MGMT 6800Case Study: Cirque du Soleil

From the Streets to the Stars

Da YiEbube Anizor

November 16, 2009

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From the Streets to the Stars

From the Streets to the Stars

“The mission of Cirque du Soleil is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world.”

Cast of ‘Characters’Guy Laliberté: a Rising Star!Born in Québec City in 1959, Laliberté’s talents as an accordionist, stilt-walker and fire-eater provided the foundation for what would be a remarkable career.

His father a PR executive and mother a nurse, Laliberté once remarked that he grew up in a typical French-Canadian home. "There was always a reason for a party, always music in the house." As a child he was interested in performing and took martial arts, folk dancing and sang in choirs. (4)

By 16 he had produced several high school events and had decided on a performance arts career. Laliberté dropped out of college to tour Europe as a busker and folk musician returning to Canada in 1979 with a new set of performance skills but also needed to find a ‘real’ job. (3) After only 3 days employed at a dam in James Bay a strike ended the job and Laliberté, living off of unemployment insurance, joined the stilt-walking troupe Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul; this would be a predecessor to Cirque. (5)

The life of billionaire Laliberté has not been without controversy. Much has been rumored about the sex, drug and alcohol fueled lifestyle of not only the founder but many under the Cirque umbrella.

Due to the wild success of Cirque Laliberté has received many honours including the Order of Quebec, Order Of Canada, and the Humanitarian Award in 2007 fo r h i s soc ia l commitment with his ONE DROP Foundation.

While Cirque officially supports a few community programs involving youth at risk and extending art workshops and culture activities to children ONE DROP was the primary reason Laliberte went to space – to send the message that safe, clean water must be accessible to all peoples.

Quite a character!

AbstractFrom the Streets to the Stars

CAST

“Cirque du Soleil began with a very simple dream. A group of young entertainers got together to amuse audiences, see the world, and have fun doing it.”

From its humble beginnings as a small group of Quebec street performers in 1984, Cirque du Soleil (Cirque) has grown into a global phenomenon over the past 25 years. Cirque was formed by Guy Laliberté, a street-performer himself, who currently remains with the organization as CEO.

While its early years were distinctly marked with traditional circus attractions such as clowns, stilt walkers, jugglers and fire breathers, Cirque has evolved from its traditional circus origins into a distinguished melange of theatre, dance, acrobatics and opera. Quite frankly Cirque entertainment captures many elements of the aforementioned genres, but yet occupies a space on the entertainment spectrum that it created and arguably solely occupies.

With its unique offering, Cirque has gone on to entertain 100 million people in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America & South America and now employs 4,000 people from over 40 countries, including 1,000 artists. (1) Cirque has navigated its way through 3 global recessions, a sovereignty referendum in Quebec, and the burst of entertainment options available to the consumer to remain decidedly private and generate estimated revenues of approximately $800 million in 2009. (2) The core of Cirque’s business is from its touring (tent) shows, arena shows, and residents shows with the balance consisting of merchandising, production and hospitality. Their philanthropic efforts have focused on youth and clean water issues.

In October 2009 Laliberté paid the $35 million to spend nearly two weeks in space to raise awareness of global water access; becoming the first clown in space.

From the Streets to the Stars documents the history of Cirque du Soleil and how they have identified, explored, conceptualized and realized the opportunity to bring the new “circus” to the people of the world.

Unlike the traditional circus, the ensemble, as opposed to any single performer, is the central attraction of any Cirque production. Acrobats, dancers and other wonderful performers make up the cast who are given elegant and artistic roles to embody as part of a storyline to draw in the audience.

Cirque’s differentiation is largely due its ever active creativity and strong design ethic. Cirque lives by the “show is the star” concept; and it applies not only to the performers but creators and designers. This perspective is enabled by Cirque’s strong collaborative team approach that allows them to take risks.

CREATORS & DESIGNERS QUEBEC

Cirque was founded with the funding of the Quebec government in 1984. Montreal not only houses the company headquarters, but is where all show ideas are developed, produced and premiered. Not only does this ensure that Cirque does not ‘forget their roots’; but helps control the quality of the productions.

