Dreamy circus

by Genevieve Paiement

"It's a whole other world that's verging on the surreal--it's a dream world," says local photographer Jean-Fran çois Leblanc on the subject of his photograhic exhibit Le Cirque Eloize: Moments intimes. Leblanc, who helped found Montreal's Agence Stock Photo, has been snapping portraits of the Eloize circus troupe for the past three years as a contractual photographer.

This exhibit is an exploration of the more private, backstage aspect of the shows. A place where clowns go to wipe off their faces and performers experience the adrenaline rush of pre-show jitters. "It's an incredibly interesting universe to explore photographically," says Leblanc. The pictures were taken of Cirque Eloize's shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and of Cirque Orchestra in Trois-Rivieres this past summer. At the Centre Pierre Péladeau (300 de Maisonneuve E.), until Oct. 21.

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