Global presence of Cirque du Soleil in 2010

ShowsA new big top show: TOTEMIn April, under the famous blue-and-yellow bigtop set up in the Old Port of Montréal, the29th Cirque du Soleil show was launched.Directed by Robert Lepage, TOTEM traces thefascinating journey of the human race from itsprimitive amphibian beginnings to its ultimatedesire to fly. Inspired by numerous creationmyths, and alternating between science andlegend, TOTEM explores the ties that bind thehuman race to other species, as well as itsdreams and infinite potential.The end of the road forBanana ShpeelNew horizons forCirque du SoleilFor Cirque du Soleil, Banana Shpeel hadrather a short run. The curtain came down onthe show in October 2010 after short stints inNew York and Toronto. Although the show didnot enjoy the success that we expected,Cirque du Soleil is more determined than everto diversify, be daring and reinvent itself.Quidam and Dralion arena showsAfter several years on the road as big toptouring shows, Quidam and Dralion—createdin 1996 and 1999 respectively—have had afacelift and embarked on a new adventure astouring arena shows. The shows took to theroad in the fall, travelling the length andbreadth of the U.S. and Canada, much tothe delight of many new audiences.Cirque du Soleil shows visited four countriesfor the first time in 2010: Saltimbancodelighted audiences in Croatia and Serbia,while Quidam ventured deeper into SouthAmerica with visits to Colombia and Peru.EventsInspiriaTo help celebrate our 25th anniversary and tomark the 150th anniversary of Boucheron, thisfamous jewellery house has created Inspiria,a unique jewellery collection inspired by Cirquedu Soleil shows. These fabulous pieces ofjewellery represent aspects from the followingshows: Alegría, Corteo, CRISS ANGELBelieve, DELIRIUM, Dralion, KÀ, KOOZA,The Beatles LOVE, Mystère, La Nouba, “O”,OVO, Quidam, Saltimbanco, Varekai, VivaELVIS, Wintuk, ZAIA, ZED and Zumanity.These original creations were launched inLondon, shown in Paris during Fashion Week,and were put on exhibition in the MontrealMuseum of Fine Arts.The Canada Pavilion at theShanghai World ExpoFrom May 1 to October 31, 2010, visitors tothe Shanghai World Expo could admire theCanada Pavilion designed by Cirque du Soleil.An average of 32,500 visitors per day cameto the pavilion and enjoyed its cultural program,which Cirque also had a hand in organizing.An exhibition of Canadian visual art was heldin the pavilion’s public areas and meeting rooms,developed around the theme “The Living City:Inclusive, Sustainable, Creative.” This showcasedthe dynamism and variety of contemporaryCanadian art. Artists from ZAIA also took partin the various galas held in the Canada Pavilion.2

Launch of Microsoft KinectMicrosoft called upon the Special Events teamat Cirque du Soleil for help launching its Kinectsystem, which was introduced to the world witha great flourish at the Electronic EntertainmentExpo 2010 (E3). The performance was acustom-made, emotional experience thatechoed the possibilities offered by the console:intense, creative, inclusive and open to otherparticipants. Those attending the launch weretreated to a production featuring state-of-the-arttechnology with acrobatic equipment speciallydesigned for the event, as well as videoprojections with avatars.AwardsGrand Prize at the BoomerangAwards for the newcirquedusoleil.com websiteAt the end of last year, the new cirquedusoleil.com website, which was completely overhauled in2010, won the Grand Prize in the “Website — e-Commerce” category at Quebec’s Boomerangawards for interactive communications.A star on the HollywoodWalk of FameIn November, Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil, received the 2,424th star on theHollywood Walk of Fame, just in front of Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles where the curtain will lifton our IRIS show in 2011. The star—bearing the dual masks representing comedy and tragedyin ancient theatre—was awarded to him in the “Theatre and Live Performance” category.Two Cirque du Soleil shows rank amongthe most popular in the worldTwo Cirque du Soleil shows were placed in the top 100 most popular shows worldwide during the first nine months of 2010. Touring arena showsAlegría and Saltimbanco were placed 16th and 19th respectively in the listings drawn up by Pollstar.3