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1|Humble Beginnings From the Streets to the Stars

The Cirque is Born1984-1985

Les Échassiers (Stilt Walkers) de Baie-Saint-Paul1980-1983In the summer of 1980 Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town of under 8,000 people about 100 kilometres outside of Quebec City was home to probably more than its fair share of street performers. Most notable at the time were Les Échassier de Baise-Saint-Paul. Les Échassier was founded by Gilles Ste-Croix who at the time had experience organizing performance troupes from the pool of talented artists in town. (6) The troupe toured Quebec during the summer of 1980 and was well received by audiences, although financially a failure. (7)

Not satisfied with the status quo and street venues Ste-Croix, joined by his friends and fellow performers Daniel Gauthier and Guy Laliberté, organized La Fête Foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul, a cultural arts festival where performers convened to exchange ideas and add life to the streets. The initial success of the festival in 1982 led the trio to organize it again in 1983 and 1984. The appeal the festival gave the men allusions of a bright future where a Quebec-based troupe would entertain the world. (6)

The first production, Le Grand Tour du Cirque Du Soleil debuted in the small town of Gaspé, and spread to 10 other cities throughout the province. Laliberté decided upon the name while vacationing in Hawaii and chose the sun because it symbolized energy and youth. Le Grand Tour was certainly more ambitious than other efforts by Laliberté; a key first was performing under the big top tent to audiences of up to 800. Of course this was fraught with folly! The group, inexperienced in staging a circus, faced technical difficulties with the tent collapsing under the weight of rain and a mutiny from European performers used to working with a higher caliber of expertise. But that seemed to be the Cirque way even until this day – trial and error, exploration and risk. (7)

After touring major Quebec cities Le Grand Tour left the province for the first time taking on the now famous moniker Cirque du Soleil. Audiences in Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara Falls got their first sampling of Cirque and showed little interest. In Toronto the group performed to audiences of 25% capacity, in Niagara Falls the response was equally unfavourable. Given the entertainment options in major cities Cirque needed the impact of a marketing campaign to attract audiences; but had not money to do so. It is reported that Gilles Ste-Croix dawned a monkey suit and walked the streets of Toronto in a desperate act to garner interest in the show. Needless to say the stunt didn’t work; although this ‘personal’ marketing technique would be used by Cirque more successfully in the future.

The group had graduated from being buskers to circus performers following what is the natural trajectory in the industry. While Laliberté and his partners had great dreams of taking the circus to the world; the obvious question in light of its lukewarm response from audiences was: is the world interested in yet another circus?

Buoyed by the success of La Fête, the group now more or less under the guidance of Laliberté planned to share their talents on a grander scale. In 1983 as the province was preparing to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Jacque Cartier’s arrival in Canada the following year, Laliberté moved the group to Montreal and applied to the Quebec government for funding to participate in the festivities. The province sought the means to translate the Cartier festivities across the

province, so Laliberté proposed a travelling street performance, obviously familiar territory, and received $1.5 million in funding from the province. This was the beginning of a relationship with the Quebec government that would be desperately needed in years to come.

Taking a step back, the trio and their troupe were engaging in one of the oldest occupations – busking. Simply put they were performing for money. While I’m sure like most buskers, Ste-Croix et al. performed for the fun or love of their art; quite frankly it would be hard to envision such an act entertaining the world; simply because major cities in almost every continent had century old traditions of such acts – was Les Échassier really any different?

2|The Circus Industry

Nothing to Laugh At

CompetitionDepending on how wide one casts the net, Cirque was competing for the entertainment dollar on many fronts.

In the circus industry Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey (RBBB) were by far the biggest company globally when Cirque was founded in 1984. RBBB traces its combined origins to 1907 and has changed ownership several times over its century plus of existence. RBBB is currently part of Feld Entertainment (producers of Disney on Ice) who generates about $US675 million across all of their properties. RBBB currently offers 4 simultaneous productions that it tours in the United States and occasionally in Canada and parts of Europe.

