"Cahier à Colorier"

Text by: Richard Russo | December 2002
Fascination! Newsletter, Issue #16

Whether it be their trademarked blue and yellow big-top, their avant- garde costuming or their amazing pictures and photographs, Cirque du Soleil brings a world of color with it wherever it goes. With the holidays around the corner, Cirque du Soleil has once again filled our world with color by providing its fans a chance to "bring out the artists" in themselves. Now fans all over the world can provide their favorite characters with a little color of their own - with coloring images "inspired by" Cirque shows and characters. These new sheets feature such beloved characters as The White (or Black) Singer from Alegría, John from Quidam and the Green Lizard from Mystère.

NOTE: Each image is presented in PDF format - Adobe Acrobat will be required to view and print these documents.

{Saltimbanco} Dreamer	{Mystère} Firebird	{Mystère} Green Lizard	{Alegría} Singer
{Alegría} Trapeze	{Quidam} Funny Bunny	{Quidam} John	{Quidam} Target

That year (1987) Cirque du Soleil took every last penny it had in its reserves and took its show to the west coast of the United States in a make-or-break move. The show did not yet have a name (it would later become known as "Le Cirque Reinvente") but it took California by storm, creating the phenomenon we know as Cirque du Soleil today.

Nestled within that year's program is an 8-page coloring book, featuring whimsical circus-like scenes for eager kids (and adults alike) to color. The book is a concept by Thérèse Mondor, a noted member of Cirque's Graphics Artist department in the early days. She also provided the illustrations (the actual black-and-white scene drawings) for the coloring book. The images themselves are set to a narrative - a story about Flox, a small clown who dreamed about amazing circus adventures. The whimsical story is written by Nancy Vanasse and Myriam Spielvogel.

"One night," the story begins. "Flox had a marvelous dream. He saw a huge circus tent - the Big Top - flying from one country to another; drawing thousands of stars behind it in a shimmering train. From far up in the sky, the magnificent caravan finally caught sight of Flox' house. As if by magic, the whole village awoke to the sound of a brass band. 'Wow!', Flox exclaimed. 'It's the Cirque du Soleil!' And there they were, the most extraordinary characters parading by before his very eyes, inviting him to join their celebration. There were clowns of all colors, shapes and sizes. There were acrobats doing impossible jumps and turns. There were jugglers. The children came forward and watched in fascination. A young clown riding by on a unicycle leaned down and handed Flox a strange-looking ball... 'What's happening to me?' Flox wondered. 'Everything's spinning! I'm getting dizzy!' It was so overwhelming! After spreading its message of joy throughout the village, the Big Top set off again on its voyage to far-away countries. Then, poof! Everything vanished and Flox woke up, enchanted by what he had seen."

Many a spectator becomes enchanted by Cirque du Soleil when the show has ended, and thanks to the creativity of the Cirque du Soleil graphics department, Thérèse Mondor, Nancy Vanasse and Myriam Spielvogel, fans of Cirque du Soleil had a way to take that enchantment to a whole new level!

Coloring Book Copyright © Cirque du Soleil.