What is Your Favorite Cirque du Soleil Show?

I get this question again and again, especially at my YouTube channel CirqueDuSoleilGuru, which is focusing on Cirque du Soleil almost exclusively. Simple question, isn't it? Or is it?

What is your answer to this question? Do you have favorite show? Have you seen more than one Cirque du Soleil show to be able to pick a favorite? Have you seen a Cirque du Soleil show at all or do you have no idea what I am talking about? If the latter is the case, go and check out my YouTube channel and also my Cirque du Soleil Primer Article.

I for my part cannot give a simple answer to this question. Which show I like the most, really depends  on the mood I am in.  To at least narrow down the list of 20+ shows to a manageable number, here are my general favorites:  "KA", playing at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, "O" at the Bellagio, also in Las Vegas; and the touring show "Varekai". I also like "Zumanity" at the New York, New York in Las Vegas a lot, so make it FOUR favorites, all right?!

• "KA" is the EPIC show
• "O" is the BEAUTYFUL show
• "Zumanity" is the "FRIVOL" show
• "Varekai" is FUNNY and has GREAT acts in it

If I would have to make a choice, because somebody puts a gun on my head or something like that, I'd pick "KA".

I have seen each of the shows above multiple times. The three Vegas Shows, twice each (life) and Varekai on DVD multiple times, but unfortunately never live yet. Varekai are at the wrong place on this planet at the moment.

I got a late start with Cirque in 2006 when they had left the country already. I'd like to see Varekai live though and hope that I will get a chance one day.

I have not seen "Wintuk", "Believe", "Zaia" or "Zed" so they might be contestants still hehe. I also have not seen the new show "OVO" yet, but from what I have heard is the show unlikely to be a contestant.

Learn more about:

KA	Full Show Video(s)	Buy Tickets
"O"	22 min Video	Buy Tickets
Zumanity	video 1, video 2, video 3, video 4	Buy Tickets
Varekai	Video 1, Video 2	Check for Tickets

Note: Zumanity is the only Cirque du Soleil show where you have to be an adult (18+) to be able to watch the show, because of its sexual content.

So, now it's your turn? What is your favorite? Leave a comment below and tell me! Thanks.

Cirque du Soleil Then and Now 1984-2009 from Carsten Cumbrowski on Vimeo.

Ovo Update! I took the 2004 "Then and Now" video from Cirque du Soleil's Midnight Sun, which covered 11 Cirque du Soleil shows and extended it to cover the missing 10! shows as well (12 actually, if you include the mentioning of "Le Grand Tour" and "Fascination).

This extended introduction to the world of Cirque du Soleil covers the following shows:
Le Grand Tour, La Magie Continue, Cirque Reinvente, Nouvelle Experience, Fascination, Saltimbanco, Alegria, Mystere, "O", Dralion, Quidam, Varekai, Zumanity, KA, Love, Corteo, Delirium, Kooza, Wintuk, Zaia, Zed, Believe and Ovo.

You can download this video in AVI format at http://www.mediafire.com/?w2x3m0zzno5

For more information about Cirque du Soleil and their productions, visit http://www.roysac.com/cirque

Cheers!

Carsten aka Roy/SAC

Microsoft Internet Explorer Search Providers Import and Export

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 8 and also Mozilla Fire Fox come with a feature called "Custom Search Providers" or Search Scopes. It allows you to add web sites and search engines to your search box to search them directly, if you need to. For example could you add Amazon.com search to your search providers and search the Amazon.com site directly from your search box, if you are looking for a book, CD or DVD and use Amazon.com as primary online shop for this kind of purchases.

You can get a selection of custom search providers at this Microsoft web site. There you can find a number of options for popular web sites and other search engines. Also available there is the option to create your own custom search provider for your favorite web site. This is possible, as long as the site provides a site search option and passes the search parameters, such as the search term in the URL.

If you have a web site yourself and want to offer your visitors the option to add your site search to their web browser, then you can do that as well. I did this for my small project SQLHunt.com, a MS SQL Server resources meta-search engine based on Google Custom Search Engine. See the link at the bottom of the homepage that reads "Widgets and Gadgets". One of the options there is to add the SQLHunt.com search to your web browser.

