Forced break for circus performers

It’s hard to make a living while your work entertains the audience, but there is no one to watch the show. This is the reality of thousands of artists. With the epidemic, the cultural domain was severely shaken.

Many artists have had to give up their careers and their lives, not knowing when everything will start all over again. The same is true in the case of Jean-Philippe Deltel.

“Christmas in Quebec is very rare for me. Usually it is Crunch time, The time of year when we mostly work. I probably went to Germany ”.

All of this fell through while the 29-year-old artist was working for Cirque du Soleil. The present case does not seem very difficult.

“It’s uncertain, and we don’t know how long,” he said.

He still boosts his courage, but it is not clear.

“We had to go to Japan in early May, first to Japan, then to Europe for festivals and street circus tours and we had to end our season in South Korea,” explained another artist, Philip Dreyfus.

But nine months have passed since the epidemic hit.

“In the meantime, our daily life is very training. We take the opportunity to improve our performance and improve our efficiency, ”Mr. Dreyfus added.

Many sculptors get help from the government. If they had a choice, they would never choose this path.

“It simply came to our notice then. So for me, to lose my job, I liked it [sentiment de perdre] Some part of me, ”said Senja Marilyn, an artist.

The pandemic forced many to question their future. According to a recent survey conducted by the National Circus Arts Group, N Piste, nine out of ten artists are considering career change.

“It was really disturbing and a phenomenon of anxiety-depression in more than 60% of people, which I would add to a bigger emotional turmoil,” said Christine Bouchard, director general of regrouping.

Philip Dreyfus did not reverse career change, but the reflection was great.

“I am 43 years old. Yes, I want to continue on stage, do shows, but I wonder how long it will last and how the re-art will start.

“I have an agreement signed in late January, but we will take it with salt grain. If it works well, I will go to Morocco, otherwise we will wait for the next one,” Jean-Philippe Deltel testified.

The hope of returning to normal leads to many questions.

How many circus companies have survived the crisis? How big is their display? What place does entertainment take in people’s lives?

Despite everything, the three artists we met were very positive without being overly delusional.

“I’m sure people want to see the shows. How can we provide them after the Great Depression?” Senja Marilyn asks.