The people who bring the waves to life

“Being creative is being able to generate chance.”

With over 30 years of experience in the field of circus arts, starting as an acrobat mainly with Cirque du Soleil, but also with other prominent companies in the sector around the world, Émilie has explored various circus disciplines throughout her career, including rebounding and aerialism, while incorporating theatrical and dance dimensions into her artistic approach.

Since 2008, she has taken her career as an acrobat towards the world of artistic creation and the transmission of knowledge. She takes the role of creative director and designer of acrobatic performances, in addition to serving as acrobatic choreographer, assistant stage director, acrobatic and artistic director and trainer.

She constantly seeks to exceed her limits, both in special events and in large-scale creations and productions around the world.

In recent years, Émilie has been a key part of teams that have contributed to the success of several Cirque du Soleil creations. Among her most recent works are ALIZÉ at the Berlin Potsdamer Platz Theater (2025) and ALEGRÍA: Un Nouveau Jour (2019) as human performance designer and acrobatic choreographer; five tribute shows at the Amphithéâtre Cogeco in Trois-Rivières — Stone (2017), Juste une p'tite nuite (2018), Joyeux Calvaire (2019), Guy! Guy! Guy! (2023) and THE CIRQUE (2024) — where she was assistant stage director, human performance designer and acrobatic choreographer; as well as AMORA (2022) and FIERI (2021) in Malta.

Jessica Poirier-Chang is a Set Design graduate from the École nationale de théâtre du Canada (2006). For almost 20 years she has worked in the fields of theatre, opera, contemporary dance, circus, cinema and variety shows. She began her career at the Stratford Festival, where she worked for four seasons, before putting her name to numerous creations for companies in Quebec and Canada.

Among her most recent shows are: Foxfinder (Imago Théâtre, 2022 — META nomination for best costume design), Les Géants (Cirque Éloize, 2022), Incoronazione di Poppea (Atelier Lyrique, 2023), Chimerica (Théâtre Duceppe, 2024 — awarded the François-Barbeau prize for best costume design), THE CIRQUE (Cirque du Soleil, 2024), Three Women of Swatow (Centaur Theatre, 2024) and Candide (Théâtre Denise-Pelletier, 2025).

In 2026 she will head up the costume design for the world premiere of the musical The Tale of the Gifted Prince (Theatre Calgary), a great epic set in an imaginary ancient China, as well as for the creation Entre-Deux (contemporary dance show) and the adaptation of La Florida (produced by Juste pour Rire).

Alongside her work as a designer, Jessica regularly acts as a mentor and coach in Set Design at the École nationale de théâtre du Canada. She also continues to develop her own creative project, Muses (formerly Musée Vivant), a theatrical work that explores the representation of women in classical art, with the support of the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

Simon Guilbault designs sets for theatre, opera, dance, circus, ballet and cinema.

He has recently designed the sets for La femme qui fuit (2024) directed by Alexia Burger, Kukum (2024) directed by Émilie Monnet, La dernière Cassette (2023) by Olivier Choinière and Mille (2023) directed by Mani Soleymanlou. He has also collaborated with Alexia Burger on Les filles du Saint-Laurent (2021) and Les Hardings (2018). Other collaborations with top names include Claude Poissant with Le ravissement (2019), L’Avare (2017), On ne badine pas avec l’amour (2015), Louisiane nord (2004), Unity 1918 (2003), and with Jérémie Niel with Noir (2019) and Cendres (2010).

With Marie Brassard he created the sets for Peepshow (2005 and 2015), Trieste (2013), L'invisible (2008), La Noirceur (2003) and Jimmy, créature de rêve (2001), pieces acclaimed both in Quebec and internationally. Jimmy, créature de rêve has been shown, among others, on the stage of the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris, the Sophiensaele in Berlin and the Barbican Centre in London.

As for opera, director Oriol Tomas relied on him for the scenography of La Traviata (2019) at the Icelandic Opera and Twenty-Seven (2019) at the Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal.

At the Grands Ballets Canadiens, he designed the set for the new production of Cendrillon (2023).

With Cirque du Soleil, he designed the scenography for Auana (2024), a resident show in Hawaii, as well as FESTA (2023), AMORA (2022), Vive nos divas (2022), Rebel (2019), Joyeux Calvaire – Hommage aux Cowboys Fringuants (2019), Juste une p'tite nuite – Hommage aux Colocs (2018), Bazzar (2018) and Stone – Hommage à Luc Plamondon (2017).

In the field of dance, he collaborated with Line Nault in Récits – Récifs (2024), Non de nom (2022), Super-Super (2018) and with Dana Gingras in Mountains are mountains (2023) and Somewhere Between Maybe (2015).

In cinema, he i the artistic director for Le bruit des arbres, directed by François Péloquin (2014), and for Lost Song, by Rodrigue Jean (2007).

Alain Jenkins is passionate about props. He has been working as a props designer for 25 years and has participated in several film productions, including multiple Hollywood films. He has formed part of the creative process behind Céline Dion’s show in Las Vegas, collaborated in more than 15 Cirque du Soleil productions and in four with Les 7 doigts de la main. He has participated in the creation of more than 150 theatrical shows, including Chicago, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Footloose and Mamma Mia.

Marie-Ève’s passion for the performing arts began at the age of four, when she discovered ballet and gymnastics, disciplines that laid the foundation for a lifelong commitment to movement and expression. A graduate of the École de danse de Québec, she has embarked on a career as a performer that spans almost two decades on national and international stages, especially with Fleuve Espace Danse, where she specialised in performance in outdoor spaces and in specific locations.

In 2010, she entered the captivating world of circus, becoming an aerial acrobat and lead dancer for major outdoor productions such as Omaterra, Dragao, Cirque du Soleil events at Macy’s in New York and the Festival Montréal Complètement Cirque.

In 2017, after acting as a choreography assistant in the creation of Cirque du Soleil’s big top show Volta, Gilles Ste-Croix, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, invited her to come up with the choreography for Circo de los Niños in Mexico for two years running. In 2021, Marie-Ève expanded her creative field by choreographing and co-directing three circus productions presented aboard P&O Cruises’ ship Iona in the UK.

Since 2016, Marie-Ève ​​has collaborated with Cirque du Soleil in a multidimensional role as acrobatic choreographer, artistic coach, rehearsal director and choreographer in numerous productions. Her contributions were notable in Volta, Axel, Joyà, Luzia, Ovo, Crystal, KSA National Day, KSA Season 2022, as well as the creation of the tribute series Guy! Guy! Guy! in Trois-Rivières in 2023, where she took on the role of official choreographer. Most recently, she was invited as an acrobatic choreographer for a wedding event in Udaipur, India.

She has also served as artistic director and choreographer for the juggling act of the China National Acrobatics Troupe, which was awarded the Gold Medal at the 43rd World Circus Festival of Tomorrow. At the same time, she continues with her artistic practice at the intersection of dance, circus and artistic direction, collaborating with Le Monastère, Cirque Éloize, Moment Factory and a wide diversity of creators and artistic projects.

Marie-Ève’s experience in dance, circus and choreography demonstrates both her rigorous artistic discipline and her passion for the performing arts. With an energetic, precise and deeply collaborative approach, she is driven by the desire to reveal the unique potential of each performer in service of the overall vision of a production.