The search providers page for Internet Explorer on the Microsoft web site.

All nice and good and I made myself good use of this feature. I have by now probably 20+ custom search providers added to my search box. Some via the Microsoft web site, others custom or via the "add" option at a web site directly. There is unfortunately no easy way to copy your search providers to another computer or to back it up and re-install, if you do a re-install of your current system.

The search providers (or search scopes) are stored by Microsoft in the Windows System Registry. You can find your current search scopes and export them via the system tool RegEdit.exe to a file at

HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes

For each search provider exists a sub-key, in case that you only want to export specific search providers and not all of them. You can then take the exported file (with the extension .REG), copy it to the other machine and double click on it. You should be prompted to acknowledge that you want to import the file into the system registry. Do that and your search provider settings will be imported.

Here is a simple BATCH script to export and import your search provider settings.

SearchScope.bat Code

Download the source code for SearchScope.bat here (you need to remove the additional .txt extension of the file when you save the file to your local hard disk).

   1:  @echo off

   2:  CLS

   3:  if "%1"=="" (CALL :SELOPT) ELSE SET OPT=%1 

   4:  if "%2"=="" Call :GETFP   

   5:   

   6:  IF %OPT%==IMPORT Call :DoImport

   7:  IF %OPT%==EXPORT Call :DoExport

   8:  Echo Finished!

   9:  Echo.

  10:  pause

  11:  GOTO :EOF

  12:   

  13:  :SELOPT

  14:  echo Microsoft Custom Search Provider Import/Export Tool

  15:  echo by Carsten Cumbrowski aka Roy/SaC at http://www.roysac.com/blog

  16:  echo.

  17:  SET /p OTmp=Enter (I) to Import, (E) to Export or (A) to Abort: 

  18:  IF "%OTmp%"=="I" SET OPT=IMPORT&SET OK=1

  19:  IF "%OTmp%"=="i" SET OPT=IMPORT&SET OK=1

  20:  IF "%OTmp%"=="E" SET OPT=EXPORT&SET OK=1

  21:  IF "%OTmp%"=="e" SET OPT=EXPORT&SET OK=1

  22:  If NOT "%OK%"=="1" EXIT

  23:  GOTO :EOF

  24:   

  25:  :GETFP

  26:  echo.

  27:  echo Please Specify the name and path for the file to %OPT% 

  28:  Echo Enter "a' to abort.

  29:  echo. 

  30:  SET /P FNAME=File Name: 

  31:  if %OPT%==IMPORT (

  32:    IF "%FNAME%"=="" EXIT

  33:    IF NOT EXIST "%FNAME%" Call :GETFP

  34:  )

  35:  GOTO :EOF

  36:   

  37:  :DoImport

  38:  REG Import %FNAME%>NUL 2>&1

  39:  Echo Search Scopes Imported

  40:  Goto :EOF

  41:   

  42:  :DoExport

  43:  REG Export "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes" %FNAME%>Nul 2>&1

  44:  Echo Search Scopes Exported to %FNAME%

  45:  GOTO :EOF

Here is a more complex example script. It reads the settings from the HKEY_USER branch rather than the HKEY_CURRENT_USER one. The script looks up the SID for the current user and exports the registry settings, replacing the SID with a place holder to be substituted when imported again elsewhere.

This was more of a "proof of concept", since you do not have to go through all this length as the script above illustrates. I got the "inspiration" from the blog post "Working with Registry Keys in a Batch File" by "rhyous" at the LandDesk User Community.

However, this batch could be modified to export the settings from other users on the same machine. It was not easy to accomplish and very tricky to do. Just for a test, look at the code and tell honestly, if you understand every statement used there. :)

The only thing you would have to do, is replacing %%USERPROFILE%% with the path to the users home directory (e.G. "C:\Documents and Settings\UserName"

SearchScopesImportExport.bat Code

Download the source code for SearchScopesImportExport.bat here (you need to remove the additional .txt extension of the file when you save the file to your local hard disk).

