- Cirque du Soleil was founded in 1984 by street artists in Quebec and has grown significantly, now employing over 4,000 people worldwide and performing for 7 million spectators annually - They produce resident shows permanently located in cities, arena shows in large venues, and big top tent shows that tour worldwide - Creating each show involves establishing a vision, developing acts/equipment/costumes, and extensive rehearsals to invoke imagination through artistic performance - Touring over 100 cities requires permitting, logistics of moving over 50 nationalities of employees and equipment between countries, and localized marketing strategies

1. Student Tourism Congress
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
Presentation by
Franck Hanselman
Company Manager - AMALUNA

2. Topics
• Cirque du Soleil: history, statistics, mission, goals and values
• Shows: resident, arena, big top
• Creating the magic
• Organisation, employment, culture
• Touring in Europe: permits, logistics, marketing

3. Cirque du Soleil – a very brief history
• Founded in 1984 by a group of street artists
• Began with 1 show, touring Canada
• Soon invited to tour US
• Growth into Europe in 1990’s
• Next step Asia Pacific and Japan
• Now seen by 7 million people each year

4. Some statistics
• In 1984, 73 people worked for Cirque du Soleil. Today, the
business has over 4,000 employees worldwide, including
more than 800 artists.
• At the Montreal International Headquarters alone, there are
close to 1,600 employees.
• Cirque’s employees and artists represent over 50 nationalities
and speak 25 different languages.
• Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil’s touring shows have made
nearly 250 stops in over 100 cities around the world.
• Over 50 million spectators have seen a Cirque du Soleil show.

5. Mission statement
Cirque du Soleil is an international
organization founded in Quebec and
dedicated to the creation, production and
performance of artistic works whose mission
is to invoke the imagination, provoke the
senses and evoke the emotions of people
around the world.

7. Goals
In the pursuit of its dreams and
in its business practices,
Cirque du Soleil strives to
position itself in the community
as a responsible proponent of
change

8. Core Values
• To uphold the integrity of our creative process
• To recognise and respect each individual’s
contribution to our body of work
• To extend the limits of the possible
• To draw our inspiration from artistic and cultural
diversities
• To encourage and promote the potential of youth

9. Resident shows

10. Arena shows

11. Big Top shows

12. Amaluna
• The story
• The cast
• The tour

13. Other areas of activity
• Merchandising
• Tapis Rouge
• Outbox
• Sandbox
• 45 Degrees

14. Creating the magic
Establish a vision
– Challenge the obvious
– Push the boundaries
– Don’t accept limitations
Putting it together
– Develop the, set, acts, equipment,
costumes
– Practice, practice, practice
– Paint the picture

15. A multidisciplinary organisation
A tour is made up of four departments:
– Company Manager’s Office
– Artistic
– Technical
– Operations

16. Many professionals, a common challenge
Plumber
Box Office
Accountant
Follow Spot
Artist
Cook
Show time

17. Employment at
Cirque du Soleil
• Artists
• Identified through worldwide castings
• Challenge with talent availability
• Employees
• Generalists, hired based on soft skills
• Specialists, hired based on technical skills
Where do we recruit our artists and staff?
In-house hard skill training programmes

18. An ever changing environment
• New city every 8 weeks
• Temporary employees
• High turnover at all levels
• Changing company structure – the pendulum
• Audience needs

19. Hanging on for dear life!
• Company image/ethos
• Tour jacket
• Workspace
• Personalised hotel room
• Ways of doing things – creates a certain inflexibility
• No-one ever plans to leave!

20. 18 nationalities on Amaluna
How do we manage internally?
• Communication training
• Clear understanding of our audience
• Continuous promotion of Cirque’s:
»Values
»Philosophy
»Common goals

21. Evaluating soft skills
• Passionate
• Responsible
• Team player/cooperator
• Creative
• Committed

22. Working on the move
Changing territories
(continental and cultural)
• Cultural preparation
• Anticipation of turnover
(higher after int. transfer)

23. Touring in Europe
Site Selection
– 18 months in advance
– 20,000 m2
– Possible to lay asphalt
– Traditional sites are too small
– Support from city departments,
but often limited

24. Permits
Business licence
– Country specific
– Need for legal presence in certain
markets
– Application of best practice
Operating licence
– No consistency at European level
– Seating biggest challenge
– New environmental laws

25. Moving people
• Immigration is a major challenge
• Schengen has helped, but is not yet fully implemented
• Working with European Union to improve Schengen conditions
• All employees are legally hired by a European company
• All employees contribute locally to Social Security
• Where required, CDS withholds income tax, as per treaties in
place
• Local employees (ushers, etc.) are hired through temp
agencies to avoid legal issues

26. Moving equipment
• All equipment is certified by TÜV
• Baubuchs are maintained regularly
• Equipment travels by land in 65 trailers
• Haulage is sub-contracted
• Minimal challenges within EU

27. Marketing
• City-specific approach, based on a standard plan
• Need for local intelligence, but not promoter
services
• Trend of globalization in marketing strategy (new
media)
• Competition base is widening

28. Questions
?