Cirque du Soleil’s Global Human Resource Management Practices

Cirque’s journey began in the early 1980s in Baie-Saint-Paul, Canada. Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul, a theater troupe founded by Gilles Ste-Croix, entertained the people of the city by walking on stilts, juggling, dancing, breathing fire, and playing music. Guy Laliberté (Laliberté) who started out as a street performer in Quebec, was a part of the troupe. The troupe went on to found Le Club des Talons Hauts (the High Heels Club), and then, in 1982, organized La Fête Foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul, a cultural event in which street performers from all over performed and exchanged ideas.

In 1984, Quebec City was celebrating the 450th anniversary of Canada’s discovery by Jacques Cartier, and the Quebec government needed a show that would carry the festivities out across the province. Laliberté presented a proposal for a show called Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun), and succeeded in convincing the government to provide them with a grant of C$1.5 million. The show was a visual treat with incredible artistic skills...