A Las Vegas Fairytale
The magic of inclusion at Cirque du Soleil
Author: Jen Amos
 Lynda Trommelen ended up at Cirque du
Soleil, a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment based in Montreal, Quebec, almost by accident.
While working there she not only had a great adventure, but also learned lessons about inclusion. That is, a
workplace that values equality, respect and opportunity for every member of their diverse workforce that we
can all benefit from. At the Live Healthy, Work Smart Your Workplace Conference ’09 in Ottawa, Ont.
earlier this year, former performer Lynda Trommelen shared her unique work experiences with participants.
Trommelen, who has her M.Ed. in Adult Education and is a Certified Training and Development Professional
and is the author of People Puzzles, believes that one of the most magical things about Cirque du
Soleil is that they don’t even realize how special they are. During her time there she not only “had a
blast”, but also observed how a workplace can make employees feel they belong, and in doing so, get the best
from workers at all stages of employment.
How did Trommelen end up at Cirque du Soleil? She always wanted to take up ballroom dancing, and she
finally signed her and her husband up in Kingston, Ont.—much to his chagrin. They entered into competitions
for the sheer fun of it, and at one show a representative from Cirque du Soleil approached them for an
audition. Trommelen didn’t even believe the representative at first, but she wasn’t kidding.
When Trommelen went to her audition she was told they needed to tape it for the artistic director. After
she and her husband started their waltz, the interviewer then told her that they had forgotten the wide-angle
lens, and kept asking her and her husband to perform in a smaller and smaller space, (ultimately to see if
they would be able to adapt their skills to the 30 foot stage where they would be performing). The second
part of the interview involved talking into the camera, and they were asked questions such as: “You’ve been
married 40 years, why do you love your husband?” Trommelen had thought to herself, ‘Holy Christmas! What kind
of question is that?’ Instead, she said, “We’re like fire and ice and we have learned to live with each
other.” She adlibbed through the rest of the four-hour interview, and was finally offered a position.
“Telling people, ‘You did a good job’ is meaningless—You need to be specific. And praise isn’t something
that is solely the responsibility of managers: everyone can recognize one another.”
Trommelen cites this innovative interview process as a great way to ensure that the right people are
hired. She suggests that employers should think about how they recruit the people they want, and figure out
strategies to get someone who is comfortable and fits in. Cirque du Soleil needed to see what would happen if
they threw something really “off the wall” at people. Trommelen says there were better dancers than her and
her husband, but they coped with the situation better, and therefore received the offer.
Other questions employers need to ask themselves, according to Trommelen, are: How do you welcome new
employees? How do you orient them to the company? What kind of training do they receive? How do you build an
organizational culture of inclusion? She says, “You can’t take someone and give them all of this training,
tell them it’s valuable and plunk them into the same situation and place boundaries all around.” When she
first started at Cirque du Soleil she says, “Every single one of the staff said, ‘We’re so glad you’re
here–have a great show.’. From directors, to ushers, to the orchestra.... No matter what happened [I knew] we
had these people behind us.”
The words from her coworkers were not just lip service. When Trommelen ran into difficulties during her
first show because she was blinded by the spotlight, a fellow employee recognized what was happening and
acted immediately. Trommelen couldn’t tell where the edge of the stage was, nor could she tell if she were
facing the front. “One of the cast members picked up on what happened, and came in from the audience and sat
on the edge of the stage.” This allowed Trommelen to orient herself, and she was able to complete her
routine.
There were a number of things Trommelen says employers can learn from The Cirque. Ensure everyone feels
valued: Everyone there gets a great deal of respect, no matter where they’ve come from. “You felt like you
were there because they wanted you there, that you were different, and that every role was a really important
one. You felt special.”
- Understand the importance of diversity. “Cirque employed a number of people with unique talents and
backgrounds, and even offered language courses twice a week to encourage a respect for other cultures, and
also to enhance the ability to communicate.”
- Create a truly flat, equal environment. “Everyone there was just as important as everyone else,” she
says. “There was no room for ‘divas’”.
- Make health and safety a priority. “The Cirque is fanatical about safety. The condition you arrived in
was the condition you were to stay in. Wellness was part of your contract in that organization. A
physiotherapist would examine each individual and decide whether they were well enough to go on, or not.
- Encourage staff to get to know each other. Then they can truly trust each other.
- Support the whole person, not just the worker. “Cirque understands that, what you give back will be more
than worth it, and you will be a better person.”
Trommelen also encourages employers to think about their actions when someone leaves the company. This is
important because many of your best hires will come from word of mouth.
She asked conference attendees to consider how they said goodbye to people. She underlined the importance
of doing exit interviews. “Telling people, ‘You did a good job’ is meaningless—You need to be specific. And
praise isn’t something that is solely the responsibility of managers: everyone can recognize one
another.”
Trommelen says of The Cirque, “It’s already given us so much, and it can still give us more. Cirque will
change you, no matter what you think. In Cirque there are no boundaries. Your life does change.” She believes
that in workplaces today, we don’t trust people enough, and forget to dish out praise as easily as we give
criticism. She reminds us, however, that it has to be genuine. If not, it’s best not to do it. “When people
believe in you, you do things that even you don’t think you’re capable of,” says Trommelen. “If we can put
this into play at our own workplaces, we can have our own piece of the dazzling world of Cirque du
Soleil.”
Jen Amos is a freelance writer living in Kingston, Ont. She also works in
clinical research and editing. Jen can be reached at jen.amos@queensu.ca
Originally Published in Your Workplace magazine issue
11-6
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