Tributes to Cirque du Soleilin ArgentinaA Grammy forAll Together NowCirque du Soleil was honoured when Quidam visited the municipality of Vicente López, a suburbof Buenos Aires. Gaétan Morency, Vice-President of Global Citizenship, who spoke at twoconferences in Argentina, was named “Honorary Visitor” by the municipality, while Quidamreceived the honour of being classified a “Public Interest Event.”Cirque du Soleil wins the award for‘Brand of the year’ in RussiaCirque du Soleil was nominated brand of the year in the entertainment category at theEffie awards, which recognize outstanding achievement in brand building on the Russianmarket. Cirque du Soleil first visited Russia in 2009, when it performed Varekai in Moscow.In 2010, it was the turn of Corteo to go to Russia, stopping off in Saint Petersburg and Kazan,as well as Moscow.At the 52nd Grammy Awards, the documentaryAll Together Now, which follows the creativeprocess of our show The Beatles LOVE, wonthe award for ‘Best Long Form Music Video’.Cirque recognizedin Monte CarloCirque du Soleil won an award at the 34th Monte Carlo International Circus Festival. The fivemembers of the jury, presided over by Princess Stephanie of Monaco, awarded a “Silver Clown”to the “Angels” Russian bars act from the show Alegría. This is the sixth time Cirque du Soleilhas won a prize in Monte Carlo; it has won gold twice and silver four times since 1990. Foundedin 1974, the Monte Carlo Festival is one of the most prestigious in the world. Several thousandartists and hundreds of thousands of spectators have attended the Festival since it began.4

Community Relations15th anniversary of Cirque du Monde2010 marked the 15th anniversary of Cirque du Monde, the social action flagship program of Cirque du Soleil. After 15 years of existence,the program—in which Cirque du Soleil takes great pride—operates in more than 80 communities in partnership with Jeunesse du Monde,Oxfam International and many community organizations recognized in their milieu for the quality of their work with at-risk youth. Over 15 years,Cirque du Soleil has invested CAN $40 million in the Cirque du Monde program. This has made it possible to help some 200,000 youngstersall over the world. Today, there are 54 Cirque du Monde sites active in 15 countries across the globe.To mark this 15th anniversary, various celebrations were held around the world, allowing young Cirque du Monde participants, Cirque du Soleilemployees and various local communities to gather for the event.Big top and arena touring showsLending a handwith tickets to showsAs part of its benefit shows program, Cirquedu Soleil donates tickets for its touring showsto organizations who then resell them to benefittheir cause. The money raised is used to fundprograms and services for at-risk youth.Furthermore, Cirque du Soleil also gives dressrehearsal tickets to organizations working withat-risk youth in order to offer their clienteleaccess to our shows. In 2010, tickets weredistributed as follows:North America: 6,132 tickets offered toagencies working with troubled youth forthe organization of benefit shows, and19,252 tickets donated to communityorganizations, enabling their beneficiariesto enjoy our shows.South America: 300 tickets offered to agenciesworking with troubled youth for the organizationof benefit shows, and 3,885 tickets donated tocommunity organizations, enabling theirbeneficiaries to enjoy our shows.Europe: 3,062 tickets offered to agenciesworking with troubled youth for the organizationof benefit shows, and 9,318 tickets donatedto community organizations, enabling theirbeneficiaries to enjoy our shows.TOTEM hosts aCirque du Mondeworkshop inAmsterdamCircus Elleboog, which has been in businessfor over 60 years, currently teaches circus artsto over 1,000 children in the Netherlands.Having been a partner of Cirque du Mondefor several years, the organization seized theopportunity to invite a group of at-risk youthwho had already participated in Circus Elleboogworkshops to take part in an activity day underthe big top in Amsterdam. Some 30 youngpeople therefore got to enjoy a series ofworkshops given by the TOTEM team, includingdance, juggling, silk acrobatics, fixed trapezeand balancing, as well as music, with apercussion and vocals workshop.5

