Visit to Cirque du Soleil

Note: The conversational quotes used in this post are based on my recollection and might not be an exact reproduction of words uttered by the people involved.

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There is only one word that can attempt to describe the feeling that all of us experienced last Tuesday, March 1st – Wow! Here’s a short attempt to give you a glimpse of the magic that we experienced during our visit to the renowned Cirque du Soleil headquarters – a visit made possible thanks to Sauvé Scholar Carlos Rueda.

“There are three words that I want you to think about while you are here” said Welby Altidor, the Creative Director of Cirque du Soleil as we sat with him after a truly awe-inspiring journey to different divisions inside their company. “The first is creativity. In my view, creativity is the lack of rigidity – no rigid mindset, no rigid rules constraining our ideas, no rigid protocols controlling our behaviour within the organization – that is how I look at creativity” he proposed, waiting for us to disagree with him. Though we took some time to warm up to the idea of arguing fervently with the director of one of the most successful performing arts company in the world, ideas started bouncing out of our minds pretty soon.

And that is a strong reflection of the culture that oozes out of everything that you see at Cirque du Soleil. Every person you meet, every sculpture, every painting, every costume and all the things that for a lack of a better name I’ll choose to call ‘crazy things’ that you stand admiring call out in the strongest possible way for you to express yourself in the most creative way you can imagine.

“But creativity alone is mere decoration, just like everything else that you see around you in our company or on stage during our performances” interrupted Welby. “Our eyes get used to decorations very quickly” he paused to see a few puzzled faces around him before he continued “it is the meaning behind these decorations that lingers on in the minds of the audience. That is what converts a creative decoration into a Wow! And that is the second word that I want you to think about – Wow.” We were slowly getting absorbed into a magical world as we listened to Welby explain to us about all the different ways in which they strive to add Wow! into every experience that they create – be it on stage or within their company. Their administrative staff members work sitting beside huge glass walls that separate them from artists who are training adjacent to them. “It helps them remember why they are doing the work they are doing, even when it gets less exciting at times. It connects them to the Wow that we create for our audience and their role in taking that experience from our offices to the hearts of people.”

As Welby explained more about how their internal business processes work, we realized that if intelligently & creatively planned, the abstract, non-quantifiable aspects of a company’s culture can often influence the performance of a company a lot more than rules and protocols that we assume to be necessary for an organization to run efficiently. What impressed me greatly is the way they constantly related the work that they do with the social change that they wish to inspire. “We broadcast no messages through our performances, but we give people a pretext to bring out what is already there in their hearts. That’s our vision – to revoke, to provoke, to invoke. We are in the business of selling inspiration” explained Welby. “And that brings me to the third word that I want you to think about – Social change.” (None of us bothered to mention that there were two words in “Social change” – it turns out that there is not much of a difference between 3 and 4 when you are looking at it through the lens of creativity.)

“I wish that all of you will think about how what you want to do contributes to a positive change in the world around us. And the only thing that can help you in your efforts to change the world is imagination.”

When we walked out of their company at the end of the day, I can speak for everyone when I say there was only one feeling that filled our minds – WOW! We were introduced to a corporate culture that transcends the boundaries of the popular management & leadership theories that get thrown around these days like sea shells on a crowded beach. And I am sure what we learnt at Cirque du Soleil will stay with us for a long time to come.

Hats off Welby & Hats off Cirque du Soleil!

*This post would be incomplete without special thanks to Sauvé Scholar Lisa Rae who lent us the photographs used in the post.

Winter at Canadian Wonderland

The Friday noon started with the Sauve Scholars were getting busy with the dinner preparations to take to Lac Des Iles, a beautiful winter recreation spot, 60 minutes north of Montreal. We left from the lovely Sauve house at 5pm on February 18, 2011. Oh, on the way, we made a new song called “Chicken Curry” which had a long story behind within the Sauve House. We will tell you later. Actually this was the second Sauve Scholars song after “ Anuma”. After one and half hour drive, (all thanks to sweet Lisa, Kyle and Andrew who were the designated Canadian drivers) we arrived to see a beautiful cottage, nestled in the middle of dark and silent forest. It was really calm and was indeed quite an contrast to the city.

The cottages were extremely beautiful and furnished. But gender discrimination: girls were in one house and boys were in the other. I was sure Rooz- who is a super feminist from Iran didn’t like that. Then we laid the dinner table for our lovely hosts: Nancy (You can call her our mom or our principal), Davis and Tassie, Ann and Arnie. The dinner was off course The famous Sauve house special “Burmese Peruvian Smoked Chicken Curry, Palak Paneer, Rice and Tortillas” After the long drive, the wine, beers, happy faces and nice conversation was just what the doctor prescribed with the Indian meal. Being the first night at the cottage we were on an exploration mode, fooling around with Nancy’s Piano, the Fooz ball game was definitely making more noise than anyone else would have liked it. That was a night of Discovery. Kyle, used to play Piano in the Sunday school, so did Lilit. I got down to teach them a pretty innovative Card game called named “the Hong Kong Show” which I had practiced this all through my Medical years in Myanmar. Even the Indian Genius, Amruth, ended up with a headache at the end of it all! You can imagine how difficult it was.

Just as we stepped out of Nancy’s cottage to go to David and Tassies, it started snowing suddenly. We did not mind it so much because we were all excited about the cross country skiing the following morning. At that night, I slept like a baby as fortunately I did not share the room with Arcie. You will know more about scholars after reading this blog.

