This former coach of the Canadian Gymnastics team that has become one of the most respected acrobatic designers in the Circassian environment died at the age of 78. He will have marked many artists from the National Circus School, which he co -founded.
Posted at 5:10 p.m.
It was indeed in the premises of the old Immaculate Conception Center, on the Mont-Royal set, that André Simard welcomes, then forms the first artists of air circus from the National Circus School, that he co-borders with artists Guy Caron and Pierre Leclerc in 1981.
André Simard collaborated with the Cirque du Soleil in 1987. He created for the show New experience A swinging number that revolutionizes discipline.
But to ensure the safety of artists, one of his obsessions, André Simard invented in 1989 the elastic security autolonge, which makes it possible to retain acrobat in the event of a fall. Its use is spread quickly in all air disciplines and is used by all circus companies in the world.
-The Cirque du Soleil uses it as an acrobatic designer in fifteen productions thereafter. From 1995, the circus also allocated him a space for his creation studio Les people d’r. A space that bears its name today.
“He was a legendary character of the Cirque du Soleil, told us on Saturday the president and chief executive officer of the Cirque du Soleil, Daniel Lamarre. We were all silently impressed and moved to rub shoulders with it. At the same time, he was someone very simple and very endearing. It is a very big mourning for the circus world, especially for the artists who were very close to him. »»
Many affection testimonies have started to flock on social networks. Among other things, one could read the word of the circus artist and acrobatic designer Émilie Emiroglou, who pays tribute to her on his Facebook page.
“I knew you as a child. You were a discreet and powerful lighthouse. You have become a pillar in my artistic life. Without you I would never have hung on a hoop and the world of air circus as we know it today would never have been in the same way. You have transmitted knowledge, a requirement, a poetry of the movement that shaped an entire generation of artists and far beyond […] »
Born in Rosemont in 1947, André Simard has lived in the Saint-Agathe region for a few years. Before embarking on the circus world, he evolved as a gymnast. He became Canadian champion three times, and participated in the Munich Olympic Games. In 1976, he was responsible for the training sites of the Montreal Games.
