Cirque du Soleil Touring Shows (Complete List)

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Published on: April 15, 2009

This post is part of my Cirque du Soleil Information Primer Article Series

Cirque du Soleil Touring Shows

Touring shows are the traditional Circus style like shows that are performed within a big circus tent
(called the “Big Top“), which gets wrapped up every few months to be rebuild and made ready in another City somewhere around the world to stay there for a few weeks , perform the show and then move on to the next city.

Last Updated: July, 2014.

 

The first Cirque du Soleil show on tour in 19984 was limited to within Canada and the United States only.
It was not until “Saltimbanco” that Cirque shows would be touring internationally and virtually to every continent on this planet (excluding Antarctica for now 😛 )


Le CirqueDuSoleil-dk-bg

LeGrand Tour du Cirque du Soleil

(1984-85, 16.June 1984, Gaspe, 14.May 1985, Montreal)
Director: Franco Dragon??
Director of Creation: Guy Caron
Music Composer: Ren?? Dup??r??
Set: Andre Caron
Costumes/Props: H??l??ne Dub??
Lighting: Jean Leduc
Trainer/Choreographer: Zygmunt Biegaj

This show was more like classic circus. I am not aware of any recordings of it. Created to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s (1491-1557) arrival in Gaspe/Canada, it was so well received by audiences that Cirque decided to go on tour with the program within Canada afterwards.

The second tour of the show in 1985 is also sometimes referred to as “Le Cirque du Soleil”.

La Magie Continue/The Magic Continues

(1986, 20.April 1986/18.May 1986, Sherebrook)
Director: Franco Dragon??
Director of Creation: Guy Caron
Music Composer: Ren?? Dup??r??
Set: Andre Caron
Costumes/Props: Jean-Yves Cadieux
Lighting: Luc LaFortune

Buy Show DVD

La Magie Continue is French and translates to ???The Magic Continues???

Le Cirque R??invent?? /We Reinvent the Circus

(1987-1990, 07.May 1987, La Salle)
Director: Franco Dragon??
Director of Creation: Guy Caron
Music Composer: Ren?? Dup??r??, Beno??t Jutras
Set: Andre Caron
Costumes/Props: Michel Cr??te
Trainer/Choreographer: Debra Brown

Buy Show DVDBuy official Soundtrack

La Cirque R??invent?? is French and translates to English “Circus Reinvented“, which was modified to “We Reinvent the Circus

Spelling of the name:
La Cirque R??invent?? (the first and last “e” in “Reinvente” are the Latin lower case letter “e” with acute, Unicode: 0x00E9 (233), in HTML ?? or ??)

Nouvelle Exp??rience/A New Experience

(1990-93, 8.May 1990, Montreal)
Director: Franco Dragon??
Director of Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Music Composer: Ren?? Dup??r??, Beno??t Jutras
Set: Michel Cr??te
Costumes/Props: Dominique Lemieux
Lighting: Luc LaFortune
Sound: Guy Desrochers
Trainer/Choreographer: Debra Brown

Buy Show DVD or here
Buy official Soundtrack

Nouvelle Exp??rience is French and translates to English ???A New Experience???

Spelling of the name:
Nouvelle Exp??rience (the first ???e??? in ???Experience??? is the Latin lower case letter ???e??? with acute, Unicode: 0x00E9 (233), in HTML ?? or ??)

Saltimbanco

(1992-2006, 23.April 1992, Montreal/10.December 2006, Rio de Janeiro)
Director: Franco Dragon??
Director of Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Music Composer: Ren?? Dup??r??
Set: Michel Cr??te
Costumes/Props: Dominique Lemieux
Lighting: Luc LaFortune
Sound: Jonathan Deans
Trainer/Choreographer: Debra Brown

watch 2:21 min promo video
Buy Show DVDBuy official Soundtrack

Saltimbanco is about urban life in the city, about the high rise skyscrapers of downtown and the myriad kinds of people who are living, hustle and bustle in a modern day city.

Saltimbanco is derived from the Italian phrase ???saltare in banco???, which translates to English ???to jump on a bench???.

Fascination (1992, 22.May 1992, Tokyo)

Director: Roger Parent
Director of Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Music Composer: Ren?? Dup??r??, Beno??t Jutras
Set: Michel Cr??te
Costumes/Props: Dominique Lemieux
Lighting: Luc LaFortune
Trainer/Choreographer: Catherine Archambault, Allison Brierly, Wayne Hronek

Only toured in Japan. Acts were a mix of Le Cirque R??invent?? and Nouvelle Exp??rience, but all new costumes and arranged by a new director. It ran 118 times between May and September of 1992 and no video recording was ever published publicly.

 

 

Alegr??a (1994-2009, 21.April 1994, Montreal, 5.April 2009, Dubai)

Director: Franco Dragon??
Director of Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Music Composer: Ren?? Dup??r??
Set: Michel Cr??te
Costumes/Props: Dominique Lemieux
Lighting: Luc LaFortune
Sound: Guy Desrochers
Trainer/Choreographer: Debra Brown

watch 5:41 min promo video (A different perspective)
Buy Show DVDBuy official Soundtrack
Get Show Tickets

The provided link is for the DVD that was filmed live in Sydney in 2001. There is a second DVD recording (which I would like to buy myself, if I’d know where), filmed in Japan in 2004 and called “Alegr??a 2 Evolution“.