Quidam promotes the creation of muralsin South AmericaIn every South American city it visited from June 2009 to November 2010, Quidam invited young people to create—under the supervision ofa local graffiti artist—a mural inspired by their situation and that could be tied to the message conveyed in the show. The piece of art was thenunveiled at the dress rehearsal in front of local media, and either auctioned off to the highest bidder or proudly displayed in the offices of theorganization that made it happen.Cirque du Soleil has long been cooperating with local communities to help at-risk youth through circus arts. Set up as a partnership between Cirqueand local organizations, this project enabled young people to focus their energy in a creative activity that, like social circus, promotes respect andself-confidence and can help them escape from the streets, crime and violence.Alegríasuppliesfood banksWhen it toured the U.S., Alegría and its catererentered an agreement with Rock & Wrap It Up!—an organization that works with teams fromshows touring the United States—to recoversurplus food and other basic necessities to beredistributed to local food banks and othercharity organizations.The OVO team hosts a Cirque duMonde workshop in AtlantaDuring its stop in Atlanta, the OVO team welcomed 16 teens from a local organization, The Bridge,to a Cirque du Monde workshop. The Bridge—a long-standing partner of Cirque du Soleil throughthe Cirque du Monde program—aims to offer both a home and education to troubled teens.Thanks to the OVO artists, the group of 12- to 18-year-olds got to try out various circustechniques and enjoy a Brazilian meal in the employees’ cafeteria.KOOZA recycles for United We CanDuring its stop in Vancouver, British Columbia,the KOOZA orientation team formed apartnership with the charity organizationUnited We Can to recycle the 3,000 or sobeer and wine bottles used on site each week.United We Can used the money collectedfrom the refundable bottles to help variousother charitable organizations servingVancouver’s Downtown East Side, one ofthe poorest places in Canada.6

Saltimbanco artistsmeet with promising studentsWhen Saltimbanco was in Scotland, the show’s artists took part in a creation workshop with some of the most promising students of the ScottishYouth Theatre. The experience was fun and fruitful for all who participated. The students were then invited to the show’s dress rehearsal andpremiere in Glasgow.Corteo gives Santa a handDuring the Holiday season, Corteo visited theRoad House orphanage in Moscow, Russia,accompanied by Santa Claus. Thanks tothe tour members’ generosity, all of the23 children at the orphanage received gifts.Furthermore, the Corteo team gave theestablishment a Wii gaming console anda large, flat-screen plasma TV. The childrenat the orphanage then got to go see Corteo.Resident and theatre showsChoreographers’ Showcaseencourages artistic growthFor several years, Cirque du Soleil and the Nevada Ballet Theatre (NBT) have joined forces tobring a Choreographers’ Showcase to the Las Vegas community. This event presents originaldances choreographed both by artists from Cirque shows in Las Vegas and by the NBT’sprofessional dancers. The proceeds generated by this event—presented at the Mystère theatreat the Treasure Island hotel—allowed Cirque du Soleil to provide financial support for NBT’ssocial programs, including the Future Dance program, whose participants got to attend amatinee performance of the show alongside other school groups.This year, the event was expanded to Orlando, where the La Nouba team and the Orlando Balletgot together to present a Choreographers’ Showcase of their own at the La Nouba theatre inDowntown Disney.Zumanity makes a donation toThree Square Food BankZumanity and MGM International employees set themselves a challenge to raise funds and collect food items for the Three Square Food Bank.Thanks to all their hard work, the employees were able to make a donation of $23,750 and more than 35 tonnes of non-perishable food items.This was the biggest food donation sponsored by a company ever received by the organization.7

Mystère artistsinspire young peopleTwo Mystère artists spoke to a crowd of over150 young people to encourage them tofollow their dreams during an event organizedjointly by Cirque du Soleil and the ProjectShero organization as part of its WonderChild ®Dream Explorer program. This programfocuses on the influence that public figureshave on youth to give them the will to believein their dreams and work towards achievingthem. During the activity, the youngsters gotto talk with the artists about the qualitiesneeded to work at Cirque du Soleil. They thengot to try out several circus disciplines in aseries of workshops led by Cirque du Mondetrainers in Las Vegas.Wintuk adopts two familiesCircus CoutureThe Circus Couture event to benefit theSt. Baldrick’s Foundation—which raises fundsto support children with cancer—was held atthe Palms Hotel’s Rain nightclub in late February.The evening included an auction, a circus anddance show, and a fashion show presentingcreations inspired by circus arts. ManyCirquesters took part in the event, makinggood use of the abundant talent found amongCirque du Soleil employees—who were in factchosen as finalists for the Classy Awards,which recognize the top philanthropicachievements by charities, businesses andindividuals in eight major cities nationwide.The Wintuk team—which marked its last year of performance at Madison Square Garden’sWaMu Theater—participated in MSG’s Garden of Dreams “Adopt a Family” program. Joiningforces over three days, the members of Wintuk were able to give Holiday presents to two familieswho had recently been living in and transitioning out of homeless shelters in New York City.STUDIONew educational social circus tools2010 was a productive year in terms ofdeveloping educational tools for social circustraining. Three major teaching tools werelaunched during the year. The first, calledBasic circus arts techniques, is an educationalmultimedia kit consisting of three DVDs andthree written documents totalling more than600 pages. This teaching kit presents177 techniques from 17 basic circus artsdisciplines. It offers in-depth expertise andtechnical content and promotes progressiveand specialized instruction in a safeenvironment. The Social worker’s guide:From circus lessons to life lessons was alsopublished in 2010. As both a summary of thesocial circus approach and a practical guide,this document allows those using it to graspthe foundations and guiding principles of thismethod of intervention as well as helping themorganize, plan and assess their workshops.Finally, a great deal of effort also went intowriting and producing the Social circustraining program – Trainer’s guide. This360-odd-page educational tool is intendedto train both instructors and social workers.It broaches 14 typical themes associatedwith this type of intervention. Each topic isaccompanied by exercises and referencetexts. This guide is the result of several yearsof experimentation and development—the educational approach specific to socialcircus is beautifully described.8

