Welcome to the latest edition of Fascination, the Unofficial Cirque du Soleil Newsletter.
The addition of VStar Entertainment Group to its portfolio allows the Montreal creative powerhouse to expand its audiences with plug-and-play creative content specifically designed for children and families. With its integrated live entertainment platform and broad global distribution network in small theaters, the acquisition of VStar and Cirque Dreams will contribute to further establishing Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group as the world leader in live entertainment for audiences of all ages.
“Building on the successful integration of Blue Man Group over the last year, today we are taking another decisive step towards realizing our ambition. While circus arts will always be at the core of our creative offering, we continue to look for ways to expand and diversify our portfolio with new forms of entertainment and new brands, reaching new audiences and expanding our own creative and production capabilities”, said Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. “VStar Entertainment Group has a proven track record and recognized expertise in small theatrical production, which complements Cirque du Soleil’s expertise in large-scale production and global touring. We firmly believe the knowledge transfer will help us develop our own capabilities in this type of entertainment and therefore, contribute to growing our footprint in the live entertainment production industry.”
Read more about the VSTAR ACQUISITION within.
Cirque du Soleil announced the creation of a brand-new touring show, BAZZAR, destined to open new markets and support the company’s ambition to become the global leader in live entertainment. With its creative concept as much as its new format, BAZZAR pays tribute to the roots of Cirque du Soleil for an authentic experience. The show will premiere in India, a company first, before visiting Greece and various countries in the Middle East.
“After entertaining millions of people in sixty countries over the years, there are few remaining markets we have yet to visit. BAZZAR offers us new possibilities to introduce our brand. It enables us to continue our international growth in markets that offer great potential such as India and opens the door to exploring the African continent”, said Finn Taylor, Senior Vice-President, Touring Shows.
Read more about BAZZAR within.
Cirque du Soleil is adding family entertainment centers to its portfolio of creative projects. The company has developed an innovative concept of indoor family entertainment experiences specially designed for retail locations. The recreational centers will offer a brand new immersive, creative and participative family experience, where people can stretch their imagination, flex their muscles, explore newfound circus skills, and take a bow on the virtual Cirque du Soleil stage.
“Our fans regularly express their wish to experience Cirque du Soleil from an insider’s perspective, to peek behind the curtain and imagine themselves stepping into our artists’ shoes. With CREACTIVE, we make that possible by inviting families to jump on stage, offering them another way to explore our creativity beyond our live shows”, says Marie-Josée Lamy, Cirque du Soleil Producer of CREACTIVE.
Building on the success of Club Med CREACTIVE, currently offered at Club Med locations in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Opio, France, the new indoor centers will be installed in premium immersive spaces covering approximately 2200 m2 (24,000 square-feet). CREACTIVE will offer a range of acrobatic, artistic and other Cirque du Soleil-inspired recreational activities, such as bungee jumping, aerial parkour, wire and trampolines, mask design, juggling, circus track activities, dance and more.
This new creative venture fulfills an opportunity that arises from the transformation of retail around the world, as developers are increasingly looking to offer entertainment experiences that turn malls into holistic destinations. As such, the company has partnered with global real estate leader Ivanhoé Cambridge to launch its first CREACTIVE indoor center in the world, a unique collaboration which further consolidates the relationship between Cirque du Soleil and its minority shareholder, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
The first indoor CREACTIVE family entertainment center is planned to open at Ivanhoé Cambridge’s Vaughan Mills, located just north of Toronto, in September 2019. The City of Vaughan is one of Canada’s fastest growing cities located in the heart of York Region and the Greater Toronto Area. Cirque du Soleil is currently in discussions with Ivanhoé Cambridge for additional locations in Canada, as well as with other partners for international markets.
Born out of a partnership between wine innovators Truett-Hurst Winery and Wines That Rock, LLC, this Cirque du Soleil Rosé is another example of the innovative and inspiring wine selections that Albertsons Companies stores are best known for. Albertsons Companies will carry the Cirque du Soleil Rosé in banner locations across the United States, including Vons, Safeway, Albertsons, Tom Thumb, Jewel Osco, Randalls, Shaw’s, and more.
“We are pleased to have been presented with such an opportunity by Truett-Hurst for our first wine release with this delightful rosé. At Cirque du Soleil, we embrace those who audaciously want to do, try, see and feel things differently, and this is one of the reasons why we agreed to take on this adventure,” said Jonathan Tétrault, President and COO of Cirque du Soleil brand.
“We pulled out all the stops and assembled a dream team for this project. From our master winemakers in France, the luxurious glass selected for the bottle, to our collaboration with the Cirque du Soleil team on the elegant label, this project was a dream come true. The innovative wine team at Albertsons Companies worked with us closely throughout the project to make sure every detail was perfected, and to ensure this rosé will be the ‘go to’ wine of the season,” said Phil Hurst, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Truett-Hurst Winery.
The limited-edition wine is available at Albertsons Companies stores and suggested retail is $19.99. Read more about the wine within.
During a ceremony in Saint-Nazaire, France on June 14th, MSC Cruises announced that it has signed an order with Saint-Nazaire (STX) shipbuilders of France to build a new Meraviglia-class cruise ship to be delivered in 2023. The ship will be the fifth in MSC’s Meraviglia and Meraviglia-Plus class, joining Meraviglia, Bellissima, Grandiosa, and Virtuosa. It will come into service at 1,087 feet-long, just about the same size as Meraviglia, and will be able to carry 4,816 guests at double occupancy with 1,704 crew members. MSC expects to christen MSC Bellissima in Southhampton on March 2, 2019, Grandiosa in Hamburg in November 2019, and Virtuosa sometime in 2020. Cirque, through its 45 Degrees division, is partnered with MSC Cruises to provide exclusive Cirque du Soleil-branded entertainment onboard these next-generation ships. With Sonor and Vaggio performing on Meraviglia currently, and six more under creation (two for each ship), it stands to reason that Cirque du Soleil will extend their Cirque at Sea brand to this fifth as-yet-named ship.
The rest you’ll find within our news section this month, but before I go…
• On June 19th, Zumanity celebrated its 7,000th performance.
• On June 21st, Septimo Dia celebrated its 250th Performance.
• On July 1st, DIVA made its debut in Andorra. [Pictures | Video]
• On July 8th, Kurios said goodbye to Tokyo where more than 535,000 guests had seen the show in just five months!
Okay, so let’s go!
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