to Europe in 2004.

2001 Cirque now has seven shows playing to audiences on four continents.

2002 Varekai makes its debut in Canada before commencing a three-year North America tour.

2003 Zumanity, an adults-only show, is created for Las Vegas.

2004 Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Cirque launches a book, 20 Years Under The Sun, sets the first Guinness World Record for the greatest number of stilt-walkers (544) at the same time and place, and opens a new resident show, KA, in Las Vegas.

2005 Corteo, the latest creation, starts a North American tour.

Major Achievements

Over 50 million people have seen a Cirque du Soleil show, including almost seven million in 2004.

Cirque employs more than 3,000 people including about 800 artists, representing 40 plus nationalities speaking 25 different languages.

CDS is presenting 11 shows: Varekai, Dralion, Quidam, Alegria, Saltimbanco and Corteo - all touring shows; resident shows - O, Mystere, Zumanity, La Nouba, and KA.

Future Goal

A show inspired by the music of The Beatles is slated to premiere in Las Vegas in 2006.



History