Grand Cirque du Monde gathering in MontrealSome 100 young people from the Quebec Cirque du Monde network gathered at the Cirque du Soleil Studio to get acquainted and put on a showspotlighting the circus acts they had learned and perfected in their respective workshops over the past year. Furthermore, as part of the program’s15th anniversary, participants were invited to take part in a commemorative event at Émilie-Gamelin Park, where the very first social circus activitiesof Quebec’s Cirque du Monde program were held in 1995.Montréal Complètement cirqueSummer 2010 in Montreal was particularlyexciting, with the first edition of MontréalDream Weavers in MontrealComplètement Cirque, a festivaldedicated to circus and street arts. Cirquedu Soleil, as part of a coalition of key playersin the circus world, helped implement thisproject, which was organized by TOHU.Cirque du Soleil also contributed to thefestival’s program ming with CorsoComplètement Cirque, an ambulatory showperformed on the train tracks along the Quaysof the Old Port of Montréal.In its second year, the Dream Weavers – Costumes by Cirque du Soleil exhibition was presentedat Montreal’s McCord museum, one of Canada’s most important museums. The exhibitionexplores how Cirque characters are created through costume. Visitors are invited to explorethe arts of dyeing, sewing, millinery, lace-making and shoe-making, and learn about the rolesand experiences of Cirque’s craftspeople through words and images. Dream Weavers is aboveall a tribute to the men and women who have fed the creative flame with their inventiveness,their expertise and their passion for the art of costume-making since the very beginning ofCirque du Soleil.Cirque du Soleil at the 13th WorldHuman Resources CongressSocial circustrainingSince 2000, over 2,000 social circusinstructors from more than 25 countries allover the world have been trained. This traininghas also been given to some 100 differentorganizations, including our Cirque du Mondepartners. In 2010, training was distributed asfollows:North America: Thirteen social circus trainingsessions: in Montreal, Îles de la Madeleine,Quebec City, the Laurentians, Gaspé, Nunavikand the Eastern Townships in Canada, as wellas in Las Vegas in the United States.Europe : Four social circus training sessions:in Barcelona (Spain), Belgrade (Serbia) andAstrakhan (Russia), for a total of over80 instructors trained.South America: Two social circus trainingsessions: in Mexico City (Mexico) and Goiás(Brazil), for a total of 75 instructors trained.Africa, Asia and Oceania: Three social circustraining sessions: in Hong Kong (China), CapeTown (South Africa) and Melbourne (Australia),for a total of close to 65 instructors trained.Murielle Cantin, Senior Vice-President ofCreative Content, and Marie-Josée Guilbeault,Vice-President, People and Organization, gavea lecture to nearly 3,000 people as part ofthe 13th World Human Resources Congress.This lecture focused on concepts intrinsic tothe vision of human resources managementat Cirque du Soleil, such as the creativity thatexists in every person and the importance ofthe concept of “community” in the workplace.Our speakers also presented their keys tosuccessful people management, such asinterdependence, respect, communicationand global understanding, and discussed theimportance of creating a work environmentthat fosters a sense of pride and belongingin employees so as to make them want togive their very best.9

