Backstage with Cirque du Soleil

I remember this feeling. It’s been a couple decades since I last waited in the wings of my high school’s Romeo and Juliet production, but I’ll never forget the electric hum of a theatre about to come alive. I’m backstage at JOYÀ, a surreal and spectacular Cirque du Soleil show. Performers stretch in quiet focus, stagehands move massive set pieces in hurried choreography, and just like in high school, I stay out of the way.  

Cirque du Soleil started as a group of street performers in the early 1980s in a small Quebec town. Today it is a global phenomenon, continually raising the bar with impossibly complex and elaborate productions. Without a trace of tacky circus tropes, each show weaves fantastical stories into dreamlike settings. Magic unfurls in every set, prop, and costume. The performers are true marvels, pushing the limits of physics and human endurance. To be an audience member is an astounding and unforgettable experience. To be invited behind the curtain, like I am today, is a rare privilege.  

JOYÀ is one of Cirque’s permanent residencies. Their first touring production in 1984, Le Grand Tour du Cirque du Soleil, was a Canadian success that paved the way to the global stage. The swirling stripes of their big top tents now rove the world year-round. A permanent home for a show, however, is an even grander foundation—roots that grow into evermore intricate and immersive spaces. I’ve travelled to Mexico to experience JOYÀ, on the grounds of the sprawling VidantaWorld Riviera Maya resort. Other permanent shows can be found in Berlin, Honolulu, and most famously, Las Vegas. Another Mexican residency is planned with a second VidantaWorld partnership in Nuevo Vallarta, opening in November 2025. 

My guide is JOYÀ’s artistic director Caroline Sicard, who oversees the entire production. She moves with the poise of a lifelong ballerina, and when she stands to speak her feet snap intuitively to a dancer’s pose. She moves with a sense of urgency – curtain time is in just a few hours, and her incredibly keen eye will ensure every excruciating detail embodies the ornate vision of the show’s founding creative team.  

Caroline’s illustrious career has always straddled onstage performance and backstage craft. After dancing in the full run of Cirque’s Viva Elvis show in Vegas she transitioned behind the scenes, maturing her artistic vision under the organization’s unwavering commitment to greatness. Beneath her baseline of rigor and urgency still lies a performer’s love of being on stage. “Did you know that an audience’s heartbeats synchronize when they watch a live performance together?” she asks me with wide eyes.  

The tour takes us through catacombs of hallways, ascending and descending whirlwinds of stairs that cling to the 650-seat theatre. We dodge trolleys and wardrobe racks. Workspaces appear in caverns throughout, where industrious crew members are buzzing in silent camaraderie.

A chart on the wall labelled “Wig Schedule” marks our entry into the wardrobe department. Three hundred dreamlike costumes are created and produced right here by designer James Lavoie and his team of six. Every piece of fabric is an opportunity to tell a story along with its character: the pleating on the edge of an archivist’s dress is made to look like the pages of a book; the patterns of an entomologist's pants are drawings of insects. The most intricate of all are the animal masks stacked on a shelf ready to be donned, glimmering with thousands of jewels and beads that have been lovingly applied by hand.  

I’m invited into a prop workshop and browse the orderly chaos of fairytale artifacts. I see a worker repairing the eyepiece of an antique microscope. This is an element so inconceivably small, essentially invisible to the audience, and yet, to the crew it's critical. Every team member is aligned in the pursuit of excruciating attention to detail. It is a shared reverence to the audience, and the commitment to deliver an exceptional experience for them.  

In every work room is a large digital clock marching toward curtain time. Caroline eyes one and rushes us to the final stop on my tour. We leave the chilled hush of the theatre, stepping into the warm humidity and down a winding boardwalk back toward the entrance to the grounds. From here I can properly marvel at the JOYÀ landscape, designed to truly immerse every guest into the story’s lush and colourful world. At the centre is a large lagoon stamped with a perfectly circular island of trees. Palapas hug the water, dotted with boutiques and restaurants to serve guests before and after the show. Sprouting just above the trees sitting atop a grand waterfall is the theatre, with a roof shaped like a blooming flower. Everything has been designed and constructed with the JOYÀ story in mind. This is something a temporary tent just can’t deliver. 

A small group is waiting under the shade of a thatched roof. Caroline has arranged for me to meet some of the cast. This is talent on another level. They perform incredible feats of strength and agility all while embodying the surreal identities of their characters. Twelve different nationalities are represented in the cast of 35. Without the need to tour, they live, train, and perform right here on the same compound. It’s an artist’s collective, surely worthy of its own unscripted TV series, complete with pets, spouses, and siblings. I part ways with Caroline and the cast – showtime is just a couple hours away.  

It’s golden hour, just before sunset, when I return, and the grounds are alive with guests. When I’m taken to my seat there is one more surprise—this is a dinner show. JOYÀ’s grand theatre also houses a culinary team that serves 72 lucky guests at tables surrounding the stage. It’s a fittingly theatrical menu, designed in collaboration with Vidanta’s Corporate Chef Alexis Bostelmann. My menu is printed on a paper-thin cracker, my starter enshrouded in mist, my main course revealed in my own personal treasure chest, and dessert revealed within an antique book. Each course is vibrant with local produce made even more colourful with edible floral adornments. Authentic Mexican and Mayan flavours dance on the palate. 

The grand performance surpasses every expectation. My experience today has given me a special connection to these extraordinary performers and the remarkable crew who support them. This theatre, a jewel in the jungle, is their home. Being invited here behind the scenes was a privilege that has left me with a profound appreciation for their craft. I’ve seen many Cirque du Soleil performances in my life, and my experience at JOYÀ will always be the most memorable.