The Circus & Other Wonders
Step this way! Step right up! Ladies, gentlemen, people of all ages, Look… listen… Can you hear the murmur of the funfair crowd? There, right there; in the city, along with the circus performers! Magical sparkle. Sparkling magic. A grand spectacle awaits you at the Hôtel Casino de Charlevoix, but hurry, because like the Roma people of old, they’ll be on the road again soon. Until next time!
Welcome to the fun fair!
Fééries de Charlevoix
You can see it in the distance: red-white-red-white-red. It looks like a very red, very shiny, giant peppermint candy. In any case, it’s very tempting! Like a little kid who plunges their chubby little hand into Nana’s (finely crafted, of course) glass candy jar looking for the tastiest piece of barley sugar candy, we say yes to the kid in us, and let ourselves be tempted. We heed the call of that red-and-white striped big top and bound onto the property at Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu at a spot ringed with colourful garlands of lights. Their incandescent bulbs light the fairground warmly, a prelude to the big show.
Where the aroma of warm cinnamon-and-sugar churros fresh from the hot oil and the happy hubbub of the crowd, entertained by a colourful fairground troupe, carries us back to a time of city and village fairs. And the mighty swings of a hammer wielded by the strongest men as a test of their egos do, on occasion, make the bell ring out, triggering joyous laughter, and cries of amazement. Do you dare encounter the mysterious fortune teller whose icy stare penetrates her crystal ball, revealing its secrets? Will the strange spectacle of a bird-woman with ruffled feathers swaying back and forth and smiling in her cage render you speechless? Will you be able to hold the gaze of the strange, steampunk, elephant-masked dandy? These quirky fairground characters wander the crowd at times, interacting charmingly with one and all and, at times, take the stage in their own small tent, an amusing cabaret led by its own master of ceremonies, who keeps us in suspense until it’s time to head under the big top!
Fééries & Feux d'artifice
Make Way for the Circus!
Éclats by the 7 Fingers Circus
Because, of course, that’s what you’ve been waiting for! From tiny tot to 100 years old, the little kid in all of us still has that zest and that sense of wonder about the circus, and the acts that make our heads spin! When the time comes and the canvas parts to welcome the crowd to the big top, the excitement goes up another notch. Inside, you see how close the seats are to the centre of the action, and to the performers who will soon perform on the main stage! You’re so close you can see the acrobats' efforts in the strain of their muscles, the quiver of their limbs; you can feel the concentration, hear the deep breaths, see perfectly measured movements, adjusted for the available stage space… This close contact quickly creates an impressive connection between artist and audience, together under the big top as acts flow from one to the next - scenes dreamed up under the artistic direction of Isabelle Chassé, co-founder of the 7 Fingers collective. At times, all of the circus performers share the stage, wielding giant fragments of mirror and drenching the walls of the big top in reflections, or juggling bowling pins during a wild game of musical chairs… At other times, they take the stage to give the audience a taste of just how talented they are, solo, or in pairs!
Graceful acrobatics in an aerial hoop on which acrobats twist and spin above the audience in a bright, candy-pink spotlight that evokes the colour of the sky at sunset.
Now and then, between acrobatic acts, and with an endearing clumsiness, a clownish technician attempts in vain to set up equipment onstage.
The acrobat striving to propel their heavy metal wheel on and off the relatively small stage with strength, skillful control, and mastery of their contraption naturally wins the crowd’s admiration.
Eyes riveted on leather slippers, we feel the tension of the tightrope, the concentration required for cautious, carefully paced steps, culminating in a flip that leaves no room for error, given that such precise movement occurs a few metres off the ground.
This is followed by the much-awaited and precise-as-precise-can-be “merry-go-round” performed by the two acrobats featured in the show’s promotional materials who create, with every movement of their bodies, visually stunning and poetic compositions. Here again, the audience revels in the taut back and shoulder muscles, the skillful movement along the length of the vertical pole, while the acrobats’ flowing movements almost make you believe, for a second, that this ballet on a pole is easy to do…
As for the backdrop: we’re deep in a Charlevoix winter, with its polar snow squalls, where the next performer, dressed in white long johns and sheepskin, executes their acrobatic aerial dance balanced on five blocks of wood, each sitting on a thin spindle. Upside down on one hand? No problem!
And the finale? A succession of exclamations of “Ho!” and “Ha!” as a pair of acrobats stretch, hang, catch each other, jump from, and cling to a huge trapeze that provides a dramatic, intensely emotional backdrop, the perfect prompt for the inevitable ovation from the audience, when the performers take their bows at the end…
After everything is said and done, perhaps the name Éclats refers to the sparkles in an audience member’s eyes, after this kind of communion with artists?
Take a look at the program and the one-off special events (dunk tank, fireworks) that are part of the Fééries de Charlevoix offering and visit the online ticket booth to get your hands on your tickets for Éclats’ grand spectacle, which runs until October before returning next summer!
Ambiance Éclats
