MONTREAL....

Canada's swinging city:

Montreal offers the ultimate Cirque Du Soleil experience

Hanging out: Montreal takes its circus performances seriously

By Carly Wilkie Steven -- 11th August 2010
Kelly Brook is apparently an ardent fan and supermodel Helena Christensen has claimed that it’s 'like nothing I have ever tried before’.So after several days of gastronomic indulgence, the prospect of trying out the same class that keeps two such well-toned specimens of physical perfection in top form was appealing.I should have realised, however, that you don’t acquire the body of a goddess without some very earthly effort.I’m talking about Jukari. It’s the latest workout collaboration between Reebok and Cirque Du Soleil and, as I was in Montreal for the inauguration of what will become an annual circus festival - Montreal Completement Cirque – it seemed a great way of experiencing in an hour what the circus artists subject themselves to on a daily and nightly basis

Swinging: Carly tried Jukari, which helps to keep circus artistes in shape

And it’s seriously tough. Our instructor, who, it turns out, is a former Olympic-medal-winning speed skater, tells us that she has never found another fitness class that delivers such a muscular workout.Given that I wake up the next morning practically unable to get out of bed, I’d say that she’s probably right.Aching limbs aside, if you’re interested in circus - or, in fact, any form of physical theatre or modern dance - then Montreal is the place for you.It even has its own circus district - La Cité Des Arts Du Cirque – home to the Cirque Du Soleil headquarters, the National Circus School and La Tohu, one of the largest venues for circus production and performance in the world.The three organisations work together closely and all have contributed in one way or another to the creation of the new festival.

Big business: Cirque Du Soleil now employs 4000 people worldwide
Central to the ethos that has driven this initiative - and seems to permeate every aspect of its execution - is the notion that circus can, and should, break free from traditional definitions and challenge preconceptions.Nowhere is this more evident than in ID. Performed by a young troupe called Cirque Eloize, this show incorporates ten different circus disciplines and combines them with hip-hop, break-dancing, BMX bikes and fiber-optic skipping ropes.The pace is frenetic and relentless and the super-smart set and funky soundtrack help make this, for me at least, the stand-out show of the festival.I am also able to catch Tabú by Welsh company NoFitState; Cabaret by Les 7 Doigts De La Main; and, of course, Cirque du Soleil’s own Totum.The latter, inevitably, is in a different league in terms of production value.

The Cirque operation is now - 26 years after it was founded by entertainer and stilt-walker Guy Laliberté - a multimillion dollar powerhouse that employs over 4,000 people worldwide.I am repeatedly told that it was the best investment the Quebec government has ever made.The time and effort that goes into producing a Cirque show is staggering.This year alone there are twenty different productions around the world, and each one will have been subject to a rigorous development process from initial concept through to finished, highly-polished product.Every artist will have three costumes custom-made for them - and everything is done by hand.They even have their heads moulded for the wigs and hats, and the milliners will often sew on every single hair in a full head individually.

Central to the ethos that has driven this initiative - and seems to permeate every aspect of its execution - is the notion that circus can, and should, break free from traditional definitions and challenge preconceptions.Nowhere is this more evident than in ID. Performed by a young troupe called Cirque Eloize, this show incorporates ten different circus disciplines and combines them with hip-hop, break-dancing, BMX bikes and fiber-optic skipping ropes.The pace is frenetic and relentless and the super-smart set and funky soundtrack help make this, for me at least, the stand-out show of the festival.I am also able to catch Tabú by Welsh company NoFitState; Cabaret by Les 7 Doigts De La Main; and, of course, Cirque du Soleil’s own Totum.The latter, inevitably, is in a different league in terms of production value.Sitting in the vast, deceptively low-tech blue-and-yellow big top, in which the Cirque spectacles are typically held, it is difficult to get a sense of this detail.A temporary exhibition of costumes at the McCord Museum Of Canadian History allows visitors to get a behind-the-scenes look at the steps involved in costume production, as well as the chance to gawp at the astonishingly realised end creations.Aside from the glitter and feats of aerial derring-do, Montreal offers a wealth of attractions of a less elevated nature.This is a French-speaking city; where 70-75 per cent of the population use French as their first language. In fact, Canada’s second largest city (after Toronto) has a decidedly European flavour.The name derives from Mount Royal, or 'mont real' – the hill at its centre, upon which Frederick Law Olmstead created his famous park in 1876.From here you can enjoy postcard-perfect views of the city, taking in the botanical gardens, the 1976 Olympic Stadium (with its disaster-prone and as-yet non-functioning retractable roof) and a few of the remaining pavilions from Expo 67.
Read more at:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1298741/Amazing-Montreal-Canadas-second-city-offers-ultimate-Cirque-Du-Soleil-experience.html#ixzz0wK9sSddJ