   1:  @Echo off

   2:  cls

   3:  SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS

   4:  SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION

   5:  if "%*"=="" Goto :ShowUsage

   6:  if "%~2"=="" Goto :ShowUsage

   7:   

   8:  SET RootKey="HKLM\software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList"

   9:  Set Val=ProfileImagePath

  10:   

  11:  Call SET CurProf=%%USERPROFILE%%

  12:  SET CurSID=""

  13:   

  14:  Echo Determining Current User's SID ...

  15:  Call :GETSID %RootKey%

  16:  Echo The current users SID is %CurSID%

  17:  Call Set RegTmp=%Temp%\%CurSID%_SearchScopes.reg

  18:   

  19:  IF "%1"=="export" Call :ExportScopes "%~2"

  20:  IF "%1"=="import" Call :ImportScopes "%~2"

  21:   

  22:  Echo.

  23:  echo Done Processing

  24:  echo.

  25:  pause

  26:  echo.

  27:  Goto :EOF

  28:   

  29:   

  30:  :GETSID

  31:  FOR /F "tokens=7* delims=\" %%i IN ('REG QUERY "%~1"') DO (

  32:    FOR /F "tokens=2*" %%a in ('REG QUERY "%~1\%%~i" /v %Val% ^|FINDSTR %Val%') DO (

  33:       CALL SET ldclientdir=%%b

  34:       if "%CurProf%"=="!ldclientdir!" (

  35:         Set CurSID=%%~i

  36:       )

  37:    )

  38:  )

  39:  GOTO :EOF

  40:   

  41:  :ExportScopes

  42:  echo Exporting Search Scope Settings ...

  43:  REG Export "HKU\%CurSID%\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes" %RegTmp%>Nul 2>&1

  44:  Echo Replacing SID with place-holder CURRENTUSERSID ...

  45:  Call :SandR %RegTmp% "%~1" %%CurSID%% CURRENTUSERSID

  46:  goto :eof

  47:   

  48:  :SandR

  49:  ::1 = input file

  50:  ::2 = output file

  51:  ::3 = search string

  52:  ::4 = replacement value

  53:  if EXIST "%~2" DEL /Q "%~2"

  54:  for /f "tokens=1,* delims=]" %%a in ('"type "%~1"|find /n /v """') do (

  55:     CALL SET _result=%%b

  56:     if NOT "%%b"=="" (

  57:       CALL SET _fchar=%%_result:~0,1%%

  58:       if "!_fchar!"=="[" (

  59:         set "line=%%b"

  60:         if defined line (

  61:            call set "line=echo.%%line:%3=%4%%"

  62:            for /f "delims=" %%X in ('"echo."%%line%%""') do %%~X>>"%~2"

  63:         )   ELSE echo.>>"%~2"

  64:       ) else (

  65:           echo %%b>>"%~2"

  66:       )

  67:     ) else (

  68:         echo.>>"%~2"

  69:     )

  70:  )

  71:  goto :eof

  72:   

  73:  :ImportScopes

  74:  if NOT EXIST "%~1" GOTO :ShowUsage

  75:  echo Preparing Registry Data for Import ...

  76:  echo Replacing place-holder CURRENTUSERSID with SID ...

  77:  if EXIST %RegTmp% Del %RegTmp%

  78:  Call :SandR "%~1" %RegTmp% CURRENTUSERSID %%CurSID%%

  79:  Echo Importing Search Scopes ...

  80:  if EXIST %RegTmp% REG Import %RegTmp%>NUL 2>&1

  81:  goto :eof

  82:   

  83:   

  84:  :ShowUsage

  85:  cls

  86:  echo.

  87:  echo USAGE

  88:  echo   Script.bat import^|export IMPORTFILE.REG^|OUTPUTFILE.REG

  89:  echo.

  90:  echo Example Export of current Search Scopes to a file 

  91:  echo with the name MySearchScopes to the local directory C:\Data

  92:  echo.

  93:  echo   Script.bat export c:\Data\MySearchScopes.reg

  94:  echo.

  95:  Echo Example Import of Search Scopes from file generated via this script

  96:  Echo.

  97:  Echo  script.bat import c:\import\MySearchScopes.reg

  98:  echo.

  99:  pause

 100:  echo.

That's it. I hope that you will find this little tool and information useful.