Although at its inception Cirque was similar in narrative and show elements to the Moscow Circus it is now much wider in scope of productions, size and global footprint.

The success of Cirque has led to many imitators; even some spawned from former Cirque employees. These imitators tend to have French sounding names and sub-specialize to differentiate themselves. Over time as Cirque grew to dominate the industry its competitive threats came from outside of the industry in the likes of other live productions and alternate forms of entertainment.

OverviewA rational look at the circus industry, at least in North America, would have caused most rational business people or even visionaries to choose another path. The modern circus was already a century old and in decline when Cirque formed. Circus popularity had been dwindling since the sixties as a plethora of alternate forms of entertainment including movies, television and theatre were wooing audiences. While brand names such as Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey still held some sway; other companies in North America were merging to stay afloat or simply just existed as small entities. Internationally the situation was no less grim; although the circus tradition was centuries old in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa new audiences were not attracted to the big top. (7)

The circus industry faced trouble from every angle (see Figure 1). Attracting audiences depended heavily on drawing new acts; as a result the talent or stars held increasingly larger power of the circus owners. Not in itself a problem if revenue is growing to offset the increased demand; but this was not the case. Additionally, the animals that were a key component to the attraction of the circus were causing ethical headaches for the industry also. By the eighties the cry from animal rights groups was gaining greater traction; further hurting the lustre of the industry in the eyes of the general population. (8)

From the Streets to the Stars

Alternatives

Figure 1: Circus Industry Analysis

In the wider scope of things Cirque was competing against a variety of entertainment forms – closely related to performing arts and further removed. The most prominent being:

Broadway/Theatre

Dance

Opera

Sporting Events

Music Concerts

Movies

Industry OverviewThis classic framework on industry attractiveness clearly indicates that in all material respects the circus industry was not one that newcomers should enter and expect to achieve any significant level of success.

3|The Circus Reinvented From the Streets to the Stars

Cirque Evolves and ExpandsCross Canada Tour (1986)After falling into nearly one million dollars in debt resulting from the failed foray outside of Quebec, Cirque was in danger of going bankrupt. However because of the favourable hand of their bank, outside financing and its original investor, the government of Quebec, the company was able to stay float; at least for the time being. With its second life Cirque staged its second show La Magie Continue and toured Canada and made a notable appearance at Expo 86 in Montreal.

La Magie played to bigger audiences and was met with wider success. What had changed? Had the appetite for the traditional circus been underestimated? Hardly. Realizing that Cirque was still just a disjoint group of street performers Laliberté took the steps needed to transform his troupe into what he called a “real circus”.

“The first 50 bankers who we went to see just laughed at our face. You know, we didn't even have a clown nose on our nose, trying to get a loan, and everybody laughed at us.”

This transformation took place with the hiring of Guy Caron as Artistic Director. Both Caron and Laliberté envisioned Cirque evolving into storytellers ala the Moscow Circus and wanted music to be played live during the show. Ironically the two also wanted to get rid of the rings (i.e. circles) and animals. (7) Getting rid of the rings would simplify things and allow the audience to better focus on the main performance. Ridding themselves of animals was rational on many fronts: it rid them of the ridicule from activists, it made touring much simpler and it lowered their costs. With such a stripping away of what made the circus, well, the circus, Cirque would have to provide a compelling alternative.

We Reinvent the Circus (1987)With a successful year under its belt, Laliberté leading the business, Caron the artistic direction and Ste-Croix the creative direction Cirque was ready to head to head south to the land of “the greatest show on earth” – with its latest production. After failing to get any bank loans, Cirque once again appealed to the Quebec government which provided the $1.5 million dollars the troupe needed to purchase equipment and travel to California – getting home would be a different story. In fact unless the run in the California was successful

While Cirque decided to exclude certain classical elements including rings and animals as mentioned earlier there were other remnants of the circus industry that left it weak and unattractive (see Figure 1).

