Cirque Du Soleil Entertainment Group's Newly Appointed Creative Guide Michel Laprise To Host Presentation During SXSW

Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group ("Cirque du Soleil") has announced that their newly appointed Creative Guide, Michel Laprise, will be in Austin, TX, for SXSW and participating in Quebec Day on March 13, 2023, from 4 - 4:40 p.m. at CANADA HOUSE (Swan Dive, located at 615 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701.)

In this inspiring talk, Michel will share with passion a few aspects of the collaborative creation process at the company.

He will expose how this organic process is part of a social, personal, emotional and artistic experience and show us that the actual physical space deeply influences the collaboration and inclusion of the creative workplace everyone might want to create. He will also talk of an experiment where, using the internet, the circle of collaboration was opened to include the audience in the crowdsourcing of a scene.

Michel was promoted to this new role after being a long-time director and contributor to Cirque du Soleil; starting as a talent scout at casting, he has worked in creation ever since and has directed many large-scale projects, including the performances for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City and the opening ceremony of Eurovision 2009. Michel is also the director of the shows KURIOS - Cabinet of Curiosities, Septimo Día - no descansaré, and Drawn to Life. Outside of Cirque, he directed Madonna's international tour in 2012 and the musical Robin Hood presented in Europe.

"It is an honor for me to be speaking at the 2023 edition of SXSW about Cirque du Soleil's creative vision. As I have been a long-term collaborator and show director for Cirque," said Michel Laprise, "I am now looking forward to broadening our creative horizons and approaches to continually offer our audiences new experiences that surpass their expectations for the company's new golden age."

As a fast-growing, diversified live entertainment company, the largest creator and producer of original content in the world, and one of the largest live entertainment ticket sellers in the world, Cirque du Soleil ticket sales have been stronger than expected, following higher demand leading the company to surpass 2019 gross sales by the end of 2022 while breaking many historical records. A year after the relaunch of its shows worldwide, Cirque du Soleil is renewing its commitment to take audiences beyond expectations, to the outer limits of the imagination, and to feel the most profound emotions.

To reaffirm Cirque du Soleil's artistic leadership, the creative structure has been reworked to reflect the organization's imaginative strength. In addition to Michel Laprise's new role as Creative Guild, Cirque du Soleil has appointed Matt Nickel as Chief Show Creation and Production Officer, where he is responsible for all creative and production operations.

With 32 active shows worldwide (Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group, VStar, and The Works), Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has brought wonder and delight to more than 375 million spectators in nearly 90 countries across six continents since its inception, and today continues its mission to cultivate creativity and bring joy and hope to audiences around the world.