Cheers!

Carsten aka Roy/SAC

In Case You Forgot Adobe Photoshop at Home, don’t worry!

In the case that you forgot Adobe Photoshop at home and need to make some last minute tweaks of some nice and cool graphics for your blog or MySpace page, while at a friends house, who only has MS Paint installed on his Computer, then you don’t have to decide between no image or crappy MS Paint tweaked image anymore.

There is now a nice third option available. All that your friend needs is a web browser and an Internet connection… and who doesn’t have this nowadays. Finding a home with black and white television is probably easier than one with a computer without Internet, right?

Anyhow. There have been in the past already multiple attempts to provide a practical photo and image editor on the World Wide Web. Yeah, you could tweak photographs a little bit, remove some red eyes, flip the image, crop it and adjust the colors and contrast or brightness, but that was about it. Pixlr has something for that as well, called Photo Express, where you can do some last minute tweaks to a photo before you put it up on Flickr or Photobucket.

But if you had to do a little bit more tweaking to an image, you still required a desktop application installed on your computer. Pixlr provides a neat alternative to that. Their image editor is more than just a nice toy where you can draw squares and lines like in MS Paint. The Pixlr image editor supports Layers and has some features like its big cousins, the Adobe Photoshop’s and alike. The interface also matches closely the look and feel of Photoshop, which will make designers who live and die with PS, feel like home instantly.

I actually felt so much at home that I got stuck when I tried to use the right click context menu or keyboard short-cuts that I am used to. The editor is Flash based and not Ajax like Google Docs and thus not supports the right mouse button (I wonder how this works on a Macintosh :) ).

The first thing you do when you go to the editor on the web is to select if you want to start a new image, load a picture from your computer or directly from a web site (e.g. Flickr). Supported are the standard formats JPEG, PNG and GIF.

I can only suggest to jump right into it and play around with all the features available yourself. That’s what I did and it worked out pretty well. If you don’t think that it feels right or could work for you, you just leave and never come back. That’s the beauty of a web based (and free) application. There is nothing to uninstall or something like that, because you never installed anything to begin with.

Here is a screen shot of my experiments with the editor.

Here is a screen shot of the light weight Photo Express application for last minute photo tweaks. Notice the photograph? It’s the only photograph with that many SAC members in it. It was taken at the BDN Party 3 in Berlin, Germany (where I won the “Fast ANSI” graphics compo and a T-Shirt as a prize hehe).

A quick note for web masters and web developers. Pixlr provides a web API that you can easily integrate the image editor into your own web application. The API has some nice features that let you control, if the user can save the image on his computer or not, if he can change the title, or if you specify it for the user, the source (e.g. an image template that you automatically load or just the image that the user uploaded on your web site and wants to make some tweaks to it, without doing it on his own computer and re-upload the modified image again. The possible implementations are probably somewhat limited, but in those few cases where it makes sense, having the option to provide a pretty good editor versus none or just a crappy one comes in very handy.

So go and check it out. It’s free, no trial, no premium versus basic free features or stuff like that (at least I didn’t see anything like that, when I checked out their web site and products).

Cheers!

Carsten aka Roy/SAC

Cirque du Soleil - Historic Time-Line 1984 to Present

This article is part of my Cirque du Soleil Primer Article Series.

Aurora

"Those who are able to walk on stilts can roam the earth unstopped by mountains or rivers. They are able to imagine flying and therefore to reach the Isles of the Immortals."

P'ao-Pou Tseu

In the early eighties, a group of young street performers pooled their talent and dreams and founded the "Club des Talons Hauts" or "High-Heels Club", aptly named because most of them were stilt-walkers. The Club also featured fire eaters, jugglers and other buskers. At that time, Quebec did not have a circus tradition as did several European countries.

So the Club members decided to organize a festival, where street performers could come together to exchange ideas and techniques. They called it the "Fête Foraine de Baie St-Paul" (the Baie Saint-Paul Fair). That was all a few visionaries needed to hatch the idea of bringing all this talent together under one roof, or - why not? - a big top! Cirque du Soleil was born.

