Cirque du Solei! Technology in Automation Scholarship in Design and Production

A merit-based scholarship awarded to students demonstrating outstanding talent and potential in automation and an interest in pursuing a career in the live entertainment field.

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Established by Cirque du Solei! in 2016.

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The mission of Cirque du Soleil is to invoke the imagination, provoke the senses and evoke the emotions of people around the world.

It all started in Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town near Québec City in Canada. There, in the early eighties, a band of colorful characters roamed the streets, striding on stilts, juggling, dancing, breathing fire, and playing music. They were Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul (the Baie-Saint-Paul Stiltwalkers), a street theatre group founded by Gilles Ste-Croix. Already, the townsfolk were impressed and intrigued by the young performers – including Guy Laliberté who founded Cirque du Soleil.

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 met to exchange ideas and enliven the streets of the town for a few days. La Fête foraine was repeated in 1983 and 1984. Le Club des talons hauts attracted notice, and Guy Laliberté, Gilles Ste-Croix and their cronies began to cherish a crazy dream: to create a Québec circus and take the troupe traveling around the world.

In 1984, Québec City was celebrating the 450th anniversary of Canada’s discovery by Jacques Cartier, and they needed a show that would carry the festivities out across the province. Guy Laliberté presented a proposal for a show called Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun) and succeeded in convincing the organizers. And Cirque du Soleil hasn’t stopped since!

From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is a major Canadian-based organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,200 artists from more than 80 different countries.

Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has brought wonder and delight to more than 400 million spectators in more than 400 cities in over eighty countries on six continents.