Thirty years ago, “the indoor circus didn’t exist,” says Jeannot Painchaud, who founded Cirque Éloize in 1993. Back then, circus performances were reserved for outdoor events and big tops. “We are the ones who have truly decompartmentalised the circus in Montreal; first indoors, then outdoors, as we are doing this summer. »
For the 30e anniversary of this pioneering company, Montreal completely circus offers it a platform that is grandiose to say the least. Cirque Éloize produces The giantthe festival’s big free outdoor show, at the Place Ville Marie esplanade, until July 30.
The festival erects for the second consecutive year the huge steel structure that has served as a canvas for acrobats since Wednesday. Last year, three giants were scattered in three tourist spots in the city. This summer, Montreal completely circus is only presenting the Cirque Éloize show, but it will exceptionally be held until July 30.
“In 2022, we participated in a call for projects from Tourisme Montréal to relaunch the city center and tourism, says Stéphane Lavoie, general and artistic director of Tohu and the event. We proposed the giants, and it was a great success. More than 150,000 spectators attended the three shows. »
We wanted to be epic, grandiose
A strong tourist symbol
Mr. Lavoie explained last year to the Duty that it would need additional funding to sustain the project. It’s done. “I can’t guarantee that the project will come back every year, but it has really become, in just two years, a strong tourist symbol. »
“We wanted to be epic, grandiose,” adds Benoît Landry, director of the show. To do this, Cirque Éloize has relied on a classical music soundtrack. “We wanted viewers to have the impression of hearing well-known film music,” explains Mr. Landry.
“It’s quite a challenge, he says, to put on such an outdoor show. Passers-by can come across it at any time. So we wanted to create a rhythmic and stimulating number from start to finish. Twice a night, the twelve acrobats will try to conquer the giant in different ways. Trampolines, mattresses and suspended fabrics are used, with the idea of showing a wide variety of circus arts. »
We started in the early 1990s, when Robert Lepage was producing his first creations and Cirque du Soleil was performing its first touring shows in a marquee. I immersed myself in the creative energy of Montreal, with its public entertainers and its many festivals. From the start, we wanted to stand out with a bold artistic direction.
A forward-thinking company
“There is also a desire for the festival to highlight Éloize’s contribution to the local circus community,” says Jeannot Painchaud. His company was indeed the first to offer “author” circus in Quebec, explains the native Madelinot, a graduate of the National Center for Circus Arts in Châlons-sur-Marne, France.
“We started in the early 1990s, when Robert Lepage was producing his first creations and Cirque du Soleil was performing its first touring shows in a marquee,” he says. I immersed myself in the creative energy of Montreal, with its public entertainers and its many festivals. From the start, we wanted to stand out with a bold artistic direction. »
The bet was taken up hands down. Cirque Éloize has performed more than 6,000 performances in 30 years, which have been seen by more than five million people. But if Mr. Painchaud presents his creations around the world, he now wishes, above all, “to reconnect with his Quebec and Magdalen origins”.
“Each summer, we will offer an artistic residency in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, in addition to presenting shows in our new hall, in the old church of Le Havre-Aubert. Remember that Mr. Painchaud also wants to build an inn, in the old school of the same village. “The pandemic has also led us to think about other forms than the traditional indoor show, such as virtual reality and augmented reality. We never stop innovating. »
Beyond the city center
Stéphane Lavoie wishes to extend the free outdoor programming of the festival well beyond the borders of the city center. With its “neighborhood tour”, ambulatory acts of Montreal completely circus are already being deployed in nine other boroughs of the metropolis, including Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Montréal-Nord and Verdun.
In the coming years, he also hopes to make the area surrounding Tohu and the National Circus School “the epicenter of circus in Montreal” by offering more outdoor shows. “So far, we have really contributed to the development of Place Émilie-Gamelin and the Latin Quarter. We want to do the same thing in Saint-Michel and beyond. »
If Mr. Lavoie says he is motivated by the idea of upgrading these neighborhoods, he also explains that he wants to “promote Montreal as the capital of the circus” with its “diversified programming” which brings together the best international productions. “I travel a lot for my work, and abroad, people tell me about the artistic vitality of Montreal. More than ever, we want to continue contributing to it. »