 

Cirque du Soleil – Historic Time-line 1984 - Present

The story begins in 1982, in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec. In this haven of creativity whose rural charm attracts artists, art collectors and tourists alike, a group of young street performers mix with the crowd, walking on stilts, juggling and eating fire. Inspired by the spectators' obvious delight, the performers hatch the idea of organizing an entertainers' festival-the precursor of what is to become Cirque du Soleil.

1984

Cirque du Soleil is born with the assistance of the Quebec government, as part of the celebrations surrounding the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's arrival in Canada. Cirque is based on a totally new concept: a striking, dramatic mix of the circus arts and street entertainment, featuring wild, outrageous costumes, staged under magical lighting and set to original music. With not a single animal in the ring, Cirque's difference is clear from the very start. The show debuts in the small Quebec town of Gaspé, and is then performed in ten other cities throughout the province. The first blue-and-yellow big top seats 800.

1985

After performing in Montreal, Sherbrooke and Quebec City, Cirque du Soleil leaves its home province for the first time to take its show to neighbouring Ontario. It performs in Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara Falls.

1986

Cirque du Soleil takes La Magie Continue to eight other cities across Canada, including Vancouver, where it puts on several performances at the Children's Festival and Expo 86. Cirque makes its name on the international stage too, as acts are awarded top honours at competitions and festivals around the world. As interest in Cirque grows, so does the big top, which now has room for 1,500 spectators.

1987

Cirque du Soleil visits its American neighbours for the first time. Having triumphed in five cities in Quebec, We Reinvent the Circus is performed at the Los Angeles Festival, and then moves on to San Diego and Santa Monica. Exhilarated by the Californian public's response, Cirque du Soleil is an overnight success.

1988

We Reinvent the Circus continues its North American tour, after a brief appearance at the Calgary Winter Olympics. It stops in San Francisco, New York and Washington, and spends several weeks dazzling Toronto. Wherever it goes, the result is the same: the performances sell out and the critics rave.

1989

Miami, Chicago and Phoenix are added to the We Reinvent the Circus tour. Since its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil has won many prestigious prizes, including Emmy, Drama Desk, Bambi and Ace awards, Gémeaux and Félix trophies, and a Rose d'Or de Montreux.

Cirque du Soleil's performers have taken part in and won several awards at various festivals throughout the world, including the Festival international du cirque de Monte-Carlo, the Festival mondial du cirque de demain (France), the Festival international de cirque de Vérone (Italy), the Festival international de cirque de Gênes (Italy), and the Wuhan International Acrobatic Art Festival (China).

1990

Montreal is the setting for the world premiere of a brand-new production, Nouvelle Expérience, in a new, 2,500-seat big top. The show then hits the road for an extensive run in California.

With this new production, Cirque du Soleil shatters all previous records for ticket sales, and it decides to make its first foray into Europe, staging We Reinvent the Circus in London and Paris. The overseas excursions have just begun.

1991

Nouvelle Expérience continues on its travels across North America, visiting Atlanta for the first time. By the end of an extensive 19-month tour of Canada and the United States, 1.3 million spectators have cheered the show.

1992

Cirque du Soleil crosses the Pacific and makes a name for itself in the Land of the Rising Sun with Fascination, a collage of the best acts from past shows. The show opens in Tokyo and then moves on to seven other cities, for a total of 118 performances in four months. Meanwhile, in Europe, Cirque du Soleil joins forces with Switzerland's Circus Knie and stages a show in over 60 towns throughout the country. In North America, 1992 sees Cirque du Soleil make its Las Vegas debut when Nouvelle Expérience kicks off a year-long engagement under a big top at the Mirage Hotel. Already juggling several productions, Cirque du Soleil adds a monument to its repertoire of shows: Saltimbanco. Premiering in Montreal, this latest production begins a lengthy tour of North America.

1993

Following Nouvelle Expérience's successful run in Las Vegas, Cirque du Soleil moves into a theatre built to its specifications at the new Treasure Island Hotel. A 10-year contract is signed with Mirage Resorts to stage Mystère, a gigantic production befitting this show business capital. Saltimbanco completes its 19-month North American tour of a dozen cities, receiving resounding ovations from 1.4 million spectators.

