Happy 25th, Cirque du Soleil!

June 16, 1984 -- June 16, 2009: You are 25-years old this year. You went from an upstart kid eating fire, walking on stilts, juggling clubs and clowning your way into a global giant. You took the world. You have thrilled, challenged, confused, let us down and lifted us back up many times over.

Here are some photos of you in your precocious youth. Such sweet images of a troupe of Canadian street performers turning their talents and vision into one of the most remarkable circus empires the world has ever known ...

The first Cirque du Soleil logo, above, designed by Josee Belanger, 1984. The images in black and white are of La Fete Foraine in 1983, the precursor to CDS, described by CDS as a gathering of street performers "inspired by the communal spirit of the 1960s."











The first Cirque du Soleil tent, 1984.

Director Franco Dragone in rehearsals, 1993.

25 Cheers to Guy Laliberte, fearless founder and Cirque King!

[all photos from the Cirque du Soleil website]

6/23/09