Cirque Éloize's opens first permanent immersive event venue in Quebec

Situated in the heart of Old Montreal, the historic Dalhousie Station serves as the head office and creative studio for Cirque Éloize. The contemporary circus company sought to elevate its scenic solutions and provide a permanent projection infrastructure for Éloize Studios - a Cirque Éloize branch that manages the activities in this historical building - while establishing itself as an R&D multimedia hub. They turned to Barco, a global leader in visual technology solutions, to bring this vision to life.

Context

Cirque Éloize, a cultural powerhouse in Quebec which celebrated its 30^th anniversary this year, has consistently mesmerized audiences with its unique contemporary circus productions that seamlessly blend circus arts, music, dance, technology, and theater. Their headquarters are located in Dalhousie Station, a venue which holds immense historical significance as the departure station for the first train journey from Montreal to Vancouver in 1889.

Positioning itself as a community hub, the Cirque Éloize creative spaces, Éloize Studios can also be rented for external events. The venue is designed for events of every kind, scope and size.

Challenge

More recently, the studios have upgraded with a major multimedia project that allows Cirque Éloize, through Éloize studios, to implement various artistic themes in its spaces. It lifts events to another level with projection technology and new décor solutions, creating an immersive environment that is unique in Montreal!

The reality, however, of merging the video infrastructure into a venue that also has a multimedia and acrobatic rigging grid all while preserving the historic feel of Gare Dalhousie proved quite a challenge.

Solution

After an exhaustive evaluation of multiple manufacturers during the conceptual phase, Cirque Éloize chose Barco as the ideal partner. “The Barco projectors match all our technical specifications and deliver the best product quality and performances for our studios,” says Louis-Philippe Morency, Technical director and facility management at Cirque Éloize.    

Four UDXs, four UDMs and one G100 projector wrap the walls of the "Chapiteau room" with great imagery details and outstanding colors. Another seven G100-W22s light up the "Gymnasse room" with cinematographic creations.

The Barco projectors, their lenses and rigging peripherals – designed for the event industry – facilitated a smooth integration in the venue. In addition, external cooling units were added to the installation to manage the noise levels in the event space and minimizes the hinder for the audiences.

Results

The installation introduces a host of possibilities for Cirque Éloize and its audiences. “Having this permanent installation readily available saves us and our event customers lots of time,” concludes Morency. “We host impressive number of 60-80 events every year, that indicates the high demand for such a versatile setup.” 

TEAM CREDITS: 

• Technical director: Louis-Philippe Morency
• Video system design: Bernard Mauran
• CAD & 3D design: Alexandre Royal
• Content design: Sebbe Joly