On November 17th, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Montréal, the Réseau des ingénieurs du Québec had its Annual General Meeting, which was preceded by a cocktail reception and the Art du Génie conference, presented by Cirque du Soleil.

The conference of Cirque du Soleil helped understanding the advanced technology behind the magic of the Cirque.


What's the Art du génie?

Cirque du Soleil is synonymous with innovation, technical wizardry and unprecedented creativity. The conference began with a brief overview of Cirque du Soleil, followed by a detailed look at the creation process, the main actors, the technical challenges as well as the presentation of a few examples of large-scale projects.
Afterwards, the research and the development process of the Cirque's Centre for Research and Innovation in Performance (CRIP) was presented.
Finally, the guest speakers discussed open innovation strategies and sources of creative thinking, such as the Cirque's partnership network with educational institutions specialized in design, engineering, multimedia technologies, health sciences and the arts.


Speakers

Garry Savage joined Cirque du Soleil in2008 with the mandate to set up the new Centre for Research and Innovation in Performance (CRIP). Since the Centre’s creation, he has been responsible for its management, outreach and development. In the very first year, he set up anextended partnership network with several Québec universities and colleges specializing in design and engineering — a network that soon will spread to theU.S. and Europe. Garry studied industrial design at the schoolof Art and Design in Lausanne, Switzerland,and at the Université de Montréal. He possesses vast project management experience related to ergonomics and human biomechanics, as well as the development of medical,communications and consumption products. Mr. Savage is also the holder of several international patents.

Valérie Leblond began her career with Cirque du Soleil in 2003.Since then, she has worked as project manager and assistant designer of acrobatic and rigging equipment. She contributed to the creation of two Cirque du Soleil shows: The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas and Zed in Tokyo.Ms. Leblond was recently appointed to the Centre for Research and Innovation in Performance (CRIP). In her new role as senior project manager for research and development, she assists Garry Savage in managing and expanding the networking program with learning institutions and strategic partners. She studied mechanical engineering and automation at l’École de technologie supérieure de Montréal.  

Here some images of the conference and the following cocktail:






The conference speakers, Mrs. Valérie Leblond and Mr. Gary Savage, with Mr. François P. Granger, Eng., Ph.D., president of the RéseauIQ