Picnic at the Circus!
August 16th 2022
What a pleasure to welcome you in Le Jardin du Monastère at the Centre St Jax to celebrate together the summer!
Le Monastère thanks you for your trust and fervor, and above all, HAVE A GOOD SHOW!
Feel free to complete the survey below or make a donation!
#lemonastere
THE ARTISTS
GUILLAUME PAQUIN
From the age of 7, circus art began to be an integral part of Guillaume’s life. Living in Ville Sainte-Catherine, in the southern suburbs of Montreal, he had to go to the city frequently in order to develop this passion: the circus. His 8 years at the Verdun Circus School were a springboard to the National Circus School of Montreal.
After receiving his high school diploma at the ENC, he obtained his DEC (diploma of study in circus arts) in Corde V, an innovation of his coach Pierre Carrier.
Thanks to his status as a multidisciplinary circus artist: Corde V, acro-dance and aerial straps, he was noticed during his last year at school and signed a contract for the Cirque du Soleil show Toruk as the main character, which led him to travel around the world for 2 years. Since then, he continues to share his passion and perform like a globe trotter.
ACRO-DANCE AT 6:30 PM
VANESSA KNEALE
Vanessa Kneale is a franco-ontarian clown, physical actress and dancer. Following a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance and Business, she pursued clown training with Francine Côté, James Keylon, Joe de Paul, Michel Dallaire and Yves Dagenais, amongst others.
Her talents have been put to work in productions such as Dance Animal (Just For Laughs), L’Aubergine’s Ripopée (pan-canadian touring), Les Bunheads (America’s Got Talent & other international televised talent competitions), Bibi & The Beast (Clown, Burlesque and Fringe festivals), and her solo work as Vana and other characters on stage and at events (Les 7 doigts de la main, C2Montreal, Phil d’Ariane, Espace Forain, Richard LaCroix, Les Foutoukours, etc). She has also dedicated much of her time to social causes with La Caravane Philanthrope in El Salvador, Artcirq in Nunavut, Phare Ponleu Selpak in Cambodia and E.motion21 in Australia.
With a passion to entertain at the heart of her work, Vanessa continues to charm audiences of all ages around the world as an MC, performer, creator, and roving character.
EMCEE AT 7:00 PM
ARTHUR MOREL VAN HYFTE
Arthur is a French artist mixing circus techniques with dance and contortion. His father, a costume designer, and his mother, a director and actress, introduced him to the creative arts.
He has worked with companies such as Cirque Éloize, La Soirée, One Drop and Cirque du Soleil’s Zumanity show with his trapeze-dance solo.
With Johanne Madore as artistic advisor, he created “Cendres”, a poetic aerial trapeze performance inspired by the imagined process of reincarnation through different states and bodies.
He participated in the international festival Youngstage where he received the Golden Star Award as well as the Cirque du Soleil Award – for Innovative Artistic Vision and Performance as well as an invitation in 2019 to the Festival International du Cirque de Demain in Paris where he received the Gold Medal and the “Prix Acrobates de Chine”. Since then he has created Projet Sanctuaire with other circus artists, including Guillaume Paquin who will also be on stage today.
AERIAL PRISME AT 7:30 PM
CLOWN at 7:00 pm
ANTHONY D'URBANO
Anthony D’Urbano, communitarian, dj and event planner. Anthony is the founder of MONTREAL online community FrontRite and a natural born entertainer. He is known to seamlessly curate music and crowds to create magical experiences for all to enjoy.