7 doigts de la main inching back into action
Circus company hard hit by pandemic beginning to perform overseas again
The Cirque du Soleil isn't the only Montreal circus company that has had its business devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also been a rough year for Montreal's Les 7 doigts de la main, one of Canada's leading independent circus companies.
It was looking like 2020 would be the busiest year ever for Les 7 doigts, but all five of its shows were shut down at the start of the year because of the pandemic, and it was also forced to close its studios on St-laurent Blvd. The show Prime Time had just had its debut in Moscow in early March and then was shuttered two weeks later. Soul of the Ocean had been playing in Hong Kong since the beginning of January but was then closed near the end of the same month.
7 Doigts also had two shows on Virgin cruise ships that were nixed, Ships in the Night and Duel Reality. Another critically-acclaimed show, 7 doigts co-founder Shana Carroll's Passagers, had its spring Chinese tour cancelled and its planned shows in France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Hungary and Switzerland were also scrapped.
But there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel for Les 7 doigts. Prime Time began performances in Moscow again earlier this month at the Moscow National Theatre and another 7 doigts show, Princesse de cirque, will play at the same Moscow venue throughout November. Passagers' European tour will resume with shows in France in November.
In August, Les 7 doigts also reopened its rehearsal studios, to be used by all professional and student circus performers in Montreal. 7 Doigts director general Nasib El-husseini said it has been challenging reopening the studios, noting that they have had to hire staff to make sure performers are following proper social-distancing rules and others to disinfect the studios after each usage.
Social distancing makes it particularly difficult for circus performers to rehearse since they are not allowed to touch each other.
“With the public health rules, there are certain things the performers can't do and there are some things they can do,” El-husseini said. “If the artists don't live together, they're not allowed to touch. With (circus arts association) En Piste, we are trying to discuss with the public health authorities to see if we can have the same rules (about) contact as judo. But for the moment, we don't have the same rules. So it's very difficult, unless the performers live together.”
In early September, the Quebec government gave the green light for combat sports — including judo, boxing and wrestling — to resume but under strict guidelines.
El-husseini said one of the biggest issues facing the circus milieu here is that so much of their income comes from international tours, all of which were cancelled.
“Circus artists are almost all independent freelance workers and the vast majority of their income comes from independent sources (rather than a steady paycheque),” El-husseini said. “And most of that money comes from exporting our work. So it's a no-brainer that the circus milieu is one of the artistic communities the hardest hit by the pandemic. We really have to come up with some smart strategies to survive COVID.”
In the spring, En Piste — the National Circus Arts Alliance — did a survey of circus artists across Canada. It found that 66 per cent of the circus artists polled, the majority of whom live in Quebec, were considering a career change because of the pandemic. En Piste director general Christine Bouchard said in a recent interview that she believes it remains true that many circus artists are contemplating leaving because of COVID -19.
“We're still at the stage of managing an emergency situation,” Bouchard said. “There have been numerous government programs to help people, but the return to normal is still not there. We still don't know when the tours are going to start again and at what rhythm.
“Yes, now you are allowed to have a show in a venue with 250 people, but we still haven't really started doing a lot of shows.”