Alegr??a Is about a Kingdom without a King where everybody wants the power. The Red Man, who was the fool of the king, he thinks that he has the power. All the nostalgic beautiful birds who want the power; then you have the young and energetic and vigilant fast trackers. The flyers high up in the lights, the beautiful nymphs and contortionists all struggle for the power in this leaderless kingdom.

The word ???Alegria??? is the Spanish word for Joy, elation and jubilation.

Spelling the name:
Alegr??a (the ???I??? is a Latin lower case letter ???I??? with acute, the Unicode character is (hex): 0x00ED (decimal: 237), in HTML ?? or ??)

Quidam (1996-…, 23.April 1996, Montreal)

Director: Franco Dragon??
Director of Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Music Composer: Benoit Jutras
Set: Michel Cr??te
Costumes/Props: Dominique Lemieux
Lighting: Luc LaFortune
Sound: Fran??ois Bergeron
Trainer/Choreographer: Debra Brown

watch 57 seconds show DVD trailer
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Quidam is a nameless by-passer, a solitary person who lingers in the shadows ignored by normal people who rush past him without being noticed. Quidam represents nobody and everybody and the deep inner feelings and fears that are part of all of us. The young girl ???Zoe??? finds herself in a world of Quidam, full of anger and pain, trying to escape from it.

Quidam is Classical Latin and means “a certain; pl., some” or “anonymous passerby???.

Dralion (1999-…, 22.April 1999, Montreal)

Director: Guy Caron
Music Composer: Violaine Corradi
Set: St??phane Roy
Costumes/Props: Fran??ois Barbeau
Lighting: Luc LaFortune
Sound: Guy Desrochers
Trainer/Choreographer: Julie Lachance

watch 37 seconds video trailer
Buy Show DVDBuy official Soundtrack
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Dralion is the fusion of ancient Chinese circus tradition and the avant-garde approach of Cirque du Soleil. The show’s name is drawn from its two main symbols: the dragon, representing the East, and the lion, representing the West. Dralion derives much of its inspiration from Eastern philosophy with its perpetual quest for harmony between humankind and nature.

Varekai (2002-…, 24.April 2002, Montreal)

Director: Dominic Champagne
Director of Creation: Andrew Watson
Music Composer: Violaine Corradi
Set: St??phane Roy
Costumes/Props: Eiko Ishioka
Lighting: Nol Van Genuchten
Sound: Fran??ois Bergeron
Trainer/Choreographer: Michael Montanaro, Bill Shannon, Cal McCrystal, Andr?? Simard

watch 6 min video: Ikarian Games Act
Buy Show DVDBuy official Soundtrack
Buy Premium OSTGet Show Tickets

Varekai is about the ancient Greek myth of Icarus, who attempted to fly with wings he made out of wax and reach the sun, which melted the wings and caused Icarus to fall from the sky as a result of it. The story of Varekai begins at the end of the ancient story with Icarus falling from the sky into a group of forest people, which have established a stable society within the magic forest that is made of survivors, just like the circus artists themselves.

Varekai means ???wherever??? in the Romanian language spoken by the Gypsies, the people without a home who wander from place to place in order to survive, which is very much like circus life is.

Corteo (2005-…, 21.April 2005, Montreal)

Director: Danielle Finzi Pasca
Director of Creation: Line Tremblay
Music Composer: Philippe Leduc, Maria Bonzanigo
Set: Jean Rabasse
Costumes/Props: Jean Rabasse
Lighting: Martin Labrecque, Jonathan Deans

watch 1 min trailer video
Buy Show DVDBuy official Soundtrack
Buy Ltd.Ed. OSTGet Show Tickets

Corteo, which means “cortege” in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.

The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us.

KOOZ?? (2007- …, 19.April 2007, Montreal)

Director: David Shiner
Director of Creation: Serge Roy
Music Composer: Jean-Fran??ois C??t??
Set: St??phane Roy
Costumes/Props: Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt/Rog?? Francoeur
Lighting: Martin Labrecque
Sound: Jonathan Deans, Leon Rothenberg
Trainer/Choreographer: Clarence Ford, Andr?? Simard

watch 7 Min Special Video5 min video
20 min press conference
Buy Show DVDBuy official SoundtrackGet Show Tickets

Kooz?? Is about getting back to the traditions of the Circus. It follows the centuries old structure of a circus performance, including the use of the massive door with curtains where performance appear from and disappear to between each act.

Spelling of the name:
Kooz?? (the ???a??? is a Latin lower case letter ???a??? with acute, Unicode: 0x00E1 (225), in HTML ?? or ??) It can also be spelled in all upper-case letters like KOOZ?? (the ???A??? is a Latin capital letter ???A??? with a ring above, Unicode 0x00C5 (197), in HTML ?? or ??)

