Richard LePage, senior director – design and management of human performance at Cirque du Soleil, Raphaëlle Plante and Patricia Demers, general director at the Aléo Foundation.
The Cirque du Soleil Group has once again reiterated its collaboration with the Aléo Foundation to offer eight student-athletes working in a discipline related to the circus arts a $4,000 scholarship.
Among the recipients, we find the gymnasts from Repentigny: Félix Blaquière and Aurélie Tran, as well as the artistic swimmer from Terrebonne, Raphaëlle Plante.
“These young people that we recognize through the scholarship program with the Aléo Foundation are already, at their young age, experts in terms of discipline, rigor, perfectionism and the search for the perfect moment. They are therefore one step ahead when it comes time to make the move towards the professional market and for us, they are sought-after collaborators,” declared Nicolas Panet-Raymond, Chief Health and Safety Director at the Cirque du Soleil Group.
For Félix Blaquière, this is his second scholarship from the Cirque du Soleil Group and the third from the Aléo Foundation. Silver medalist in the team competition at the 2023 Pan American Championships, the 22-year-old athlete is studying a bachelor’s degree in finance at Concordia University. His main goals are to increase the difficulty of his routines and to qualify for the World Championships. After his gymnastics career, he would like to combine his passions, programming and finance, to work in a field that will allow him to flourish professionally. Moreover, outside of sport and studies, Félix develops software for managing sports competitions, including ticketing and live results.
For Aurélie Tran, this is her first scholarship from the Cirque du Soleil Group and the fifth from the Aléo Foundation. The one who proudly represented Canada in the team event at the Paris Olympic Games, studies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Iowa. Aged 18, Aurélie has risen to the Canadian and world elite of artistic gymnastics. Reigning Canadian vice-champion, she realized one of her biggest dreams by becoming an Olympian.
Finally, for Raphaëlle Plante, this is also her first grant from the Cirque du Soleil Group and the third from the Aléo Foundation. The Terrebonne native was part of the Canadian team that finished 6th in the team event at the Paris Olympic Games. Aged 22, she has a certificate in art sciences at Concordia University, but after her career, she would like to be an artist with Cirque du Soleil.
Raphaëlle started artistic swimming in Las Vegas, while her father worked there for Cirque du Soleil. “From the first time I had the chance to be a spectator of the O show, I knew I had to try artistic swimming! » The athlete is aiming, with his team, for a podium at the World Championships in July 2025 in Singapore. After very stressful pre-Olympic years, Raphaëlle wants to “reconnect with the why” she loves practicing her sport.
As Patricia Demers, general director of the Aléo Foundation, recalls, “the Aléo Foundation works to offer its scholarship recipients opportunities allowing them to achieve their dreams in all spheres of their lives. »
With the awarding of eight new scholarships, the Cirque du Soleil Group is completing this year its investment of $80,000 over two years in scholarships and services to selected student-athletes.