Artisans du Monde helps celebratethe 15th anniversary of Cirque du MondeA group of Cirque du Soleil employees,working together on a voluntary basis underthe name of Artisans du Monde, helped makea farandole to be used to decorate the tentsduring the annual party for partners of theQuebec Cirque du Monde network, usingfabric recovered from the Cirque du Soleilworkshops. The project’s initiators held threesewing workshops at the Montreal, Sherbrookeand Drummondville Cirque du Monde sitesand set up a kiosk at the annual get-togetherso youngsters could ask them for guidance inmaking their costumes. This year, this projectallowed for the equivalent of 200 Cirque duSoleil costumes to be recycled, as well as30 rolls of mixed fabric and about 20 largebags full of accessories and scraps of material.Continued cooperationwith CirqiniqOur collaborative relationship with the Kativik Regional Government continued through 2010, asa social circus project was set up in 14 communities of Quebec’s Far North region. Social circusinstructors travelled to the Nunavik communities four times during the year. Two young peopleinvolved in the project also took part in the annual gathering of Quebec Cirque du Monde sites inMontreal, and a first training session for local Inuit instructors was held in Montreal in the fall.Helping outwith an incometax clinicThe Individual Taxation team took part inan income tax clinic offered by the Centred’éducation populaire de la Petite Bourgogneet de Saint-Henri. Set up in cooperationwith volunteers from Revenue Canada andRevenu Québec, this service is offered eachyear to the people living in the low-incomeneighbourhoods of southwest Montreal.10

EnvironmentA carbon balance sheet for moving forwardSince adopting its environmental policy in 2006, Cirque du Soleil has been persistent in its efforts to become a more environmentally responsibleorganization. Cirque wants to do its part with respect to the major issue that is climate change. In collaboration with Planetair—the climate programof the Unisféra Centre of Expertise on Sustainable Development—Cirque conducted an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for itsoperations in 2009. This project, which continued in 2010, involved defining the quantification parameters, identifying emission sources, developinga data gathering and emissions calculation tool, and finally, quantifying the emissions.The inventory is based on the ISO 14064 standard and contains data that will be used to benchmark changes in the amount of emissionsgenerated by business unit and by type of activity at Cirque du Soleil. Starting next year, we will be disclosing the data for this change, taking thegrowth in the company’s operations into account. The inventory will be updated every year and will identify the most significant targets for reducingour GHG emissions.StudioCirque reiterates its commitmentto the Montréal CommunitySustainable Development PlanCirque du Soleil has chosen to renew itscommitment to the Montréal CommunitySustainable Development Plan by participatingin the round table on this topic and becominga partner of the plan’s 2010–2015 version.During this period, Cirque commits to maintainor implement actions that will contribute toimproving air quality and reducing GHGemissions, ensuring a residential quality of life,practising responsible management ofresources, adopting best sustainabledevelopment practices, and enhancing theprotection of biodiversity, natural environmentsand green spaces.Paper challengeIn January and February 2010, the TOTEMteam, then in creation in Montreal, challengedStudio employees to cut down on printer useand thereby save on paper. Cirquestersenthusiastically rose to the challenge, reducingthe number of printouts by 140,600 duringthis period, compared to October andNovember 2009. Fifteen poplars were alsoplanted on Studio grounds, to honour Cirque’scommitment to planting a symbolic number oftrees for the amount of paper saved.In addition, the Studio recycles over 90%of the 70 tonnes of paper and cardboardgenerated annually—an increase in therecycling rate of almost 20% since 2003.11

New bicycles for the self-serve fleetCirque du Soleil has purchased new bicycles,increasing the number of bicycles in itsself-serve fleet for Montreal employees to 15.Between May and October, the bicycles wereborrowed more than 720 times—an increaseof 37% in relation to the same period last year.Considering that the bicycles are used mainlyWaterrecoveryincreaseIn 2010, 3,098,000 litres of recovered rainwaterwere used for supplying our sanitation facilities,landscaping and watering the gardens. Newsanitation facilities were connected directly to therecovered water system, thereby bypassing themunicipal system. The volume of rainwaterrecovered and used is an increase of 43% overlast year.to shuttle between our two business offices,this represents a savings of some 260 kg ofCO 2not released into the atmosphere.ClimateChallenge 2010Over 130 Cirque du Soleil employees havechosen to take part in the Climate Challenge,the biggest climate change awarenesscampaign in Quebec. Like some nearly500 organizations and thousands of ordinaryQuebecers, they have committed to makinglifestyle changes in order to reduce their ownGHG emissions. We estimate that the impactof the actions to which they have committedrepresents a reduction of 118,715 kg of CO 2per year, with current actions amounting to866,832 kg a year of CO 2not released intothe atmosphere.big top and arena touring showsOVO continuesits environmental initiatives2010 was particularly full of challenges for OVO, as the entire team worked on maintaining its“green tour” status by making composting one of its main objectives. Since the beginning of itstour, OVO has recycled the food waste from the employee kitchen, the Tapis Rouge tent cateringkitchen and public food counters in collaboration with external suppliers. In 2010, OVO continuedits efforts by reaching agreements with partners who use table scraps for specific projects.For example, in Atlanta, employee and customer table scraps were recycled into animal feed bya partner that also recycles used cooking oil. While modest, these initiatives have establishedstandards for future tours to aim for and created useful contacts across North America.12

