Résumé :
Given the success of its artistic and commercial models, the reach of Quebec’s circus has extended across continents to the point that it is now nearly impossible to imagine it being restricted to Quebec alone. However, COVID-19 took its toll on what had previously been an assertive and expansionist development. The pandemic brought circus artists home to reflect and reinvest in circus practice and involvement in Quebec, usually outside of institutional structures and without a contract. The Quebec circus’s global reach and aspirations were confronted with the brutal economic reality of a world without touring as circus refocused locally, and artists and institutions were forced to reconsider the existing model. This article draws on an extensive collection of data concerning all circus activity (virtual, hybrid and in situ) compiled during the two years COVID-19 most affected Quebec’s society. It offers a record and analysis of the impact the beginning of the pandemic had on the development of contemporary circus in Quebec and what new trends we might expect over the coming years as a result of this disruption.

DOI  : 10.3998/circus.4138