Marie-Josée Lareau completed an EMBA at HEC and McGill University. For her final paper, she did study and analyze: «How the artistic world and the business world could collaborate better». She started to develop artistic workshops for businessmen, where the artistic content would be used to help administrators to improve some aspects of their functions. Some of the themes she is exploring are creativity, improving team spirit, stress management, communication skills and sense of inclusion. She thinks that the business world could learn from the cultural world and vice versa. Since a couple of year, she started to teach her workshop to the employees, new managers and executive of Cirque du Soleil, Bombardier, Walt Disney and Abbott Laboratories. She also created a long version of her program for a group of management teachers at HEC Montreal to improve their «stage presence».

In 2002, after she completed a University diploma in dance at UQAM (option creation), she then proceeded to establish her own company called Création à L’Endroit with which she created and produced five different shows combining dance, theater and circus. She have been working for Cirque du Soleil for ten year, in charge of the specific artistic training, transforming acrobats into new circus artists. She also worked as an assistant choreographer for KOOZA and as a Creator for the special events, the lifestyle and the innovation center of Cirque du Soleil.

With her wide expertise in the entertainment business (dance, yoga, visual art, photography and circus), Marie-Josée has accumulated a lot of experiences. She transformed and adapted all of her knowledge and expertise into creative exercises for the business world, in order to build personalized workshop for individuals, teams and companies.

Stage presence workshop
Inspired by the transformation process and the training of Cirque du Soleil’s acrobats, Marie-Josée Lareau developed a new type of training for executives.

Through a combination of game, theater and movement, participants will have the opportunity to improve their body awareness, self-confidence and their ability to capture the attention of their audience.

Imagining they become circus performers for a few minutes, participant will be encourage to be physically involved, leaving their everyday concerns aside. This introduction will give them the opportunity to open a new creative space in their minds.