private company industry entertainment founded 1984 founder guy lalibert gilles ste croix daniel gauthier rachel vertus headquarters montreal quebec canada area served worldwide key people daniel lamarre president and ceo revenue c 850 million fy 2010 1 number of employees 5 022 divisions cirque du soleil images cirque du soleil s merchandising subsidiaries cirque du soleil musique website www.cirquedusoleil.com cirque du soleil pronounced si k dy s . l j circus of the sun is a canadian entertainment company . it is the largest theatrical producer in the world . 2 based in montreal quebec canada and located in the inner city area of saint michel it was founded in baie saint paul in 1984 by two former street performers guy lalibert and gilles ste croix . 3 initially named les chassiers lez e. a.sje the waders they toured quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe . their initial financial hardship was relieved in 1983 by a government grant from the canada council for the arts as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of jacques cartier s voyage to canada . 4 le grand tour du cirque du soleil was a success in 1984 and after securing a second year of funding lalibert hired guy caron from the national circus school to re create it as a proper circus . its theatrical character driven approach and the absence of performing animals helped define cirque du soleil as the contemporary circus nouveau cirque that it remains today . 5 each show is a synthesis of circus styles from around the world with its own central theme and storyline . shows employ continuous live music with performers rather than stagehands changing the props . after financial successes and failures in the late 1980s nouvelle exp rience was created with the direction of franco dragone which not only made cirque du soleil profitable by 1990 but allowed it to create new shows . 6 cirque du soleil expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s going from one show to 19 shows in over 271 cities on every continent except antarctica . the shows employ approximately 4 000 people from over 40 countries and generate an estimated annual revenue exceeding us 810 million . 7 8 the multiple permanent las vegas shows alone play to more than 9 000 people a night 5 % of the city s visitors adding to the 90 million people who have experienced cirque du soleil s shows worldwide . 8 in 2000 lalibert bought out gauthier and with 95 % ownership has continued to expand the brand . 9 in 2008 lalibert split 20 % of his share equally between two investment groups istithmar world and nakheel of dubai in order to further finance the company s goals . in partnership with these two groups cirque du soleil had planned to build a residency show in the united arab emirates in 2012 directed by guy caron dralion and michael curry . 10 but since dubai s financial problems in 2010 caused by the 2008 recession it was stated by lalibert that the project has been put on ice 11 for the time being and may be looking for another financial partner to bankroll the company s future plans even willing to give up another 10 % of his share . 11 several more shows are in development around the world along with a television deal women s clothing line and the possible venture into other mediums such as spas restaurants and nightclubs . 12 cirque du soleil also produces a small number of private and corporate events each year past clients have been the royal family of dubai and the 2007 super bowl . 13 the company s creations have received numerous prizes and distinctions including a bambi award in 1997 a rose d or in 1989 three drama desk awards in 1991 1998 and 2013 three gemini awards four primetime emmy awards 14 15 and a star on the hollywood walk of fame . 16 in 2000 cirque du soleil was awarded the national arts centre award a companion award of the governor general s performing arts awards . 17 in 2002 cirque du soleil was inducted into canada s walk of fame . in 2015 tpg capital fosun capital group and caisse de depot et placement du quebec purchased 90 % of cirque du soleil . 18 the sale received regulatory approval from the government of canada on 30 june 2015 . 19 contents 1 origins 2 shows 2.1 le grand tour du cirque du soleil 2.2 la magie continue 2.3 le cirque r invent 2.4 fascination 2.5 knie presents cirque du soleil 2.6 other shows 2.7 future productions 3 other works 3.1 projects 3.2 special events 3.3 lounges and nightclubs 3.4 diversification 4 grand chapiteau tours 4.1 site 4.2 grand chapiteau 4.3 other tents 4.4 kitchen 5 discography 6 filmography 7 legal issues 7.1 suspension of artist due to hiv 7.2 naming rights 7.3 justin timberlake plagiarism accusations 7.4 hb2 laws in north carolina 8 fatalities 9 references 10 external links origins edit at age 18 interested in pursuing some kind of performing career guy lalibert quit college and left home . he toured europe as a folk musician and busker . by the time he returned home to canada in 1979 he had learned the art of fire breathing . although he became employed at a hydroelectric power plant in james bay his job ended after only three days due to a labour strike . he decided not to look for another job instead supporting himself on his unemployment insurance . he helped organize a summer fair in baie saint paul with the help of a pair of friends named daniel gauthier and gilles ste croix . 