Ovo (23.April.2009 Montreal ??? …)

Director/Writer/Choreographer: Deborah Colker
Director of Creation: Chantal Tremblay
Music Composer: Berna Ceppas
Set/Props: Gringo Cardia
Costumes: Liz Vandal
Lighting: ??ric Champoux
Sound: Jonathan Deans
Make-up: Julie B??gin
Rigging: Fred G??rard
Acrobatics Designer: Philippe Aubertin

The 25th Cirque du Soleil show in 25 years, since the company was created in 1984. Ovo is a foray into the insect world, a link that is essential to the balance of the planet’s ecosystem.

watch mini trailer1:35 min video
Get Show Tickets

The name OVO means “egg” in Portuguese. This timeless symbol of the life cycle and birth of numerous insects represents the underlying thread of the show. Graphically, OVO hides an insect in its name: The two letter “Os’” represent the eyes while the letter “V” forms the nose.

Totem (22.April.2010 Montreal ??? …)

Director/Writer: Robert Lepage
Director of Creation: Neilson Vignola
Music Composer: Bob & Bill
Set/Props: Carl Fillion
Costumes: Kym Barrett
Lighting: ??tienne Boucher
Sound: Jacques Boucher
Choreographer: Jeff Hall
Make-up: Nathalie J. Simard
Projection: Pedro Pires
Rigging: Fred G??rard
Acrobatics Designer: Pierre Masse/Florence Pot

TOTEM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations.

Inspired by many founding myths, TOTEM illustrates, through a visual and acrobatic language, the evolutionary progress of species.

Somewhere between science and legend TOTEM explores the ties that bind Man to other species, his dreams and his infinite potential.

watch trailer
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Michael Jackson Immortal (02.October.2011 Montreal ??? …)

Director/Writer: Jamie King
Director of Creation: Chantal Tremblay
Music Directors: Kevin Antunes/Greg Phillinganes/Roger Waters
Set: Mark Fisher
Props: Michael Curry
Costumes: Zaldy Goco
Lighting: Martin Labrecque
Sound: Fran??ois Desjardins
Choreographers: Travis Payne/Rich & Tone Talauega/Debra Brown/Napoleon & Tabitha Dumo/Jamal Sims/Daniel ???Cloud??? Campos/Tamara Levinson/Mandy Moore
Make-up: Florence Cornet
Rigging: Scott Osgood
Acrobatics Designer: Germain Guillemot

A riveting fusion of visuals, dance, and music, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour is an electrifying production presented in a rock concert format that combines the excitement and innovation of Michael Jackson???s music and choreography with Cirque du Soleil unparalleled creativity.

watch trailer
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Amaluna (19.April.2012 Montreal ??? …)

Director/Writer/Choreographer: Diane Paulus
Director of Creation: Fernand Rainville
Music Composer: Bob & Bill
Set: Scott Pask
Props: Patricia Ruel
Costumes: M??r??dith Caron
Lighting: Matthieu Lariv??e
Sound: Jacques Boucher
Choreographer: Karole Armitage
Make-up: Eleni Uranis
Rigging: Fred G??rard
Acrobatics Designer: Rob Bollinger

Amaluna invites the audience to a mysterious island governed by Goddesses and guided by the cycles of the moon.

Their queen, Prospera, directs her daughter???s coming-of-age ceremony in a rite that honours femininity, renewal, rebirth and balance which marks the passing of these insights and values from one generation to the next.

watch trailer
Get Show Tickets

Kurios (24.April.2014 Montreal ??? …)

Director/Writer: Michel Laprise
Director of Creation: Chantal Tremblay
Music Composer: Bob & Bill/Rapha??l Beau
Set/Props: St??phane Roy
Costumes: Philippe Guillotel
Lighting: Martin Labrecque
Sound: Jacques Boucher/Jean-Michel Caron
Make-up: Eleni Uranis
Choreographers: Yaman Okur/Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui/Susan Gaudreau/
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Ben Potvin/Andrea Ziegler
Acrobatics Designer: Rob Bollinger/Germain Guillemot/Boris Verkhovsky

Reality is Relative

What if you could alter reality at will? Delve into a world of curiosity where seeing is disbelieving: the world of

KURIOS ??? Cabinet of Curiosities from Cirque du Soleil. The show immerses you in a mysterious and fascinating realm that disorients your senses and challenges your perceptions, leaving you to wonder: “Is it real, or just a figment of my imagination?

watch trailer
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Return to the Cirque du Soleil Primer Article.

Cirque du Soleil Articles in this Series

 

Cheers!

Carsten aka Roy/SAC

 

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  1. […] Cirque du Soleil Touring Shows (Complete List) […]

  2. […] on the road as well, and so on and so forth, did not establish itself until the creation of their touring show ???Saltimbanco???, which still tours the world today and was created while the previous Cirque show […]

  3. […] as a Bonus feature the 24 minutes long documentary about the making of the Cirque du Soleil touring show Dralion by director Guy Charon that is called ???In the Heart of […]

  4. […] Cirque du Soleil Touring Shows (Complete List) […]

  5. […] big-top version of the 1996 show Quidam was adapted for arenas and similar concert venues to be able to reach more […]

  6. […] Cirque du Soleil Touring Shows (Complete List) […]

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