1994

Saltimbanco embarks on a six-month run in Tokyo in 1994 that attracts a great deal of attention. The same year, Cirque du Soleil celebrates its tenth anniversary with another production, Alegría. True to tradition, the two-year North American tour is launched in Montreal. Meanwhile, Mystère continues to create a sensation in Las Vegas, and Saltimbanco returns to Montreal for a brief run.

1995

While Alegría pursues its triumphant North American tour, Cirque du Soleil responds to a request from the Canadian government and creates a show for the heads of state gathered at the G7 Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Also in 1995, Saltimbanco sets out to conquer Europe. Cirque's spectacular white big top with seating for 2,500 spectators makes its first stop in Amsterdam, followed by Munich, Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Vienna. Amsterdam becomes the site of Cirque du Soleil's European Headquarters.

1996

In April, Cirque launches Quidam in Montreal. After finishing its hometown run, Quidam heads off on a three-year North American tour.

Meanwhile, Saltimbanco continues its European tour, with stops in London, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Antwerp, Zurich and Frankfurt, while Alegría sets out to tour Asia for a few months.

In November 1996, Sylvie Fréchette, Olympic synchronized swimming gold-medallist, joined Cirque du Soleil as a performer and coach for the aquatic show "O".

1997

Quidam continues to capture the hearts of North American spectators, adding two new cities, Denver and Houston, to the tour. On the other side of the Atlantic, the curtain falls on Saltimbanco at London's Royal Albert Hall, marking the end of a two-year European tour. Alegría kicks off its own tour of Europe a few weeks later. But Cirque du Soleil's adventures do not end there. In May 1997, Cirque du Soleil announced that shooting would begin for a film inspired by its show Alegría. In Alegria the film, the magical spellbinding universe of Cirque becomes the backdrop for a tender love story between a street performer (Frac) and the lead singer of a travelling circus (Giulietta).

The year 1997 begins with the inauguration of the brand new International Headquarters in Montreal, the Studio, where all of Cirque's shows will be created and produced.

Construction of the International Headquarters was completed in late 1996, making it possible for more than 500 permanent Montreal employees to work together. It is there that all of Cirque du Soleil's shows are created and produced. Construction of the Headquarters represented an investment of approximately 40 million dollars.

Cirque du Soleil's International Headquarters are in Montreal. In addition, it has four regional headquarters: the Americas, Asia-Pacific, European and Las Vegas headquarters.

1998

While Alegría pursues its journey across Europe, Quidam finishes up its North American tour, which includes a stopover in Dallas, a first for Cirque du Soleil. During its three-year tour, almost 1,000 performances have been held under the blue-and-yellow big top. All in all, over 2,500,000 North American spectators have applauded Quidam.

Furthermore, in October 1998, Cirque du Soleil's second resident show, "O", takes to the stage of a new theatre at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. This production is Cirque's first aquatic show. In December of the same year, Cirque inaugurates yet another permanent show, La Nouba, at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. Cirque du Soleil also restages Saltimbanco in Ottawa for a few weeks before sending it off on an Asia-Pacific tour scheduled to last three years.

In November 1998, shooting began on a first large-format (IMAX) film, which will feature performances by various Cirque du Soleil artists in natural and historic sites around the world. Journey of Man has opened in movie theatres in December 1999.

1999

Saltimbanco sets up shop in Asia and the Pacific and begins a three-year tour of the region in Sydney. In March, Quidam embarks on a four-year European tour in Amsterdam. In addition, Cirque du Soleil's brand-new production, Dralion, launches its North American tour in Montreal.

In May 1999, the Alegría production, which has already dazzled audiences on three continents, finds a permanent home at Beau Rivage, a new resort in Biloxi, Mississippi. This resort is a property of Mirage Resorts Incorporated, Cirque du Soleil's partner for its two Las Vegas productions. The dinner show Pomp Duck and Circumstance sets off on a European tour. To top it all off, the multimedia division Cirque du Soleil Images releases its first feature film, Alegria, inspired by the show of the same name. Incorporating actual Alegría acts, the film is directed by Franco Dragone and produced by Stéphane Reichel ("Crash", "Black Robe", "Quest for Fire"). Alegria the film was launched in theatres in April 1999.

