Cirque du Soliel’s former CEO discusses Disney partnership in new book

Nearing his retirement and just weeks ahead of the opening of “Drawn to Life,” the first Cirque du Soleil show done in collaboration with the Walt Disney Company, Cirque CEO Daniel Lamarre faced his greatest challenge.

The COVID-19 pandemic was shutting down the world. He was forced to shutter all 44 Cirque du Soleil shows globally, layoff 95% of the company’s workforce, and watch as $1 billion in annual sales free fall to zero revenue.

“Drawn to Life,” which later opened on Nov. 18, 2021 at Disney Springs in Walt Disney World, was to be one of the final acts and huge achievements for Lamarre before stepping down from the role to become Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board. Instead, he needed to come up with some creative solutions to keep his company alive.

Now, Lamarre is revealing the lessons he learned in his 20 years as CEO of Cirque du Soleil in his new book, “Balancing Acts” – including stories from the creation and lengthy delay of the launch of “Drawn to Life” due to the pandemic.

“Balancing Acts” offers a look behind the curtain at one of the most renowned entertainment companies in the world, with one overarching theme in mind: “Without creativity, there is no business.”

Lamarre offers behind-the-scenes anecdotes on how that mindset led to Cirque’s greatest successes, including:

• Why early in his career Lamarre was assigned a clown to follow him around and lead impromptu exercise classes and songs
• How he convinced The Mirage hotel in Las Vegas to more than triple their theater renovation budget to $100 million forThe Beatles LOVE, to create a venue that evokes the Beatles’ famous 1969 rooftop concert in London
• What he considers the “…without a doubt, the biggest flop in Cirque’s history,” and the lessons learned from that experience

In “Balancing Acts”, Lamarre discusses the pandemic experience in-depth and the creative solutions to never-before-encountered challenges, like how and where to store 483 trucks’ worth of equipment, and how ultimately, he led Cirque du Soleil to a strong recovery.

“Balancing Acts” can be purchased here.

(We do get some compensation if you purchase items from some of the links. Please help support us. Here’s our full disclosure.)