During his visit to China earlier this month, Cirque du Soleil CEO Daniel Lamarre confirmed the entertainment company’s expansion plans in China. In April, Fosun, China’s leading investment group, joined American investment firm TPG to become one of Cirque du Soleil’s largest strategic partners in a deal that will facilitate its global business development.
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I had read about this expansion on some blogs before so it doesn’t come as a complete shock to me, but it does pose some interesting questions for Cirque’s future as an entertainment company. It makes complete sense to try and expand your market and get the product to as many people as possible. It makes even more sense to hear that from the new CEO Daniel Lamarre who’s background is as an international business developer. I have always felt that Cirque has had an interesting history in Asia in general. I’ve heard that tours have gone fairly well there, however I know that two permanent shows opened and closed there (Zed and Zaia). Zaia, specifically opened in Macau in China so it is odd to hear Lamarre discuss it as the first permanent show in China. Cirque was very excited about these two shows when the first opened, however sales quickly tanked and from what I can remember a natural disaster struck one and it was forced to close. I believe that Cirque needs to be more stable, clear, and definite in its vision and perhaps refine its content before it begins to expand.
"First of all, we are not a traditional circus, we are a spectacle. What I mean by that is that we use a lot of new technologies, we have original music, we have original costumes, we do original choreography, and we bring something that is very different from a traditional circus. We are much more theatrical, and we spend more money on the production of our shows because we want to attract a broader audience..." The strategics to the Cirque company make sense to me. Expand. Make Money. Expand More. But to me the odd part of this article comes from the abruptness of the answers. There is no question that Cirque is an amazing, original innovative company that is braking stereotypes of not only what circuses should be but also what they should cost. Despite this, the answers to the questions provided seemed very self-centered and boasting: not so much that they had an amazing desire and obligation to move into China, but that they had the right to. To me this is somewhat off putting from a company I have looked up to and been in awe of for my entire life.
This article surprised me very much for several reasons. The first one was that I was shocked they have not had a show yet in china. For a company with such success I am very surprised they haven't had a show there yet. Also which surprised me in a good way was there diversity. Almost 20 % of there artist in there 19 shows are Chinese is amazing! With more and more theatrical events become more diverse it such a good time to be involved in the arts. One thing that was shocking was when they said they are not a circus but a spectacle. This caught me off guard since I have always thought of them as a circus. I am guessing they are trying to market them selves differently to try and bring in more people. Hopefully the show actually happens because there is a lot of time between now and 2018.
I'm always excited to read content on Cirque, and I'm extremely excited for this expansion and the fact that they're thriving. I've grown up with cirque and I admire them greatly. One of my favorite things about cirque is the fact that they combine so many different art forms wrapped in one, and do it with a diverse group of individuals. I remember watching a Cirque documentary for Varikai, and I found it so amazing how well they all worked together and respected eachother even though they came from different countries, backgrounds and cultures. Many of them didn't even speak english, yet they could communicate smoothly and run a show. It's amazing Cirque hasn't touched China just yet, as the article mentioned 20% of them are Chinese. Looks like Cirque is in good hands and I'm excited to see this new show on its feet!
After our brief discussion in class the other day about Cirque and their changing operational environment I'm very fascinated to see how the company will expand over the next decade. It seems that this guy's business acumen is some mixture of hardcore expansion and company growth coupled with his stated love and commitment to the artists. His statements about not being a typical businessman because of his love of the artists and the shows and the technologies is quite striking. It leads me to wonder what the past heads of Cirque held as their management philosophies, and how much or how little they had in common with this relatively new leadership. Many times in this industry fresh blood in management turns into a polarizing outcome, with either wild success and expansion or a rapid decline and drop in quality. With this expansion into the Chinese markets it will be telling if Cirque breaks the aforementioned mold or is subject to one of its radical outcomes.
It’ an interesting concept that depending on where one is sitting in the house, they will receive a different experience of the production. Especially through a theatrical mindset, there is the knowledge that different seat will provide slightly different points of view; however, in theatre we want to covey a story to everyone watching, so there is an effort made to ensure that everyone in the house gets as identical an experience as possible. It is an interesting thought to design for multiple points of view of the same production and providing different experiences, while also creating a cohesive unit.
It is also interesting that it has taken Cirque this long to move into the Chinese market. “Chinese artists account for 20 percent of all artists in Cirque du Soleil’s 19 shows worldwide.” With a fifth of a groups performers being from one country, it would make sense to perform for that country, if for nothing else to continue to gain interest from the younger performers who may join in the future – especially since the management of Cirque thinks so highly of their current Chinese performers.
I am going to be interested to see how Cirque is going to grow in the Chinese marketplace given their current work flow. Cirque is a company which seems to – rightfully – take their time when developing a production and go completely from the ground up, perfecting everything along the way. For example, their current idea of moving to China won’t even have a theatre for at least two years. In as fast an economy as exists in China, I will be interested to see whether Cirque changes their process to fit the market, or are they a large enough and secure enough an organization that they can afford to go against the curve of the economy’s tempo.
Good luck Cirque! I will honestly be surprised if this venture succeeds. To my understanding, China simply doesn't have the economic market at the moment to support a large for-profit theater such as Cirque. The wage gap is more extreme than in the united states, varying from ten cars and a mansion to literally living in a shack without running water. This difference is especially visible in large cities, such as Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing, where multi-million dollar homes are separated from dire living conditions by a mere wall. The middle class is small and, for the most part, does not have the free time or money to enjoy a live show. Not to mention the fact that the government consistently and noticeably censors all media. There is no doubt that China has a very long history of performing, and that culture and tradition continues today (mostly in areas with large tourist populations). And yes, as the article points out, Chinese performers and athletes tend to be very hard working and some of the most talented in the industry. Just because other american corporations have moved into Asia and feed like parasites off of the people who live there, does not mean that it is a healthy economy. It does not mean that any industry will succeed there.
I am very hopeful that Cirque is going to succeed in China. Having spent most of my life living in Beijing, I know for a fact that Chinese people love big, extravagant spectacles. Some examples are the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony and the annual Spring festival performance on TV. These shows often have great artistic and theatrical values, showcasing the cutting-edge entertainment technology and the country's most prominent performers. People all over the country from all backgrounds enjoy them, partially because not that many shows like this exist in China. People need visual stimulation.
Lauren from the previous comment made a really interesting point: she is suspicious whether China's shaky economic environment will allow Cirque to survive as a for-profit organization. Indeed China has an extremely serious class problem. But in recent years, the price of movies and theater is becoming more and more affordable, and people are developing an appetite for these forms of entertainment. For the lower-class citizens of China, the shows that Cirque put on would definitely be a luxury, but since the population of China as a whole is enormous, Cirque can definitely still make profit as long as it sets an appropriate ticket price for the general public. Nonetheless, it should be the long-term goal for all entertainment companies to make their work available to people of all economic backgrounds. Also, having a Chinese investment company as a shareholder definitely helps, because they understand the taste of the Chinese people (e.g. the Chinese people are OBSESSED with the Avatar movie). Recent years, entertainment companies all over the world want to venture into the Chinese market. Hollywood, for example, has made enormous profit in China. Its biggest issue is censorship, since the Chinese government restricts the kind of content that can be imported to the country. Cirque, however, doesn't really face this problem because it rarely touches on sensitive political topics. I see a promising future ahead for them, and I think they would be a great inspiration for Chinese performance artists and media designers.
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