Guy Laliberté imbibed a passion for performance arts after his parents made him watch the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus show. He started out in performance arts as a street juggler, and became a self- taught accordion and harmonica player. After dropping out of college, he decided to pursue performance arts as a profession. In the years that followed, Guy chased his dream passionately and travelled across Europe to learn and hone new skills. He acquired the art of fire breathing in Paris, but when he returned home, he realised that attaining financial security was extremely challenging. What lay ahead was a mundane job at a hydroelectric power plant that offered a stable income, but it had only been three days at the new job when the workers at the plant decided to go on strike. Guy took this as a positive sign, and decided to let go of the job as a result of all the chaos that ensued. He vowed to never give up on his dream again and began stilt walking with Gilles Ste-Croix’s Stilt Walking Theatre Troupe, Les Échassiers de Baie-Saint-Paul. Together, they had envisioned the concept of organising a series of festive events (La Fête foraine) and combined a variety of talented street performers who would perform on the same stage. In 1983, the government of Québec announced a $1.5 million dollar art grant to celebrate the 450th year of Canada’s discovery by Jacques Cartier. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. Guy labored to establish the groundwork for artistic production, and his partner travelled 56 miles (Baie-Saint-Paul to Québec city) on stilts. The government was delighted to see their display and awarded them successive years of funding, which proved to be the ultimate factor in the discovery of Cirque Du Soleil. It set the ground running for a marvel that attained loyal viewership around the world.