Cirque du Soleil was formed in 1984 by a troupe of street performers known as "Le Club des Talons Hauts" (the high-heels club), the same group that founded the first street performers' festival, La Fête foraine de Baie-Saint-Paul. (Baie-Saint-Paul is a small town near Quebec City, Canada.)

In 1984, 73 people worked for Cirque du Soleil. Today, the organization has over 2,100 employees worldwide. In 2001, over 6,000,000 people experienced a Cirque du Soleil show. Since Cirque's founding in 1984, close to 30 million people have attended one of its productions with performances in over 130 cities around the world. In 2002, there were eight Cirque productions running on four continents.

Alegria is a film event inspired by Cirque du Soleil. Alegria has been sponsored by BMW. In these images we can see contortionists flexing near the BMW Z3.

Alegria™
by Cirque du Soleil®.
CREATORS
Guide: Guy Laliberté Director: Franco Dragone
Director of Creation: Gilles Ste-Croix
Set Designer: Michel Crête
Costume Designer: Dominique Lemieux
Composer and Musical Director: René Dupéré Choreographer: Debra Brown
Lighting Designer: Luc Lafortune
Sound Designer: Guy Desrochers