Le PeTiT CiRqUe (Fr, ''The Little Circus'') (pronounced lə pəti siʁk) is an all-youth professional circus company based in Los Angeles, California. LPC was founded in 2012 by Nathalie Yves Gaulthier, a former child actress and competitive gymnast. LPC consists of a wide array of cirque specialists, including acrobats, aerialists, contortionists, hand balancers, and foot archers, and other performing specialists, such as vocalists, dancers, hoop dancers, and martial artists. The troupe has performed in the United States, Canada, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates.

Humanitarian contributions

Nathalie Yves Gaulthier believes cirque is a tool for social change and education. A large percentage of LPC's performances are for charities, especially those that support children's causes. In the children's fundraising arena, Le PeTiT CiRqUe's performances have raised money for at-risk children (Ometz), children with heart disease (Camp del Corazon), hospitalized children (

Starlight Children's Foundation Starlight Children's Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1982. Starlight's programs include providing hospital wear, games, and deliveries to hospitalized children. The programs are provided directly to children through Starlight's ne ...

), youth athletics (

California State Games The California State Games is an annual Olympic-style competition for California's amateur athletes of all ages and abilities. The Games is a member of the National Congress of State Games and of the United States Olympic Committee. Most of th ...

), children with Treacher Collins Syndrome ( Children's Craniofacial Association), and children with life-threatening diseases (

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqu ...

). LPC performances have also helped raise funds for world peace (the

Norwegian Nobel Institute The Norwegian Nobel Institute ( no, Det Norske Nobelinstitutt) is located in Oslo, Norway. The institute is located at Henrik Ibsen Street 51 in the center of the city. It is situated just by the side of the Royal Palace. History The institute ...

), Native American scholarships (Theresa A. Mike Scholarship Foundation), breast cancer research (

Breast Cancer Research Foundation The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) is an independent, not-for-profit organization which has raised $569.4 million to support clinical and translational research on breast cancer at medical institutions in the United States and abroad. BC ...

), animal care (

Performing Animal Welfare Society The Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a U.S.-based group for abandoned or abused performing animals as well as victims of the exotic animal trade. They claim 30,000 members. As a member accredited by The Association of Sanctuaries (TAOS ...

), the performing arts (TuTu Foundation), and homeless veterans (Heroes Helping Heroes).

Film and television appearances (2017–present)

* Little Big Shots US television series * Little Big Shots Australia television series *

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...

Home & Family ''Home & Family'' (formerly ''The Home and Family Show'') is an American daytime talk show. The series originally premiered on April 1, 1996, on The Family Channel, and was dropped by the network immediately prior to its 1998 relaunch as the Fox ...

Series
Pickler & Ben
television show, Nashville, Tennessee * Born This Way, A&E US television series * Saving Flora independent film (2018 release)

Key performances (2015–present)

Nobel Peace Prize Concert The Nobel Peace Prize Concert ( Norwegian and Swedish: '')'' has been held annually since 1994 on 11 December, to honour the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The award ceremony on 10 December takes place in Oslo City Hall, while the concert has bee ...

Telenor Arena Telenor Arena, sometimes referred to as Fornebu Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Fornebu in Bærum, outside Oslo, Norway. It serves as a venue for a variety of events, including concerts, exhibitions, action shows, family shows ...

, Oslo, Norway * His Holiness the Dalai Lama Global Summit and Birthday Celebration, Bren Center,

University of California Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

Agence Ometz
charity fundraisers for children,

Place des Arts Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

, Montreal, Canada * Dream Halloween fundraisers for

, Los Angeles, California
Camp del Corazon's
s Gala del Sol event to provide summer camp for children with heart disease, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California
Jump, Jive & Thrive
to benefit the

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The ...

, UCLA, Los Angeles, California
World Choreography Awards

Saban Theatre The Saban Theatre ( ) is a historic theatre in Beverly Hills, California, formerly known as the Fox Wilshire Theater. It is an Art Deco structure at the southeast corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Hamilton Drive designed by architect S. Charles Lee ...

, Beverly Hills, California * Miller Children's Hospital, Long Beach, California

Awards

''National Youth Awards, 2016-17''
* Outstanding Production, Junior Division * Outstanding Group Vocal Performance, Junior Division * Outstanding Direction (to Nathalie Yves Gaulthier)
''National Youth Awards, 2015-16''
* Outstanding Production, Junior Division * Outstanding Lead Actor (to Diego Mariano Pasillas) * Outstanding Lead Actress (to Angelina Capozzoli) * Outstanding Supporting Actress (to Kaelyn Mei Whaley) * Outstanding Direction (to Nathalie Yves Gaulthier)

Collaboration

Le PeTiT CiRqUe is not formally affiliated with

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

. But LPC's performers have received instruction at their Los Angeles studio from many current and former Cirque du Soleil artists, including aerialists Uuve Jansson, Ginger Ana Griep-Ruiz, Zoe Sabattie, Lisanna Paloma, Stuart McKenzie, and Petra Sprecher; contortionist Otgo Waller; hand balancers Tatiana Gousarova and Olga Pikhienko; acrobat Galabina Kamemova; physical actor Joshua Zehner; and choreographers Alixa Sutton, Alain Gauthier, and Debra Lynne Brown. One of LPC's current aerialists, Ellowyn Stanton, will appear as a series regular in a new Cirque du Soleil-sponsored television show about a group of young performers attending a circus school.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Performer Portraits

Video profile of Le PeTiT CiRqUe
created by Steve & Kate's Camps
Video interview with musician Stewart Copeland
about LPC's performance to benefit the Performing Animal Welfare Society * Rovner, Jeffrey (2016).
The Values of Le PeTiT CiRqUe
'. Montreal, Canada. American circuses