Cirque du Soleil: A Fantastic Journey

In 1982, a troupe of young street performers founded by Gilles Ste-Croix mixed with the crowd of locals and tourists in Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town near Quebec City, Canada. They were the Club des talons hauts (the High Heels Club). The entertainers roamed the street, walking on stilts, juggling, dancing, breathing fire and playing music. Inspired by the onlookers’ obvious delight, the performers organized the Baie-Saint-Paul entertainers’ festival, where the public witnessed the beginnings of what would soon become Cirque du Soleil.

After a Canadian tour, Cirque du Soleil was eager to try its luck in the United States. In 1987, it took the plunge. At the time the troupe’s financial situation was very precarious. There was enough money to make it to the prestigious Los Angeles Art Festival, but not to come back. The show thrilled both the media and the general public. Guy, certain of the risk of going back, solemnly bet everything on the show’s success. And it paid off! In the wake of the Los Angeles run, the gates to Uncle Sam’s country opened wide.

After the United States, where it would return later to stage resident shows in Las Vegas in 1993 and Florida in 1998, Cirque du Soleil was seeking new markets to conquer and test its sights on Europe and Asia. In 1990, it made its first venture onto European soil with a short stint in England and France. But it wasn’t until 1995 that the organization began taking shows to Europe for sustained tours, starting with Saltimbanco.

In 1998, the resident show “O” premiered in a brand-new theatre at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. This unprecedented water show was to become a major milestone in the history of Cirque du Soleil. The show was a huge success and propelled the company onto the world stage.

Cirque du Soleil’s creative strength attracts prestigious partners with whom the company can create works that push the limits even further. Thus were born the show The Beatles LOVE (2006, Apple Corp), Viva ELVIS (2009, CKX and Elvis Presley Enterprises), Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour and Michael Jackson ONE (2011 and 2013 respectively, Michael Jackson Estate), TORUK – The First Flight (2015, James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment), and Drawn to Life (2021, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering).

Cirque du Soleil is a laboratory of imagination filled with the world’s best creative minds, craftspeople, and experts in all fields related to the arts. Our Montreal-based International Headquarters, inaugurated in 1997, is a unique creative environment that allows artists and creators to collaborate and experiment, birthing new acts that will ignite imaginations. By bringing together top creators from around the world, and serving as a catalyst for their efforts, Cirque du Soleil channels their creative energy to constantly innovate and reinvent itself.

In 2024, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group celebrated 40 years of defying reality, defining entertainment, and illuminating the world through art and creativity. Since its creation in 1984, more than 400 million people have been inspired on 6 continents and 86 countries. The Canadian company now employs more than 3,500 employees, including 230 artists from 80 different nationalities.

The international success story of Cirque du Soleil is above all, the story of an eclectic group of street performers who dared to dream. Little did they know that these embryonic beginnings would lead to something magical, exciting, and revolutionary on a global scale.