Cirque du Soleil Brings the Big Top to Your Next Business Event

Cirque du Soleil has been performing for groups since 1984 using stunts, acrobatics and the power of the imagination to captivate audiences worldwide. The fact that Cirque’s special events staff can bring the magic of their performances to your next event is something many planners don’t know. Anything is possible, from tailor-made repertoires anywhere in the world to private shows in Cirque’s featured cities.

We spoke to events director Yasmine Khalil to get a better idea of the many different and spectacular evenings that Cirque can create for your next corporate gala.

Prevue: In what parts of the world can Cirque du Soleil put on a private event?

Khalil: That’s an easy answer. Basically, we can do it anywhere in the world. Our events are tailor-made to each client so we don’t rely on a troupe in a specific location. We’re not working with any of the touring or permanent shows.

We have performers all over the world and when we create a special event we don’t work with the performers who are the closest, we work with those who are best suited to deliver the message or objective of the client.

So a client can request a totally new, customized performance from Cirque du Soleil?

That’s what we do. The essence of our special events division is to customize and create shows that take all sorts of forms. You can imagine a show where multimedia takes the stage, and not necessarily the performers. We can do product launches where the main content is the product and the way it is revealed.

The creativity of Cirque has led to other platforms, rather than just taking artists and acrobats and creating something similar to our touring and fixed shows. Instead, we’ll take that creativity and apply it to create something new.

Can you give us an example of the type of event you’re describing?

We did a car launch a few years ago in Europe. We gathered 2,000 guests of the client who thought they were invited for a cocktail reception. The event took place inside a transparent tent that had been covered with a red cloth. Throughout the evening there were parts of cars flying over their heads but no one knew why.

At the end of the evening a huge crane pulled the red cloth off of the tent and revealed that these people were in a transparent tent. At that moment, 50 cars started driving around the tent and that’s how the car was revealed. In other words: the people were the ones being revealed to the car instead of the other way around.

It’s that one-of-a-kind way of leaving a lasting impression on the people who are there, and the buzz factor from that experience, that really gives all the impact to the reveal. Not only will media be in attendance but people who are present will talk about it and that’s what creates that buzz factor I’m talking about. This is what I mean by not having acrobats always at the center of the event.