6 9 gauthier and ste croix were managing a youth hostel for performing artists named le balcon vert at that time . by the summer of 1979 ste croix had been developing the idea of turning the balcon vert and the talented performers who lived there into an organized performing troupe . as part of a publicity stunt to convince the quebec government to help fund his production ste croix walked the 56 miles 90 km from baie saint paul to quebec city on stilts . the ploy worked giving the three men the money to create les chassiers de baie saint paul . employing many of the people who would later make up cirque du soleil les chassiers toured quebec during the summer of 1980 . 20 21 although well received by audiences and critics alike les chassiers was a financial failure . lalibert spent that winter in hawaii plying his trade while ste croix stayed in quebec to set up a nonprofit holding company named the high heeled club to mitigate the losses of the previous summer . in 1981 they met with better results . by that fall les chassiers de baie saint paul had broken even . the success inspired lalibert and ste croix to organize a summer fair in their hometown of baie saint paul . 20 this touring festival called la f te foraine first took place in july 1982 . la f te foraine featured workshops to teach the circus arts to the public after which those who participated could take part in a performance . ironically the festival was barred from its own hosting town after complaints from local citizens . 22 lalibert managed and produced the fair over the next couple years nurturing it into a moderate financial success . but it was in 1983 that the government of quebec gave him a 1.5 million grant to host a production the following year as part of quebec s 450th anniversary celebration of the french explorer jacques cartier s discovery of canada . lalibert named his creation le grand tour du cirque du soleil . 6 23 shows edit the duration of each touring show was traditionally split into two acts of an hour each separated by a 30 minute interval ; however as of 2014 due to cost cutting issues the shows have now been reduced to a shorter 55 minute first act followed by a 50 minute second act still including a 30 minute interval . citation needed permanent shows are usually 90 minutes in length without any intermission . this excludes joy the permanent show in riviera maya mexico which is only 70 minutes in length . typically touring shows as well as resident shows perform a standard 10 shows a week . touring shows usually have one dark day with no performances while resident shows have two . le grand tour du cirque du soleil edit on stage at the 1993 finale of nouvelle exp rience originally intended to only be a one year project cirque du soleil was scheduled to perform in 11 towns in quebec over the course of 13 weeks running concurrent with the third la f te foraine . the first shows were riddled with difficulty starting with the collapse of the big top after the increased weight of rainwater caused the central mast to snap . working with a borrowed tent lalibert then had to contend with difficulties with the european performers . they were so unhappy with the quebec circus s inexperience that they had at one point sent a letter to the media complaining about how they were being treated . 6 the problems were only transient however and by the time 1984 had come to a close le grand tour du cirque du soleil was a success . having only 60 000 left in the bank lalibert went back to the canadian government to secure funding for a second year . while the canadian federal government was enthusiastic the quebec provincial government was resistant to the idea . it was not until quebec s premier ren l vesque intervened on their behalf that the provincial government relented . 6 the original big top tent that was used during the 1984 le grand tour du cirque du soleil tour can now be seen at carniv le lune bleue a 1930s style carnival that is home to the cirque maroc acrobats . 24 la magie continue edit after securing funding from the canadian government for a second year lalibert took steps to renovate cirque du soleil from a group of street performers into a proper circus . to accomplish this he hired the head of the national circus school guy caron as cirque du soleil s artistic director . the influences that lalibert and caron had in reshaping their circus were extensive . they wanted strong emotional music that was played from beginning to end by musicians . they wanted to emulate the moscow circus method of having the acts tell a story . performers rather than a technical crew move equipment and props on and off stage so that it did not disrupt the momentum of the storyline . most importantly their vision was to create a circus with neither a ring nor animals . the rationale was that the lack of both of these things draws the audience more into the performance . 6 25 to help design the next major show lalibert and caron hired franco dragone another instructor from the national circus school who had been working in belgium . when he joined the troupe in 1985 he brought with him his experience in commedia dell arte techniques which he imparted to the performers . although his experience would be limited in the next show due to budget restraints he would go on to direct every show up to but not including dralion . 6 by 1986 the company was once again in serious financial trouble . during 1985 they had taken the show outside quebec to a lukewarm response . in toronto they performed in front of a 25 % capacity crowd after not having enough money to properly market the show . gilles