To say that Cirque avoided the perils of relying on individual stars is only a half-truth. While it is absolutely true that the clear intention was to make the ‘show the star’ and elevate the ensemble (both on and off stage) it did so by attracting top athletes and performers (or ‘stars’) in various disciplines to join the company (explored further below in From Possibility to Production).

Furthermore in what seemed like an anti-intuitive strategic decision Cirque started to produce shows that appealed to adults and not children. The simple reason being – higher profits. In 2009 the average price of a Cirque ticket is $60 to $80; the average price of a Ringling Brother’s ticket is $40. Combining this with the ability to attract adults to multiple shows makes the appeal of creating for adults even greater.

Cirque literally did not have the money to transport the production back to Canada! After opening in Quebec to rave reviews, We Reinvent the Circus, Cirque’s third production, heads to festivals in Southern California wins the praise of both audiences and critics and becomes an ‘overnight’ success. (9)

This was an important milestone in the company’s history and helped define Cirque as the innovator of the industry.

La Magie already signalled how Cirque chose to differentiate itself, but with such a bold title as We Reinvent the Circus, the question remains…how?

Elements RemovedRings, Animals, Stars and Children

When one thinks of the circus they inevitably think of the clown; for this very reason Cirque has maintained a clown-type character in many of its productions. By keeping the ‘clown’ what is maintained is the silliness, the interaction with the crowd, the improvisation and a connection to circus heritage.

The wow factor in a circus in Cirque shows is more often than not provided by the acrobats. However, like all other elements of a performance the acrobatics are weaved into the storyline and don’t stand out as a spectacle separate unto itself.

Elements KeptClowns, Acrobats and Big Top

While the majority of shows Cirque offers are resident shows and arena shows (discussed further in Expansion below) touring (or big top) shows are still an essential element of the experience and like the clown keep Cirque tied to its roots.

Elements AddedStoryline, Music and DanceCirque has borrowed heavily from theatre and Broadway to bring a refreshing artistic flair to the circus. For instance, instead of featuring a series of unrelated acts, like in a traditional circus, each Cirque creation is more akin to a theatre performance in that there is a theme or story line. Granted the stories can be noticeably broad or vague to provide flexibility for the artists while still bringing harmony and a level of intellect to the acts.

Similar to Broadway productions, each Cirque show has an original musical score. This is remarkable considering the number of shows that Cirque mounts. The score integrates perfectly into each each scene, driving the performance and coordinating the timing of acts and other elements such as lighting. (8) The music is played live and the musicians are dressed in costume in order to blend into the performance and remove the lines of separation.

To add further distinction to its shows, each Cirque production features abstract, spiritual and formal dance.

From the Streets to the Stars

The recession of 2008 has no doubt been transformational and has impacted all people globally indirectly or directly. For Cirque this meant competing for ever precious entertainment dollars in an environment where consumers had more choices than imaginable. Cirque President Daniel Lamarre remarks that the entertainment sector is generally weathers the storm better than other sectors because people look to entertainment as distractions during tough times. (11) Even with that being said, Cirque with its premium pricing model is more susceptible to hardship. In fact the cancellation of a second show in Macau and postponement of a permanent home in Dubai bring home the point. (12) Nonetheless, because of their compelling entertainment offering they still manage to sell out shows globally; even at the epicenter of the recession: USA.

Suffice it say that Cirque has created a form of entertainment that captures aspects of the circus, theatre, Broadway and dance – but is yet distinctly in a category of its own.

Speaking to PBS in 2001 Laliberté said:

“We didn't reinvent the circus: We packaged it in a much more modern way, but basically we took an art form which is known, with a lot of dust on it, where people had basically forgot that it could be something else than what they knew about, and we basically organized for ourselves a creative platform.

Perhaps an argument of semantics, but the fact remains under the leadership of Laliberté, Cirque innovated in an industry that was in steady decline and has managed to not only sustain but gain momentum over its 25 year life span.

