Student Tourism Congress

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

Presentation by Franck Hanselman

Company Manager - AMALUNA

Topics

• Cirque du Soleil: history, statistics, mission, goals and values • Shows: resident, arena, big top • Creating the magic • Organisation, employment, culture • Touring in Europe: permits, logistics, marketing

Cirque du Soleil – a very brief history

• Founded in 1984 by a group of street artists

• Began with 1 show, touring Canada

• Soon invited to tour US

• Growth into Europe in 1990’s

• Next step Asia Pacific and Japan

• Now seen by 7 million people each year

Some statistics

• In 1984, 73 people worked for Cirque du Soleil. Today, the business has over 4,000 employees worldwide, including more than 800 artists.

• At the Montreal International Headquarters alone, there are close to 1,600 employees.

• Cirque’s employees and artists represent over 50 nationalities and speak 25 different languages.

• Since 1984, Cirque du Soleil’s touring shows have made nearly 250 stops in over 100 cities around the world.

• Over 50 million spectators have seen a Cirque du Soleil show.

Mission statement

Cirque du Soleil is an international organization founded in Quebec and dedicated to the creation, production and performance of artistic works whose mission is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world.

Goals

In the pursuit of its dreams and in its business practices, Cirque du Soleil strives to

position itself in the community as a responsible proponent of

change

Core Values

• To uphold the integrity of our creative process

• To recognise and respect each individual’s contribution to our body of work

• To extend the limits of the possible

• To draw our inspiration from artistic and cultural diversities

• To encourage and promote the potential of youth

Resident shows

Arena shows

Big Top shows

Amaluna

• The story • The cast • The tour

Other areas of activity

• Merchandising

• Tapis Rouge

• Outbox

• Sandbox

• 45 Degrees

Creating the magic

Establish a vision

– Challenge the obvious

– Push the boundaries

– Don’t accept limitations

Putting it together

– Develop the, set, acts, equipment, costumes

– Practice, practice, practice

– Paint the picture

A multidisciplinary organisation

A tour is made up of four departments:

– Company Manager’s Office

– Artistic

– Technical

– Operations

Many professionals, a common challenge

Plumber

Box Office

Accountant

Follow Spot

Artist

Cook

Show time

Employment at Cirque du Soleil

• Artists • Identified through worldwide castings

• Challenge with talent availability

• Employees • Generalists, hired based on soft skills

• Specialists, hired based on technical skills

Where do we recruit our artists and staff?

In-house hard skill training programmes

An ever changing environment

• New city every 8 weeks • Temporary employees • High turnover at all levels • Changing company structure – the pendulum • Audience needs

Hanging on for dear life!

• Company image/ethos • Tour jacket • Workspace • Personalised hotel room • Ways of doing things – creates a certain inflexibility • No-one ever plans to leave!

18 nationalities on Amaluna

How do we manage internally?

• Communication training • Clear understanding of our audience • Continuous promotion of Cirque’s:

»Values »Philosophy »Common goals

Evaluating soft skills

• Passionate • Responsible • Team player/cooperator • Creative • Committed

Working on the move

Changing territories (continental and cultural)

• Cultural preparation • Anticipation of turnover (higher after int. transfer)

Touring in Europe

Site Selection – 18 months in advance

– 20,000 m2

– Possible to lay asphalt

– Traditional sites are too small

– Support from city departments,

but often limited

Permits

Business licence

– Country specific – Need for legal presence in certain

markets – Application of best practice

Operating licence – No consistency at European level – Seating biggest challenge – New environmental laws

Moving people

• Immigration is a major challenge • Schengen has helped, but is not yet fully implemented • Working with European Union to improve Schengen conditions • All employees are legally hired by a European company • All employees contribute locally to Social Security • Where required, CDS withholds income tax, as per treaties in

place • Local employees (ushers, etc.) are hired through temp

agencies to avoid legal issues

Moving equipment

• All equipment is certified by TÜV

• Baubuchs are maintained regularly

• Equipment travels by land in 65 trailers

• Haulage is sub-contracted

• Minimal challenges within EU

Marketing

• City-specific approach, based on a standard plan • Need for local intelligence, but not promoter

services • Trend of globalization in marketing strategy (new

media) • Competition base is widening

Questions

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