Nunavik under the big top

MONTREAL – The circus is coming to Puvirnituq and Inukjuak. But it’s not just any circus, it’s the Cirque du Monde.

An offshoot of Quebec’s homegrown and phenomenally successful Cirque du Soleil, Cirque du Monde combines music, movement and special effects in its breathtaking shows.

This March, young people aged 15 to 24 in the two Nunavik communities will begin to learn circus arts as part of the Cirque du Soleil’s social action program.

The program is a charitable effort on the part of Cirque du Soleil, aimed at helping young people at risk. About 35 similar programs, sponsored by Cirque du Soleil are currently going on in 18 countries.

“The main goal is to develop self-esteem. It’s not a professional training program,” said Paul Laporte, director of the program.

Most of the projects involve young people living in or around large urban centres. The circus has already worked with other indigenous youth in Australia and, closer to home, with Attikamek First Nations communities near La Tuque, Quebec.

But during an early- December visit to Puvirnituq and Inukjuak, Laporte found the range of problems were similar to those he had seen in other places, despite the difference in climate, culture and circumstances.

“In the context of globalization, there is a globalization of the same problems,” Laporte said.

In more developed countries, Laporte said the challenges are social in nature, while in the Third World they are economic. But the end result is the same. Youth have “a hard time being happy,” he said.

Cirque du Soleil invests one per cent of revenue from annual ticket sales in to its social action programs – and this no piddling amount.

Since 1984, more than 30 million people have seen the offbeat shows produced by Cirque du Soleil. The circus employs 3,000 people, and has its own theatre in Las Vegas, as well as offices in Montreal, Las Vegas and Amsterdam.

But Cirque du Soleil started off modestly, when a group of Montreal street performers took their vision of circus arts to the public.

Laporte has been with the Cirque du Soleil for five years. Before that, he worked with street kids in Brazil. There, he found that of three main youth activities – surfing, soccer and circus – circus was the most popular and successful.

“It creates a sense of solidarity, and there’s less competition,” Laporte said.

Laporte said when Cirque du Soleil starts up a project, the community is also heavily involved – an aspect that appealed to people he met in Puvirnituq and Inukjuak.

The collaboration extends over the long-term. Projects started by Cirque du Soleil can run for several years.

According to Laporte, the financial investment required to get this kind of project off the ground isn’t huge. A skilled instructor, some equipment and kids are the basic ingredients.

Depending on the background and situation of the participants, the content of the program may change. But a circus drawing on elements of Inuit culture, such a juggling and games, could be one possible outcome of the Nunavik projects.

Nunavik’s co-operative network, Fédération des coopératives du Nouveau-Québec (FCNQ), the credit union, Caisse d’économie des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, and the Kativik School Board are also involved in getting the program going in the communities.

According to the KSB’s Gerald McKenzie, who will be co-ordinating the two projects in Nunavik, the directors of FCNQ had been concerned for a long time about youth in Nunavik’s communities and made the initial contact with Cirque du Soleil.

At the same time, the Caisse d’economie des travailleurs et travailleurs du Québec, which provides banking services for both the FCNQ and Cirque du Soleil, had expressed an interest in financing a social program in Nunavik.

To reduce travelling costs and encourage exchanges, the circus favoured the selection of two large, neighbouring communities for a project. But as discussions were going on to select the communities, there were several dramatic and tragic events involving young people – violent attacks, suicides and a murder – in Puvirnituq and Inukjuak.

Cirque du Soleil believes it can do some good in these communities. And the people of Puvirnitaq and Inukjuak certainly hope so, too.