Enter the Ring: How Montreal Became the Circus Capital of the World

If you thought Cirque du Soleil started on the Strip in Las Vegas, think again. In fact, the troupe ended up there by accident in the late 1980s after attending a circus festival in California and running out of money on the road.

“They were hoping to make some money to come back, so they ended up in Las Vegas,” said circus historian Charles Batson of Union College. “They didn’t have enough money for the return tickets.”

Naturally, this was packed with bodies, which proved popular enough that it became shorthand for Sin City. But the company’s home and headquarters remained far away: in Montreal, Canada.

And no wonder, as Quebec’s largest city is arguably the contemporary circus capital of the world, a place where you can attend school to study circus arts, perform with countless companies and even perform at one of the many circus festivals (including the chance to celebrate Cirque du Soleil’s 40th anniversary this year).

“It’s not a crazy idea to run away and join the circus, at least here,” said Nadia Drouin of En Piste, a city-based nonprofit that promotes circus arts. “There are career opportunities and a wonderful community and year-round circus.â€

However, forget taming lions or acrobats on elephants and baiting bears in cages. Montreal specializes in what is known as “Cirque nouveau,” the acrobatic, stunt-filled, gravity-defying show for which Cirque du Soleil gained its fame. Circus Nouveau shows emphasize a story of some kind, rather than drifting between unrelated vignettes.

The concept emerged in France in the late 1970s, said academic Batson, but grew in popularity in Quebec for several reasons. He points to the 1976 Summer Olympics, where the FTA was the host city, as decisive.

“There were very talented gymnasts training in the same space as other people developing circus skills, and these energies began to merge with each other,” he explained, noting that the new North American circus has a particular focus on physical and near-impossible skills. stunts as a result. “They took it a step further and then, what is now the École Nationale de Cirque was founded, which created a massively magical troupe led by extremely ambitious and talented people.”

The talent pipeline was soon churning out many young, flexible performers eager to showcase their skills, and the Quebec government’s willingness to provide grants to new companies helped them take root and thrive.

One of the earliest troupes of the new circus was Cirque Éloize. Jeannot Painchaud is among the founders. He noted the reassertion of French identity that occurred after Quebec independence advocates lost the referendum in 1980, as well as the upgrading of street theater from curbside to stage through companies like Bread & Puppet Theatre. Painchaud, himself a juggling coach and unicyclist, said Eloize wanted to move the circus from the big top to a proper theater.

“In addition to being crazy and creative, we wanted to go much further in terms of performance,” said Painchaud.

And they did: Aerialist Daniel Cyr fashioned a whole new piece of kit to help him with his stunts — and that metal hula-hoop, known as a Cyr wheel, is now widely used in new circus acts around the world. the world.

“I tried to do it but it was never that good” takes a lot of time and patience. It’s safe for balance and you can’t get dizzy, because you’re turning yourself too much against yourself, – said Painchaud.

The company remains one of the best in the city and has just opened a semi-permanent show, Bon Voyage, in a disused railway station, which he called a docu-cirque, an immersive, hour-long piece . telling the social history of Canada through the train heading west into the desert.

The other big company in town is 7 Fingers, co-founded by American immigrant Gypsy Snider, herself the daughter of a couple of jugglers who ran the Pickle Family Circus in San Francisco. It operates multiple divisions, including a foundation that brings circus to marginalized communities, a commercial division that creates and broadcasts shows on Virgin Voyages and a team that works on shows like the current Broadway hit “Water for Elephants.”

“We wanted to tackle subjects on a human scale, tell stories that are relatable to the audience,” she said. “Cirque du Soleil is always fantastic and dreamy, but we hardly ever wear costumes. We want to show the body and the sweat and the grit it takes.”

After inaugurating the only building built expressly for circuses in North America, at Montreal’s Cité des Arts du Cirque, 7 Fingers will bring its riff on “Romeo and Juliet,” called “Duel Reality,” there this October. That building is the anchor of Tohu, the city’s main circus complex, which also hosts other productions on its schedule throughout the year. Become a member, said Tohu’s Aaron Marquise (a trained clown himself), and you can see works in progress and go behind the scenes.

“In September we have an event where artists present unfinished work to the audience and then have a discussion,” he said.

“What you get when you see a contemporary circus show is like a drug – you get a huge high afterwards. It’s like real-life superheroes doing incredible things.”

Nadia Drouin of En Piste

The rest of Circus City includes the National Circus School, across the street from Tohu, which also has a spectacular library of circus books – Snider recommended stocking up on its shelves, as it’s open to the public. Cirque du Soleil’s global headquarters are also there, but ironically, it rarely presents shows in situ.

Smaller companies worth checking out include Agathe & Adrien, known for reversing gender roles — think aerialists where the women catch the men, not the other way around — and Cirque Alfonse, a troupe with a more retro accent.

The shows from Foutoukours are prepared for both children and adults. If you want to try your hand at picking up some skills, consider booking with the Académie de Cirque, which a trio of acrobats opened in January this year. It operates out of a facility with 35-foot-high ceilings, so you can really reach the heights—prices start at about $7.50 per person, per class.

There are two main moments to come and catch the maximum excitement: the Montréal Complètement Cirque festival every July, where the city’s sidewalks are filled with performers, especially in the Latin Quartier, and all the main venues of the cirque nouveau show program (Tohu runs the programming every year). You’ll also see a number of festive shows in the run-up to the holidays, but the shows continue through Montréal en Lumière, a midwinter bash that combines shows, ice skating and a food festival. Anytime of the year, check the Destination Cirque website, run by En Piste and Nadia Drouin, the most comprehensive overview of everything on offer.

“What you get when you see a contemporary circus show is like a drug – you get a really big high afterwards,” says Drouin. “It’s like real-life superheroes doing extraordinary things.”

Just remember that most of the story will unfold in French – Gypsy Snider from 7 Fingers promises you don’t even need to be semi-fluent to follow along. Movement will help communicate that je ne sais quoi.