The Circus is ReinventedThe Thrill of the Circus and the Artistic Richness of the Theatre (10)

Integrated Experience, Multicultural Talent & AppealWith non-essential circus elements removed and theatre elements added Cirque wanted to connect with the audience in a new way so beginning with its fourth production Nouvelle Expérience,. Cirque removed the curtain that separated the artist from the audience forcing the artist to remain in character for the entire production. The end result being the audience would feel part of a larger show – a unified experience.

With productions that span the globe, Cirque has been purposeful in creating shows that reflect and appeal to multiple cultures and include artists from all corners. According to the company its artists and employees represent over 40 nationalities and speak 25 different languages! (1) These kinds of credentials are unheard of most industries; for Cirque it provides them with a distinct advantage and is in fact essential to their business model. In attracting increasing larger global audiences, and repeated audiences at that, Cirque is forced in many ways to habitually reinvent themselves and the show experience. Having the ability to draw from global talent and storylines has been a great means of achieving their aspirations and making the offering very difficult to duplicate.

4|The Backdrop

“Do you agree that Québec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for new economic and political partnership…”

In 1995 the province of Quebec sought secession from Canada via a national referendum. Regardless of a “yes” or “no” decision, this pivotal moment in Canadian history could have served to scale back the growth of Cirque with its very strong ties to the people of Quebec and its government. Instead Cirque was invited by the Canadian government to create a show for the opening ceremonies of the G7 summit held in Halifax softening the tense national environment, and showing off the talent of Canada to the world. Interestingly enough this special performance, before global leaders, spoke to another trend: globalization.

Separate and Distinct

1990, 2001, 2008

Global Village

Driving Growth

Given its lifespan, Cirque has faced other global recessions. The first, in 1990-91 precipitated by the Gulf war. During this period Cirque opened bigger shows in North America and made its first steps into the European market; Japan was to follow. The second, in 2001 following the dot-com bust and the September 11th attacks. During this period Cirque expanded its Montreal headquarters in preparation for its entry into Mexico and also extending the brand into other mediums (more below in Expansion)

“We've gone through three recessions in Cirque history and they've all been growth periods for us.”

Arguably Cirque’s decidedly multicultural company and appeal has given it resilience against political turmoil and economic difficulty. Geographical diversification has been central to Cirque’s business strategy and has been at the centre of its plan to grow the brand. Paradoxically the shows have evolved to include little to no dialogue (i.e. language) to allow them to cater to diversified audiences. They infact speak a made up language ‘Cirquish’ to convey their message.

The vision of Laliberté and the Cirque founders could be captured in a single world: global. In realizing this dream the touring show has expanding from 70 cities to 250 around the world. Permanent shows are no longer just the privilege of Las Vegas, but Asia and the Middle East. All this growth in just the past few years.

5|From Possibility to ProductionFrom the Streets to the Stars

Naturally the Cirque creative process is proprietary; but what is known about the development process is that it is intense, lengthy and committed; as a consequence a consistent, innovative, and quality production is generated. From the perspective of a single show, the development process is detailed in the next section at a high level if only to provide some insight into how Cirque generates its ideas and takes them to market. (Courtesy: How Stuff Works (15) )

After the lengthy creation process is complete and a production is ready to go live without exception it will be first debuted in Montreal as homage to Quebec’s integral part in Cirque’s genesis.

Entertainment EverywhereThe Internet Age

The establishment of the internet age has posed a threat to industries such as retail, news, and perhaps most acutely the entertainment industry in all its forms. Certainly as the speed of the internet improved and homes around the globe were equipped consumers became empowered and could choose what to watch and when to watch it.

An offering like Cirque is obviously best enjoyed (and for the most part only offered) live. How is it that Cirque was able to not only survive; but flourish against the tide of growing entertainment options and fragmented audiences?

1000 Channels and MoreRegardless of the plethora of options available on the market the bottom line is people want to be entertained. This may mean watching a program on one of the hundreds of specialty channel that cater to a very specific audiences; watching a movie on an iPod; taking in a basketball game or user created content on YouTube. The fact remains that now more than ever entertainers have to provide a compelling offering to grab and keep the attention of consumers.