Its dynamic team also produces Cirque du Soleil Presents Quidam, a spectacular television version of the show to be aired around the globe.

2000

Audiences on three continents continue to marvel at Cirque du Soleil's four resident shows (La Nouba, Mystère, "O" and Alegría) and three touring productions (Quidam, Saltimbanco and Dralion). In the year 2000 alone, close to 6 million spectators will attend Cirque du Soleil shows worldwide. Moreover, movie fans will enjoy seeing Cirque du Soleil in its first-ever large-format IMAX production, entitled Cirque du Soleil Journey of Man (Cirque du Soleil Passages in French). Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, the film will open in Montreal, New York and Los Angeles in May 2000 after a grand premiere in Berlin in January.

Since 1984, more than 23 million people from around the world have seen one of Cirque du Soleil's productions. On a typical weekend in 2000, some 50,000 people will see one of Cirque's several shows being staged simultaneously around the world. Cirque employed more than 2,100 people, including 500 performers, from several countries. The average age of Cirque du Soleil employees is 32.

2001

In Auckland, New Zealand, Alegría kicks off a three-year tour through the immense Asia-Pacific region. In addition, Cirque du Soleil keeps on growing with the February inauguration of a 14,000-square-metre addition to its International Headquarters in Montreal. Audiences on four continents continue to marvel at Cirque du Soleil's three resident shows (La Nouba, Mystère, and "O") and four touring productions (Quidam, Saltimbanco, Alegría and Dralion). In the year 2001 alone, close to 6 million spectators will attend Cirque du Soleil shows worldwide.

Since 1992, close to 2 million people have attended a Cirque du Soleil show in Asia.

By 2001 Cirque du Soleil has produced numerous shows: Cirque du Soleil (1984-1985); La Magie continue (1986); We Reinvent the Circus (1987-1989); Nouvelle Expérience (1990-1991); Fascination (1992); Saltimbanco (1992-2001); Mystère (running since 1993); Alegría (1994-2001); Quidam (1996-2002); "O" (running since October 1998); La Nouba (on stage since December 1998); and Dralion (1999-2001).

Cirque du Soleil has performed in over 120 cities throughout the world, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Vienna.

2002

The touring show Varekai, by first time director Dominic Chapagne (who will continue to direct other Cirque du Soleil productions since then), premiered in April 2002 in Montreal.

During the creation process of Varekai, a film crew was shooting a reality TV series about some of the shows performers and their struggle in the process of the shows development and creation from start to finish. The series was aired world wide in the same year.

On March 24, 2002, Cirque du Soleil performs at the awards show for the 74th Academy Awards (Oscars) at the old Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood (Los Angeles, California).

2003

July 2003, Zumanity at the New York, New York hotel and casino in Las Vegas. First Cirque du Soleil production for adults only. Created by Dominic Chapagne and René Richard Cyr.

Cirque du Soleil creates it first ever production for Television called “Solstrom”. Solstrom is a 13 parts TV series featuring over 250 artists in over 130 acts from many Cirque du Soleil shows and elsewhere. It also includes a number of celebrity guest performances.

2004

On June 16, 2004 - Cirque du Soleil set a new record for the Guinness Book of World Records when they gathered 544 employees in the Montreal Headquarters and had them stilts walking at the same place, at the same time.

November 2004, the epic show and biggest Cirque du Soleil production to-date, KA, directed by Robert Lepage was launched at the MGM Grand hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cirque du Soleil celebrates its 20th birthday with the people of Montreal in the streets of their hometown and location of their corporate headquarters. The recording of this event is later published on TV under the name “Midnight Sun”  (Soleil de Minuit).

2005

The first touring show after almost three years was launched in April in Montreal, Canada. The name of the show is “Corteo” and has an “Italian theme”. It was created and directed by another new director for Cirque du Soleil, Daniele Finzi Pasca.

