En Piste invites circus enthusiasts and the general public to a summer circus outing. Here is an overview of the fantastic shows and performances from some forty companies on display across Quebec during summer 2023.
Let’s start with Écho from Cirque du Soleil which has been shining for some time now in Montreal’s Old Port and will remain under the big top until August 20.
From June 29 to July 2, head to the Lanaudière region for the first edition of the Bastringue Circus Festival under the artistic direction of the Lanaudière family troupe, Cirque Alfonse, and presented by the Desjardins Cultural Center of Joliette. Cirque Alfonse offers its electro-trad fair Barbu and invites under its big top the orchestra Gypsy Kumbia (Girovago) and its amazing Barka as well as Cirque Kalabanté with its authentic Wom’Ma Afrique.
In Quebec City, from June 29 to July 1st, a colorful Australian visit! Dirty Laundry from Briefs Factory company from Sydney will take the audience of Le Diamant into its queer and extroverted world. The show will also be part of the program for the Montréal Complètement Cirque Festival in Montreal, starting with its opening on July 6.
JULY ITINERARY
Le Cirque de la Pointe-Sèche presents À Temps on a mountainside, in Saint-Germain-de-Kamouraska, in a unique setting and layout, from July 6 until September 3.
Until July 16, the 14th edition of the Montréal Complètement Cirque Festival, implemented by TOHU, will shine in many ways in Montreal. A rich program featuring companies from Argentina, Australia, the United States, France, Mexico, Quebec, and Czechia will take place in various theaters.
Among the Quebec companies participating in the festival are: La Croustade, Projet Sanctuaire, Cirque Hors Piste, les Foutoukours, FLIP Fabrique, Le Monastère, Les Deux de pique, Cirque Alfonse, Cirque Éloize, People Watching, Agathe et Adrien.
Downtown, LE GÉANT will be erected on the Place Ville-Marie Esplanade and will host a dozen acrobats from Cirque Eloize from July 7 to 30. Also look out for the many free shows in the neighborhoods.
Circus on the river, the extraordinary research-creation project ÉcH20système by Geneviève Dupéré with its oversized O-shaped maritime acrobatic apparatus, tells the story of the St. Lawrence. The innovative initiative brings together artists, scientists, and numerous partners.
Circus in the Islands with Entre ciel et mer by Cirque Éloize, which will be presented from July 12 to August 13 at La Seine in the Magdalen Islands, and with the Islands Circus Festival, which will take place in Cap-aux-Meules from July 20 to 25. Les Foutoukours, Machine de Cirque, and Vague de cirque are the main guests of the event.
From the sea, we move to Trois-Rivières where the tribute to Guy! Guy! Guy! Lafleur, from the Cirque du Soleil group, will attract fans of the “Blond Demon,” from July 19 to August 19.
AUGUST, ALL OVER QUEBEC
At the beginning of the august month, on the 3rd, two major productions begin in Quebec City and Montreal: Après la nuit at Le Diamant, by Nord Nord Est, until August 5, and the unmissable Cabaret de la fierté in the garden of Le Monastère, until August 19.
Circus in Charlevoix starting August 10, a creation by Les 7 Doigts in cabaret style: acrobats will soar in Éclats until September 4 in La Malbaie.
On the other side of the river, in the Montmagny region, the equestrian circus Luna Caballera returns with its Amazones, on Saturdays and Sundays in Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire. In Mauricie, from August 17 to 19, the Escales Fantastiques have programmed several local companies — Patin Libre, Les Illusionnistes, Imagicario, Los Colgados, Tom et Joe, FLIP Fabrique — and others from elsewhere in Shawinigan.
In Montreal, on August 15, the Carmagnole à Gamelin cabaret. In Estrie, the Sherbrooke Museum of Nature and Science (MNSS) hosts the exhibition Place au Cirque! until September 4.
AMONG THE COMPANIES TOURING IN QUEBEC AND ELSEWHERE DURING SUMMER 2023:
The eccentric and adventurous female duo
All summer in Montreal, in several boroughs, free shows by companies such as Battements de cirque, Les Parfaits inconnus, Toxique Trottoir, Kaoso, Imagicario, Les Illusionnistes, Tim et Joe, Girovago, among others, with the CAM en tournée, in the Maisons de la culture, at Balcons Saint-Michel or at Théâtre de Verdure.
Throughout Quebec, there are small and large circus shows to see this summer, in the streets, urban spaces, or on stages. Don’t miss these encounters with the multiple forms of an art that amazes and enchants. We haven’t told you everything! For more details, consult the companies’ websites or social media and keep an eye on the programs of your favorite festivals.
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Source: Françoise Boudreault, for En Piste
Communications and Media: Francine Arsenault, En Piste, farsenault@enpiste.qc.ca