Cirque du Soleil (French for Circus of the Sun) is a Canadian entertainment company Based in Montreal, Canada
Founded in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Lalibert and Daniel Gauthier.

Initially named Les chassiers, they toured Quebec in 1980 as a performing troupe and encountered financial hardship that was relieved by a government grant in 1983 as part of the 450th anniversary celebrations of Jacques Cartier's discovery of Canada.

Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil was a success in 1984, and after securing a second year of funding, Lalibert hired Guy Caron from the National Circus School to re-create it as a "proper circus". No ring and no animals helped make Cirque du Soleil the modern circus.

After critical and financial successes and a few failures in the late 1980s, Nouvelle Experience was created with the direction of Franco Dragone which not only made Cirque profitable by 1990, but allowed it to create new shows.

Cirque expanded rapidly through the 1990s and 2000s, going from one show to approximately 3,500 employees from over 40 countries producing 15 shows over every continent except Africa and Antarctica, with an estimated annual revenue exceeding US$600 million.

The multiple permanent Las Vegas shows alone play to more than 9,000 people a night, 5% of the city's visitors, adding to the 70+ million people who have experienced Cirque.

In 2000, Lalibert bought out Gauthier, and with 95% ownership, has continued to expand the brand. Several more shows are in development around the world.

In 1987, after Lalibert re-privatized Cirque du Soleil, it was invited to perform at the Los Angeles Arts Festival. The festival turned out to be a huge success, both critically and financially.

In 1988, co creator ,Guy Caron left the company due to artistic differences over what to do with the money generated by Cirque du Soleil's first financially successful tour. Lalibert wanted to use it to expand and start a second show while Caron wanted the money to be saved, with a portion going back to the National Circus School. An agreement was never met and Caron, along with a large number of artists loyal to him, departed.

Nouvelle Experience turned out to be Cirque du Soleil's most popular show up to that point and owner of the Mirage resort in Las Vegas Steve Wynn who had seen the show in Santa Monica invited the troupe to take up a temporary residency in the parking lot of the Mirage.

Mystere
On 25 December 1993, as Cirque was approaching its 10th anniversary, they unveiled a new show at the then-new Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Mystere was a departure from their standard format much in the way that Fascination was. A deal was made between Cirque du Soleil and Steve Wynn, Treasure Island's developer, to grant permanent residency to Cirque's new show. It posed certain difficulties for the company, such as the need to set up a permanent infrastructure to meet the needs of its employees working in the Las Vegas area.

The show represented Cirque's first attempt at moving from the big top into a theater setting. It was also the first time that Lalibert and Gauthier were forced to contend with a major business partner, Treasure Island. The partnership led to difficulties and Steve Wynn was not initially optimistic about the show's chances for success, saying "You guys have made a German opera here". Franco Dragone took Wynn's sarcasm as a compliment. Wynn remained unhappy with the dark and moody feel of Mystere and had even threatened to delay the opening of the show unless changes were made. Nevertheless, Mystere was successful and has remained at the hotel ever since.

"O"
At the bellagio was Cirque's second resident show. Once again working with hotel entrepreneur Steve Wynn, Cirque du Soleil and Wynn financed a $100 million theater within the hotel. As the company was getting more comfortable with theater productions, they wanted to create a show performed in water, a concept not tried in a theater before.

"O", which is derived from the phonetic spelling of the French word eau, meaning water.
Many past practices could not be used in the production of "O". The costumes used by the performers were nearly $10,000 each and needed to be made of material that resisted the effects of the chlorine and bromide in the water. The makeup that had been used in past shows was also unsuitable for the performers being submerged, requiring a new waterproof formula.

The 1,800-seat theater itself was centered around a 1.5 million-gallon tank of water for the performers to work in and around. It was built using a water pumping system that is as noiseless as possible to prevent any mechanical noise from detracting from the quality of the show itself. Twelve underwater speakers allow the performers in the water to hear and react to audio cues even when they are submerged.

To support the needs of the performers who would be getting in and out of the water, a directed HVAC system was created for this theater to control the heat and humidity generated by the approximately 84-degree water. Blowers were built into the stage to keep warm air circulating on the stage while a silent air movement system carried air at 55 degrees Fahrenheit underneath every seat in the theater. The combined systems keep both the performers and the audience at a comfortable temperature.

Zumanity
After Steve Wynn sold his Mirage Resorts to MGM in 2000, Lalibert received a call from Terry Lanni, CEO of the MGM Mirage. Lanni had been eager to capitalize on the previous successes of Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas and offered to fund the production of two more shows, Zumanity and KA.

In September 2003, Cirque du Soleil unveiled Zumanity. This new production was a resident cabaret-style show at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino. It is the first "adult-themed" Cirque du Soleil show, billed as "The Sensual Side of Cirque du Soleil" or "Another side of Cirque du Soleil". Created by Dominic Champagne, Zumanity is a departure from the standard Cirque format. Intended to be for mature adult audiences only, this show is centered around erotic song, dance, and acrobatics.

Lalibert admits that the biggest reason to produce this show was the chance to create something with riskier subject matter. He was interested in the idea of creating a show that explored human sexuality, something that was at complete odds from the other more family-oriented Cirque shows.

KA
Directed by Canadian theater veteran Robert Lepage, KA drew heavily on martial arts for its inspiration. The story centers around the adventures of a pair of imperial twins. Unlike most Cirque productions, the story of KA was more concrete and linear, more narrative and less abstract. First premiering in November 2004 at the MGM Grand, KA became Cirque's fourth resident show in Las Vegas. It was also the largest and most expensive production the company had created to date.

By the time it had been completed, KA had cost more than $220 million, of which more than $30 million was in costumes and $135 million was the theater itself, the bill for which was paid entirely by the MGM Grand.

LOVE
The show is based at The Mirage, Las Vegas ( replacing the Siegfried and Roy show in an adapted version of that same theater ) and consists of panoramic sound and visuals along with a cast of 60 international artists.

Born from a personal friendship and mutual admiration between George Harrison and Cirque founder Guy Lalibert, LOVE brings Cirque du Soleil together with the musical legacy of The Beatles through their original recordings. Using the master tapes at Abbey Road studios, Sir George Martin and his son, Giles Martin created a soundscape of The Beatles music for LOVE.

CRISS ANGEL Believe
In late 2008 Cirque du Soleil collaborated with MGM Group to create a resident show at the Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, featuring Criss Angel, fusing his signature illusions and artistry with acrobatics, dance, puppetry, and music to attempt to tell a story of the exploration of his mind. Originally scheduled to open on September 26, 2008, preview performances were delayed due to "technical difficulties", and the show eventually hosted its Gala Opening on October 31, 2008.

Despite enthusiastic promotions from Cirque du Soleil and Criss Angel, including a guest performance on American reality TV show "So You Think You Can Dance", which resulted in sales of more than $5 million in advance tickets, Believe received an uneasy reception from fans and critics alike.

Audience members were quoted saying the production was a "waste of time" and "dead end", while the show received harsh reviews from critics for lack of magic and overall cohesion of the production.

VIVA ELVIS
The new City Center development opened in 2010 in the heart of Las Vegas is home to the brand new Cirque Elvis Presley show. This marks Cirque's seventh permanent show in Vegas truly giving them legendary status as the most dominant force in the history of Las Vegas entertainment.

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