Quebec's Circus Schools Are Working Without a Net - CircusTalk

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Quebec’s Circus Schools Are Working Without a Net

Province that produced Cirque du Soleil is coming up short on a new generation of homegrown circus talent.

Pascal Duguay Gosselin is a fire man. He swings it around his body on chains, juggles it and incorporates it into acrobatic manoeuvres at what most people would consider to be an uncomfortably close distance.

So there may be good reason for confidence that Quebec’s future reputation as a circus mecca is safe in the hands of the 24-year-old and others like him.

The self-taught performer is studying at Montreal’s illustrious National Circus School to become a circus-arts instructor. It’s a rigorous one-year program that will qualify him to introduce younger generations to life under the big top at day camps, municipal courses and schools.

It might seem mundane, but the province that produced Cirque du Soleil is desperately lacking that younger generation and the professionals to form them, according to leading industry figures. It has resulted in a crisis as Quebec’s circus industry reaches maturity only to find a shortage of qualified performers coming up through the ranks.

Link to Full Article on The Star. 

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