Artcirq to take break amid growing popularity

Canada's only Arctic circus has become so popular, performers say they need to take a break to recharge and reflect on the future of the troupe.

Artcirq, a youth acrobatic circus troupe based in Igloolik, Nunavut, will take a two-month break once its commitments are completed at the end of July.

"What we try to be is healthy and happy and inspire and if we're just draining our inside energy, well, there's something wrong," Artcirq co-founder Guillaume Ittukssarjuat Salladin told CBC News.

"Right now, everything is fine. But in the next few months, we'll go into a reflection period to focus on our priorities."

Artcirq has performed its Inuit-themed acrobatic shows around the world and across Canada's North since forming in 1998.

In the past year, its members have performed at the Feria del Libro festival in Monterrey, Mexico, and at the Festival au Desert in Timbuktu, Mali, as well as in shows in Europe. Last month in Iqaluit, Artcirq performed at the Alianait Arts Festival.

"After going to Timbuktu, where can you you dream of going? I mean, there's the moon, yes" Salladin said with a laugh.

Salladin said he never thought Artcirq would become popular so quickly, initially thinking it would take 10 to 15 years for the group to attract so much attention.

But these days, requests are pouring in from all over for more performances, music and video projects, and even collaborations with other circus troupes. While it's a dream come true for Artcirq, Salladin said things are happening too fast.

"We need to find inside where are the dreams, not just answer the call and say, 'Yes, we're going to go there,'" he said.

The past year's travels have made Artcirq troupe members like Solomon Uyarasuk even prouder about livingin the North, and it has let performers see manyother cultures.

"It brings me to a point where I can accept anything," said Uyarasuk, a 20-year-old acrobat from Igloolik.

"It doesn't matter what color the skin is or what accent they have. It doesn't matter we're all people."

Salladin said Artcirq members will use the two-month break to decide how the troupe should evolve in the future.