Cirque du Soleil, which in English means Circus of the Sun, is a show unlike any other. While most circuses feature animals, there are none to be found in Cirque du Soleil. The Cirque also does not have a ring in which the acts take place. Instead, these highly creative shows present acrobats performing fantastic stunts along with powerful, dramatic music. There are numerous Cirque du Soleil shows based on various themes. One show, named Love, is built around the music of The Beatles, for example. Another Cirque show features Michael Jackson's hits as well as his looks from different stages of his career. Currently, about 4,000 people in about 40 countries work on all the different Cirque du Soleil performances, and it is the biggest producer of artistic shows in the world.
Today, Cirque du Soleil earns roughly US$1 billion a year, but the company was once very small. It was formed in 1984 in Canada's mostly French-speaking province of Quebec by two street performers, Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix. These men struggled at first, almost going bankrupt6 in the early stages. Eventually, their vision of a new type of circus began to amaze crowds, and Cirque du Soleil became a huge success.
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