Cirque Éloize is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2018. That equals 25 years of shows and innovation  in the circus realm. There is much to celebrate, and co-founder Jeannot Painchaud was happy to share his top 25 moments with CircusTalk, describing  the arc of the origins of the company to the thriving industry leader it is today. By producing a show every other year, Cirque Éloize has managed to do over 5,500 performances in 55 countries and 552 cities, according to Painchaud, who announced these statistics at a work-in-progress showing of their newest production HOTEL this past July in Montrèal during MCC. He went on to explain how 25 years of touring equaled about 130,000 hotel visits, and the company member’s collective knowledge of hotel lobbies had become the creative inspiration for the show. Painchaud also expressed his overall corporate goal as a desire to re-invent the discipline of circus. History will decide if Cirque Éloize succeeded on that account, and you can investigate that history via some highlights of Cirque Éloize right here.

1. Jeannot Painchaud performs in the first Cirque Éloize show 1. THE SPARK, NOVEMBER 1991 Cirque Éloize gave its first show for the local radio. It was the trigger for Cirque Éloize. It was then that Daniel Cyr proposed a project to Jeannot Painchaud. It was their first show collaboration– and it was the 10th anniversary for the local radio that Painchaud had worked for as a teenager. He wanted to show his family what they were doing at circus school. Cirque Éloize was the show name and the company was born t...