Next day, we went to Ann’s house, it was near a big lake. We put on our winter gears and got a quick training on how to ski. We were so excited to ski especially for those of us who have never skied before in our tropical countries. We practiced up and down in the boulevard. Then we started. We fell more than we could stand. I stopped counting after 100 when Dami was Skiing. He fell down from the first activity till the minute he had to get into the car to return to Montreal. It was hilarious and so much fun. We skied the entire morning in the sunny beautiful weather until our stomachs demanded for food. Then when the Stomachs revolted in mutiny, we ran home to Ann’s and we bit into whatever we saw. I can never forget that Canadian soup that was a good awesome combination of broccoli and chicken. After warming by the fire and laughing over each other’s falls we decided to run back to the hill to ski. By this time, we were more familiar with skis and so we skied in the deep hills and took in the breathtaking beauty. I broke one pole while I was falling down from the hill. The day passed by so quickly and we came back to our cozy cottage. We had a bunch of guests from around the lake for dinner. Dinner was yummy Biriyani and salad! Then the scholars started our famous “Anuma” Dance with the drummers Dami, Tope and Carlos. The song and the dance was so catchy that everyone present started dancing we danced till our legs hurt. Somehow, despite having a very long day, none of the scholars seemed to be at any less spirit to dance the ‘Anuma Dance’. The Dance! The Game! It was superb!

Sunday 20 March 2011: Woke up to the sun shining on my face that beautiful morning. We had another lovely Canadian sport - The snow-shoeing. Before that, wrestling game happened between boys. It was fun. Three people, Kyle, Andrew and I had to try to throw Big Dami into the snow. Then we started our snow shoeing trip up the mountain towards the lake. The trail was really pretty with pine and maple trees by our sides. On the way, we learnt from Anne how to get maple syrup and the habits of beaver. We saw the trail of bears, rabbits and turkeys. It was an incredible view from the top of the mountain: the mountains, the forest, the lake and the snow. Then we made a fire to warm up and rest. We were totally relaxed. We made Bannocks and grilled hotdog over the fire. I felt like I was with family. I suppose, I knew that I was with family.

The crazy sauna competition happened when we got back to Ann’s house. We had a deal between scholars as to who could stay longer in the freezing cold lake where we jumped in to take a dip after the Sauna. It was insane. Kyle and Stobo! You guys have to do my garbage duty until the end of the program. Arcie and Dami agreed to make a draw after staying 3 minutes in the icy water with the temperature -10C at that day. It is for one to imagine how cold it was in the water and how crazy we were! That is the Sauve Scholars for you! The carrot cake and the apple crisp was just simply delectable after dinner. Oh, I shouldn’t forget to mention Mafia game! If you were a Sauve scholar, you should not miss playing this one. The rules will be handed over to the future Sauve Scholars as a ritual. The game was so intense that night. Even Ion and Simone, our executive director and communication director, ended watching the game until 1 am in the morning. With Temi and Jessica we could never make a decision but hats off to Lilit, who by far is the best at negotiation and our very intelligent villager Michelle!

The last day dawned so quickly. We said good bye to our lovely hosts at the cottage before heading for dog sledding. It was an experience that I can never ever forget. We had delicious hot chocolate there and we learnt how to lead the dogs sensibly. We got familiar and friendly with the dogs and we put them on to the sled. We never had the chance to see the scenery because we were focusing on steering the dogs to our destination. I fell down twice from the sled but I managed to travel in the old means of transportation after all.

I will be lying if I do not mention that this winter camp experience was the most awesome experience I have ever had in my life, second only to the Sauvé experienceJ

Quebec City

On February 5^th, 9 of the scholars headed up to Quebec City for the notorious Winter Carnival. At 7:30am sharp, we were packed and ready to go. Two cars full, ipods charged, and several Tim Horton’s breakfast bagels and we were on our way.

The drive was beautiful. Blindingly white fields, slightly antiquated houses reminiscent of a slower, quieter time. Rows and rows of greenhouses begged the question, “what does grow in Quebec during this time of year?” From personal experience, I can tell you: close. to. nothing.

We arrived at Auberge Michel Doyon around 11:30pm. After attempting for what felt like an hour to communicate in French (darn I need to learn this language!), we were able to check in to our rooms and head downtown. As we descended from the 7min bus ride into the heart of Quebec City, we stood in awe at the spectacular architecture of the city.

The old part of the city or Vieux Quebec – as the Quebecois call it – borders the Saint Laurent river and is surrounded by massive walls giving it a fort-esque feel to it. Inside the walls, street performers and activities flooded the terrain. To our left: a children’s hockey game, to our right: a down-hill race car tournament, on top of the hill: the Carnival.

Ice sculptures adorned the landscape. The parliament stood as a magnificent Second Empire monument to Quebec’s rich political history. The Bonhomme, with his weirdly creepy smile, greeted us at the entrance. The rest of the day can only be described as a blur of uncontrollable laughter, extreme downhill madness, and finger-licking goodness.

On Sunday we drove out to the legendary Ice Hotel where beautiful, intricate decorations laid softly upon the icy walls. Inside: hotel suites with fur-covered beds, a chapel lined with carefully designed benches, and gaudy chandeliers hung drastically from the ceiling - all made of ice. Tourists paced to and fro, joyfully snapping future memories of ephemeral spaces bound to disappear.

After lunch, we took the ferry from Quebec City to Levis across the river. Shattered ice coated the river, drifting leisurely towards unknown destinations. The ferry gradually slicing the ice’s tough exterior as it cruised northward to Levis. From a distance, you could see the city lights, glimmering peacefully against the night sky like jewels waiting to be discovered and their stories to be explored.