TOTEM adopts even greenerpracticesThe OVO tour implemented a series of innovative environmental initiatives for our big top showsin 2009. In 2010, the TOTEM team took up the torch, doing even more to reduce itsenvironmental impact.Desktop computers were replaced by Energy Star-certified laptops (lighter and more energyefficient), LEDs were used to illuminate the stage floor, ramp and musician area, and an on-siteenergy-saving program was set up. Procurement initiatives such as buying from suppliersinvolved in social economy programs were implemented, while employees are now encouragedto use active transportation.Customers, for their part, are encouraged to fill reusable bottles. Signs also invite spectators tobring their souvenir cups home with them. Almost half (48%) of the clothing for sale in theboutique—including the TOTEM collection—is made from organic cotton, and 15% has theGlobal Organic Textile Standard certification. Souvenirs include a new reusable bag made fromorganic cotton and vegetable inks, and a whole new line of products (jewellery, picture frames)made out of recycled materials. In addition, magnetic packaging has been completely eliminated.Reusing wateron QuidamDuring the final months of its big top tour,Quidam showed great creativity in multiplyinguses for the water recovered from thecondensation of its heating, ventilation and airconditioning (HVAC) system. This recoveredwater has been used for cleaning since 2009,which has reduced the team’s waterconsumption. In 2010, the initiative waspushed even further via the acquisition of animproved, state-of-the-art system maximizingthe use of recovered water. The recoveredwater tank was outfitted with filters and apump to ensure water quality and constantpressure. These changes allowed the tank tobe connected to washing machines andsanitation facilities in Cirque employee areas.Resident and theatre showsEarth Day:An awareness-building opportunityFor the Believe team, Earth Day gave rise to awareness-building activities for employees toreduce their environmental impact. They had the opportunity to discover a host of little thingsthey could do to help clean up the planet—from making notebooks out of recycled paper andfood packaging to planting herb gardens in recycled water bottles and making compost.13

Relations with partnersand suppliersA step in the right directionfor responsible procurementCirque du Soleil is ranked fourth among the30 Quebec companies whose responsibleprocurement practices were assessed byexperts in the field—the Centre internationalde solidarité ouvrière—CISO (internationalcentre for worker solidarity) and the Coalitionquébécoise contre les ateliers de misère –CQCAM (Quebec coalition againstsweatshops). The CQCAM supports Quebeccompanies in their efforts to observe labourrights as defined in International LabourOrganization (ILO) agreements. It examinedthe processes of companies both privateand public, including Cirque’s. Although theresponsible procurement policy at Cirquedu Soleil was established only two years ago,this recognition proves its relevance and showsthat we are moving in the right direction.In addition, we should point out that of thecompanies that were assessed, Cirque duSoleil demonstrates the greatest transparencywhen it comes to responsible procurement.Evaluation of suppliers: A pilot projectAs Cirque du Soleil wanted to put an evaluation program in place for its suppliers, a pilot project was launched in 2010 involving 42 of the company’sbiggest suppliers. Those suppliers taking part were asked to fill out a questionnaire that was then used to analyze their performance. This processwas used to assess suppliers’ commercial performance as well as their social responsibility, and focused on criteria such as environmental aspects,health and safety, work relations, the supply chain and actual product content. The results of this analysis were then sent to the suppliers to providea starting point for discussions on the issues of sustainable development.Following this first stage, we are now developing questionnaires adapted more specifically to the various supply sectors so we can focus ourdiscussions on sustainable development more effectively by considering the issues unique to each sector. A tool to manage all the data gatheredthroughout this process will also be introduced. This is yet another step taken by Cirque du Soleil in its responsible procurement initiative.Challenges for 20112011 is already looking like a year of great challenges for Cirque du Soleil. Our shows will visit three new countries—the Philippines, South Africaand Turkey—and three new shows will open:• Zarkana, directed by François Girard, will be performed at New York’s Radio City Music Hall;• Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour, directed by Jamie King, will visit arenas across North America;• IRIS, directed by Philippe Decouflé, will take up residence at Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.We will start to see the results of the new governance structure implemented by the company in the next few months; new sustainable developmentinitiatives will be launched with the usual Cirque du Soleil creativity.14