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Past stories Living off-the-grid New Brunswick's Saint John River Ontario's Bruce Trail Canadian Ski Marathon Elk Island National Park Rallying for rallysport Montreal - Circus city Beluga Bytes Dawson - a musical adventure Bald Eagle Confederation Trail Boning up on the badlands Ukkusiksalik National Park Geocaching Discover Cypress Hills Saint Joseph's Oratory A walk through Stanley Park Sudbury's science centre Acadia continues Toronto's underground world

Contemporary circus in Montréal dates back to the 1960s and '70s, with the formation of hundreds of small collectives in the style of theatre troupes forming in New York and overseas. One of the earliest was Le Grand Cirque Ordinaire, which incorporated the vaudeville traditions of song and dance and magic into its performances, and the improvisational style of commedia dell'Arte. The National Circus School, the only higher education facility of its kind in Canada, opened in 1981.

Fire-breathing, stilt-walking buskers Guy Laliberté, Gilles Ste-Croix and Guy Caron were members of the Club des Talons Hauts (High Heels Club) and, in 1984, went on to form Cirque de Soleil, combining acrobatics with modern dance and dark emotion. Cirque Eloize was formed in 1993 by seven artists from the Magdalen Islands (all graduates of the National Circus School). It blends poetic circus arts and contemporary dance, but with less seriousness than Cirque de Soleil.

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