Cirque has been able to attract and retain audiences even in the midst of the digital revolution by offering an experience that quite frankly must be seen live. As stated earlier, success has been predicated on their ability to stay fresh and, just as other mediums, provide shows that cater to the broad public and specific groups around the globe. Cirque’s 2009 offering of 20 shows speaks to its attempt not only to expand the business but remain relevant in the marketplace (see Expansion below).

The obvious is that it has used the internet as quite an effective platform to market its shows; this has been of particular importance as the number of simultaneous shows offered increased. This has included live broadcasts streamed online; and information and sales on their website. CirqueduSoleil.com provides a platform for consumers to research and preview productions; plan outings and purchase trips. The site aesthetic and experience aligns with what one would expect from Cirque: colour, beauty and entertainment. It could be argued that the digital age has only assisted Cirque in growing the business.

“The Cirque creation process is something so unique that it’s difficult to describe.

It is gut wrenching and beautiful at the same time. Maybe like giving birth to

a child. Pain and joy” (13)

Cirque has 50 scouts travelling

around the world at any given time to recruit talent for new shows, and

that there is a “trend group”

whose function is to feed its creators information about new

artistic trends

Each individual show has its own team, creators who form

the concepts and work with the performers and technical crew to breathe life into them. (14)

“What we have done in order not to compromise the quality of our shows, is that we have creative teams which are totally dedicated to each show. No one at Cirque works on the development of more than one show … It will take (them)

three years to develop that show and three years from now we find (them) a new challenge.” (11)

Development ProcessCreation and Evolution

The Circus is Reinvented

From the Streets to the Stars

Brainstorm | Theme While ideas are generated from an accumulation of sources globally, including the performers themselves all ideation is essentially centered in Cirques Montreal headquarters

A creative team including Laliberté, directors, artistic directors, costume and set designers and choreographers gather to brainstorm concepts and ideas for new shows

The first thing the team determines is the show's theme. The theme is a delicate balance, because it must tie the acts together without adding up to a narrative. The Cirque team avoids straight narrative in order to allow room for the audience to interpret the show any way they want

Soundtrack

After deciding on a theme an original soundtrack is created by members of Cirque’s composer-led creative team

The soundtrack serves as a cue to the performers, guiding them through the show and each act. To ensure that the musicians follow the pace of the performers, all Cirque shows use live music. In the event an act fails, the musicians adjust tempo and volume and improvise if necessary

Casting The heart of all Cirque shows is the performers and their unique acts. As a starting point for all casting needs Cirque has created a database called Cirque Memory where amongst

the many pieces of information it catalogues is a 20,000 member list of performers to draw upon

Casting agents and scouts scour cities and remote areas looking for new talent to add to new and existing Cirque shows. Additionally, the casting agents hold auditions twice a year at the Montreal headquarters. If a live performance is not possible candidates can also submit video auditions

All Cirque performers must complete training before they can perform with a show. Each performer is sent to headquarters where they will train for one to four months. More than 50 percent of Cirque's acts come from the gymnastic arts; the rest come from a mix of circus arts and theatre backgrounds. During this training period, performers learn the skills

Staging and Equipping The Cirque set design department creates the stage and equipment for each show. The two major considerations are aesthetics and safety

Innovation in aesthetics and safety design is an essential ingredient in the recipe for Cirque's success. Cirque has invented many pieces of equipment specifically for their shows, including the fast track, a specialized trampoline, and the double Russian swing – an element used in most of Cirque’s productions

Cirque will hire other companies to help in the creation of some aspects of the set and stage, but anything that is actually used by the acrobats is designed at an R&D facility at

Costume and Makeup Cirque performances are experiential and artists interact with the audience so it is imperative that great attention is paid to make up and costumes (16)

The costume designer's goal is to design a costume that creates a character and allows the cast member to perform unconstrained, all while blending aesthetic elements and safety concerns

It is not uncommon for nearly 100 designers to work on a single production

6|Expansion From the Streets to the Stars

Creating live shows and presenting them under the big top will remain central to Cirque, as evidenced by the 20 shows they are currently mounting all over the globe (85% of revenue is from live performances). However the dreams of its founders force Cirque to seek compatible opportunities wherever possible.

