Five Minutes with Jeannot Painchaud from Cirque Éloize

We took some time to get to know Jeannot Painchaud – President and Chief Creative Officer of Cirque Éloize, one of the world’s leading contemporary circuses! Find out more about what the circus have been doing here. 

Tell us more about Cirque Éloize and what life is like running one of the world’s leading contemporary circuses.

We are fortunate to have a team that is both exceptionally creative and well-seasoned in production. Over the past 27 years, we have developed an expertise in creativity and an original, dramatic approach to the circus arts. We invite contemporary dance and theatre creators to join us in pushing the boundaries of creativity, crafting totally original works we can be proud of. And we’re not slowing down! The pandemic has been a challenge, for us all. But thanks to the professionalism and creativity of the Cirque Éloize team, we have taken advantage of this mandatory downtime to focus on new projects, to diversify our offer, to collaborate with artists outside of our normal playground, and in particular to focus on developing documentary and artistic film projects. We have also used this time to create a division dedicated to developing immersive experiences inspired by the poetry that characterises Cirque Éloize. This new Expo division is now up and running and will be touring internationally starting in 2022.

The pandemic has challenged many artists and artistic groups around the world to rethink the way they operate and connect with audiences. In what ways do you think the pandemic has transformed the role of Cirque Éloize—in the circus community and beyond?

One of the questions we’ve asked ourselves at Cirque Éloize since the very start is, how can we find the right balance between entertainment and meaningful work? And the pandemic has made us reflect on this quest for meaning even more. Moving forward, when it comes to analysing the projects we take on, we always want to make sure that what we are doing respects the relationship between people and nature, and the relationships between each other as human beings. This time has made us realise more than ever just how fragile life is, and that it is time to reimagine the way we do things so we can come out stronger, and better, on the other side. It has forced us to think philosophically about the fact that nothing is forever. It has made us focus on what really matters, and to make sure everything we do has a reason and purpose behind it. We want to create work that inspire people to think and feel deeper, and to leave them feeling that this is the essence of the Cirque Éloize experience.  

 Where do you see Cirque Éloize in 10 years’ time?

I see the company continuing to share its know-how with different communities around the world. We will still be visiting these communities but more within the context of exchange and collaboration. And I see us sharing through technical means that allow us to continue traveling in a creative way, while also inviting people to join us virtually from home through technology, without having to fly. It is about finding that balance. In-person experiences are important and valuable, but we have learned there are other ways to share our passion, our craft and our poetic perspective on life thanks to technology.

We hear you’re currently working on a touring show, HOTEL, which is set to visit the Asia-Pacific in November 2022 to April 2023. Tell us more about it!

We created the HOTEL show as part of Cirque Éloize’s 25^th anniversary celebrations three years ago. It’s a reflection on our travels around the world. Since the company started, we have travelled the globe about 20 times—55 countries, 575 cities, more than 5 million spectators worldwide. And one of the most memorable elements of these many trips is the hotel lobbies we have visited! When we are on tour, we spend a lot of time in hotel lobbies. When we leave our rooms before going to the theatre, we either go to a café or to the hotel lobby to use the Wi-Fi. A lot of life happens in those lobbies! And that’s what inspired us to create HOTEL, which features two groups of characters: the hotel employees (the maitre d’hotel, chambermaids and all the other characters that make up the hotel staff) and the guests. It’s always fun to try and guess where these guests come from, what they do for a living, who they are. We have studied the interactions between these two groups for a long time, and it has allowed us to tell crazy, magical, weird and hilarious stories. In the show, we also have a lot of fun playing and interacting with the lobby furniture and fixtures. Suddenly, we see the lobby come to life as if we’re in a dream—a butler bursts into song, someone else climbs up on the chandelier, another person starts doing backflips on the lobby desk. So, we developed this concept to shine a light on and celebrate all our years of travel and having the opportunity to visit different hotels and cultures around the world.

How did you first fall in love with the circus arts?

Purely by chance. In my teenage years, I was quite the daredevil and stuntman! I’d do crazy stunts on my bike and I’d climb cliffs where I grew up, in the Magdalen Islands. From there, I developed an interest in all extreme sports, which led me to the circus world. When I was 18 years old, I happened to see the very first performance by Cirque du Soleil. I was actually in the room for that first show. It was love at first sight and I immediately enrolled in Montreal’s National Circus School, which was just starting out at the time. Soon I started entertaining people in public. There were two things that most appealed to me about the circus. The first was the sporty, physical side. The idea of taking risks and defying death. The second was the idea that I could use this career as a way to travel the world, which was my childhood dream. These two things led me to the circus, and the circus in turn allowed me to fulfill my two biggest passions in life.  When I realised working in the circus arts could be an actual profession, I felt like I had found the magic potion. The circus became my life.   

You’ve performed as an acrobat, a juggler, an artistic cycling specialist in various troupes. Tell us what your favourite circus act is and why.  

It’s too hard to choose a favourite circus discipline! That’s like asking a parent which child they love best. Each discipline is unique and exists for a different reason. The trapeze artist makes you dream, the clown makes you laugh, the acrobatic dancer makes you think about the infinite possibilities of the human body. And each circus production takes you on a totally different journey. So, I’d say my favourite part of the circus is that within each discipline, you can tell a different story every time. One day, the trapeze says one thing and the next, it says something totally different, depending on the setting, the stage direction, the story.  And the same act will speak to someone else in a totally different way. That’s the beauty of the circus—the possibilities are endless.