"The acrobatic skills, the costumes, the music, the lighting, the set—all those elements contribute to the power and beauty of the illusion,"
Nicolette spent years as a street performer, crossing Canada from coast to coast with her husband at the time, putting on a highly acclaimed juggling act. The couple were part of a kind of loose extended traveling family of circus artists who juggled, clowned, played music and wowed the crowds with their acrobatics.
The duo later ventured into the USA and toured Europe and Australia as well, playing in more conventional performance spaces such as Ottawa's National Arts Centre. In 1979 they received a grant to study Commedia dell'Arte in California.
Nicolette Naum first joined Cirque du Soleil as a casting agent in 1991. She became Artistic Coordinator for the European tour of Quidam in 1999. She has been Artistic Director of Varekai since 2002, and in addition to that position she became Artistic Director of Quidam in 2005.
"My main duty and role is to challenge the artists," she explains. "As a performer myself, I have a good understanding of the emotional demands and physical risks involved."