After its performances in California in 1987 executives from Columbia Pictures expressed interest in producing a Cirque movie. While nothing came of those early inquiries it foreshadowed the extension of what would become the Cirque brand beyond its core live show. Cirque has extended its brand to other realms and on the strength of its live shows now has interests in television, movies, merchandising and by virtue of its experience ethic is considering even restaurants.

SHOWS TOURING UNDER THE BIG TOPCorteo (Japan)Dralion (Mexico)KOOZA (North America)OVO (North America)Quidam (South America)Varekai (Europe)

SHOWS TOURING IN ARENASAlegría (North America)Saltimbanco (Europe)

TOURING THEATRE SHOWBanana Shpeel (Chicago, New York)

RESIDENT SHOWSARIA (Las Vegas)CRISS ANGEL Believe (Las Vegas)KÀ (Las Vegas)La Nouba (Orlando)Mystère (Las Vegas)“O” (Las Vegas)The Beatles LOVE (Las Vegas)Zumanity (Las Vegas New York)

ZAIA (Macau SAR, China)ZED (Japan)

SEASONAL SHOWWintuk (New York)

Cirque’s first foray into movies was the widely popular IMAX release Journey of Man in 2000. Since then via its Events & Images division original content is created for television and DVD release.

Beyond the ShowOverview

Television and Movies

Event PlanningWhile expanding into the organization of events may not be an intuitive extension the fact remains that Cirque has gathered 25 years of experience of event planning. Through the Events team Cirque has provided planning services for both public and private clients.

MerchandisingCirque offers a wide range of products (bags, jackets, key chains, etc.) at all of its shows and online. Through its Merchandising division the company wants to offer the Cirque experience through high quality products. Products are developed through the use partners with the goal of bringing “artful living” into the lives of Cirque fans.

LicensingWith its licensing division Cirque is endeavouring to apply its talents to other areas not connecting to the core product in any direct way. Through its own initiatives and with partners Cirque is exploring the hospitality field – bars, lounges, restaurants, spas – and has already launched a women fitness program in Las Vegas – JUKARI.

7|Summary

Dream Come True

Appendix |Our OVO Experience

From the Streets to the StarsIt’s doubtful that anybody, including Laliberté himself, could have envisioned the success that Cirque du Soleil would achieve. The phenomenon that is Cirque has been researched by phd’s, dissected by business strategists, admired by artists, enjoyed by audiences and even copied by competitors.

What began a story of street performers in the outskirts of Quebec entertaining audiences for spare change has evolved into a global business worth billions. The natural question is how will it last? While audiences can be fickle, and if anything has been learned from the 2008 recession it’s that businesses of today are not guaranteed a tomorrow regardless of their history; Cirque has managed to thrive by constantly innovating and creating experiences that the world cannot get enough of.

Really, if one think of it; it’s only appropriate that founder Guy Laliberté took the show to the stars – it is almost the only place on earth that has not had the opportunity to experience the circus of the sun.

OVOA Treat for the SensesAs an enjoyable part of our research we went to watch OVO staged in the Portland’s in downtown Toronto. OVO (meaning egg) is a dive into the colourful, busy and energetic ecosystem of insects. When the mysterious egg arrives along with its awkward owner, a mystery and love story ensues.

The site of the production was under the big top. Cirque creates a mini-city that travels with the show and presents OVO in what is a very organic, customized and intimate environment.

Before the show began characters from the production interacted with the crow in costume. During the show we were entertained with incredible acrobatics, humour and music.

During the intermission Da went shopping. Cirque has quite an array of merchandise to help the audience extend their experience beyond the big top.

Quite unexpectedly is the show was drawing to a close the scent of lily was dispersed throughout to draw us into the world that Cirque had created. With the wonderful

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