Cirque created and performed the special creation "Reflections in Blue" (Réflexions de bleu), a unique one-night water show as part of the opening ceremonies for the XI. World Aquatics Championships (FINA) in Montreal, Canada

2006

The Beatles “Love” at the Mirage resort and casino in Las Vegas. The first official collaboration with the Beatles since their last public performance on January 30, 1969. It is also the first Cirque du Soleil production that does not incorporate live music, since it uses original Beatles material that was mixed and re-arranged by Sir George Martin and his son Giles Martin.

Delirum, the first Music Concert and arena show production is launched in January of 2006. The concert show was created and directed by Michel Lemieux & Victor Pilon and is full of references to traditional Cirque du Soleil touring shows, visually and musically. Delirum will run for only two years and not continue to tour outside the United States (with the exception of its final performances in London, UK) for unknown reasons.

For the World Out-games 2006 - Cirque du Soleil performs the Hand in Hand Act. The opening ceremonies for the 1st World Out-games with 30,000 spectators was held in Montreal's Olympic stadium on Saturday night July 29, 2006.

2007

After another two years without a new touring show, Kooza, directed by David Shiner, debuted in April in Montreal, Canada. Kooza goes back to the traditional Circus theme and elements.

November 2007, debut of the seasonal resident show Wintuk at the Wamu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY.

The oldest active touring show of Cirque du Soleil, Saltimbanco is converted from a Big Top show to an Arena show. This will allow the show to visit new places where it could not go before, reaching new audiences to capture their imagination.

Cirque presented a Pre-Game Show at Super Bowl XLI (41.), the American football game to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2006 season at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts (16-4) defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears (15-4), 29-17. This performance was produced by David Saltz.

On September 25, 2007 - Cirque du Soleil's contortionists, Natasha Patterson, 10, born in San Francisco, Julie Bergez, 14, from France and Dasha Sovik, 15, from Russia, who perform in KOOZA, set a new Guinness World Record™ for the Highest Circus Act ever performed at the top of Toronto's CN Tower, the World's Tallest Freestanding Tower. This feat was performed in the Glass Floor observation deck, 342 meters (1,122 feet) above the ground and as high up on Toronto's CN Tower.

2008

First resident shows outside the United States opened in Asia. Zaia, a production for the Sands Corp. resort and casino “The Venetian” at the Cotai-Strip in Macao, China and Zed, a production for the Walt Disney resort in Tokyo, Japan. Also launched was the first production that involves a celebrity and star in his own right, the show “Criss Angel – Believe” at the Luxor hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Delirum, which tour ended earlier in 2008, returned, but this time in big-screen format. It is only shown for a few days at selected theatres within the United States in August and once more for another three days during its “Encore” performances in October the same year.

Cirque du Soleil's tribute to The Beatles ”A Day In The Life” and Carol Woods & Timmy Mitchums (from "Across the Universe") performance of "Let It Be" at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California. In the same year, Cirque du Soleil performed during the day-parade, called "Awakening of the Serpent", for the "Water" Expo 2008 in public at the city of Zaragoza in Spain, Europe. Cirque du Soleil also created a special show for this anniversary, which was performed 5 times on three days at the Colisée Pepsi in Québec City. In December,  Cirque du Soleil presented an almost 1 hour long special one-time performance at the "La Notte Bianca" festival and street performances in Lecce, an ancient and annually celebrated event, in Italy, Europe.

2009

The big-top show Alegria is converted to an Arena show, like the other older Cirque du Soleil production “Saltimbanco” a few years earlier. A new touring show with Insects as theme, featuring Brazilian music and vibes, “OVO” premiered in April in Montreal, Canada.

Cirque du Soleil Articles in this Series

• Main Cirque du Soleil Primer Article
• Cirque du Soleil - Historic Time-Line 1984 to Present
• The Cirque du Soleil Story - Odyssea - The dreamer's Odyssey
• Cirque du Soleil Touring Shows (Complete List)
• Cirque du Soleil Resident Shows (Complete List)
• Cirque du Soleil Arena Shows (Complete List)
• Cirque du Soleil Special Events & Performances
• Cirque du Soleil Releases for TV and IMAX
• Cirque du Soleil Documentaries (Complete List)
• Cirque du Soleil DVD Releases (Complete List)
• Cirque du Soleil Music Releases (Complete List)
• Cirque du Soleil File Archive (Videos, Audio and Images)