Immobilized by the pandemic, Cirque Éloize offers Celestial, a permanent show in residence at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel from December 16. This partnership also aims to revitalize downtown Montreal, deserted by its workers and tourists.
Starring singer Coral Egan, who will be accompanied by her keyboardist Daniel Thouin and a dozen circus artists, Celestialis intended to be a mixture of immersive experience, cabaret and theater.
Monday, in rehearsal, Coral Egan was enthroned on stage, wearing a long sequined pink dress, while Bobby Cookson and Jimmy Gonzalez presented their numbers, respectively cyr wheel and juggling.
Celestial is above all an atmosphere, that of night and mystery, of the celestial vault and the zodiac, created by artistic director Anita Bombita and director Benoît Landry.
Deserted by convention-goers, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth saw this as another opportunity to “give back Queen Elizabeth to Montrealers”, says Philippe Champagne, regional sales and marketing director, Eastern Canada, for Accor hotels. The management of the hotel hopes that Montrealers as well as others will seize the opportunity to live an “augmented experience”, by organizing evenings or weekends, “with friends or lovers”, by staying at the hotel. hotel, eating in the restaurant and attending the show.
“We are aimed at Montrealers as well as visitors, conventioneers and leisure travelers,” he adds.
A first in a hotel
“This is the first time that we have done a residency show in a hotel in Montreal for a long time, as far as I know,” continues Philippe Champagne. Normally, the room where is played Celestial would have been too mobilized by the congresses to allow a show to be presented there four days a week.
“They say that Montreal is the circus capital of the world, but we do not present a permanent circus show there,” quips the co-founder and president of Cirque Éloize, Jeannot Painchaud, who also hopes to use Celestial as a showcase for industry representatives arriving from abroad.
Still, the pandemic has hit the circus industry hard, which many artists have even ended up deserting. Even though Celestialopens in Montreal, the exhibition Under the ice with Mario Cyr, which was set up in the premises of Cirque Éloize in Montreal, established its quarters at the Quebec City Convention Center.
Philippe Champagne also predicts that the convention industry will resume “quietly” in 2022. “Usually, we host conventions of 600 or 700 people. There, we are in conferences of 200 or 300 people. There is still a perception of fear, ”he said. Reservations are still made very short term.
The show Celestial is slated to hold the poster at Queen Elizabeth until spring. But this period could stretch if demand is present. “We’re ready to spend the summer with it,” says Philippe Champagne.