{"id":1230,"date":"2019-04-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/durability-by-design-at-cirque-du-soleil\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:35","slug":"durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/","title":{"rendered":"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\t
\n\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t
\n \n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n Apr 16, 2019 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
Category<\/div>\n Human Performance<\/a> <\/div>\n
\n
Share<\/div>\n Facebook<\/a>\n Twitter<\/a>\n Email<\/a>\n Copy Link<\/a>\n
https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Senior Head Therapist Andrew Walker tells us of the company\u2019s efforts to consolidate the 99 percenters.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

\n

The ever-evolving approach to recovery in elite performance has led Cirque du Soleil to its Durability\u00a0<\/span>By<\/span>\u00a0Design initiative.<\/span><\/h4>\n
\n
By John Portch<\/h6>\n

Launched\u00a0<\/span>at the end of 2018<\/span>, Durability\u00a0<\/span>By<\/span>\u00a0Design looks at three pillars \u2013 preparation, performance and recovery \u2013 that aim to instil a culture where recovery is understood and prioritised across the circus company. It was something that Bryan Burnstein, Head of Performance Science at Cirque, alluded to in a<\/span>n<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>terview<\/span>\u00a0at the 2018 Leaders Sport Performance Summit in London<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With our interest suitably piqued, we pursued the topic with Andrew Walker, the circus\u2019 Senior Head Therapist.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cEach of these is inter-connected<\/span>\u00a0when we talk about recovery<\/span>,\u201d he begins.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>I<\/span>t\u2019s making sure that training regimes are\u00a0<\/span>correct, periodisation is correct, that recovery days and active recovery in between sessions is properly implemented.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Walker<\/span>, whose background includes sports science at English Premier League West Ham United and across rugby at both Premiership side Saracens and the Pro 14\u2019s Scarlets,<\/span>\u00a0makes the point that Cirque\u2019s artists, unlike\u00a0<\/span>athletes in\u00a0<\/span>some elite sports environments, can have two or even three-show days, which puts greater emphasis\u00a0<\/span>on recovery and the artists\u2019 understanding of what they\u00a0<\/span>must do to design that<\/span>\u00a0durability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he basics\u00a0<\/span>will be<\/span>\u00a0essential<\/span>\u00a0for the initiative to flourish<\/span>. Walker says: \u201cI think people look at the 1 or 2% rather than making sure their 99% gains are being done correctly.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It starts with education initiatives that reach its 1,600-plus artists\u00a0<\/span>performing in shows\u00a0<\/span>across the globe<\/span>. To that end,<\/span>\u00a0Cirque has already made inroads and developed a culture where recovery matters as much as practice and performance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Andrew, how do you seek to educate performers around their recovery?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AW:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>At Cirque du Soleil we look at individual artists, try to understand them, and provide that education from the start. It might be education around nutrition, mental preparation, strength & conditioning, recovery within all of those aspects; also looking at equipment facilities, what we travel with, the differences between big top shows or resident shows. Within that we need to look at artists\u2019 needs through our performer-centric model. We also educate staff, artistic directors, artist-coaches, psychologists, medical staff \u2013 all our support staff who all bought into our culture to begin with.<\/span>\u00a0We might also provide Skype presentations. These can cover topics such as sleep, foam rolling, cryotherapy, nutrition, suitable travel between hotels, what is the most suitable time for downtime, mentally and physically. If the basics are in\u00a0<\/span>place<\/span>\u00a0we can support that through supporting our education and onboarding processes. We want to convey the understanding that everyone recovers in a different way and we may need to look at different stimuli.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To what extent do artists learn in different ways?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AW:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0We\u2019ve learnt that we sometimes group individuals in ways that do not take into account cultural differences or what they actually require. Communication is key and we\u2019ve used translators<\/span>\u00a0to put those recovery messages across; it might be visual, face to face, in a group, or one to one. We need to understand that part of the process to be able to provide the best for that individual.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you ensure that recovery is individualised for each artist?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AW:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0We look at the three Rs of recovery: refuelling, repair and rehydrate. It might be that an individual artist, upon waking up in the morning following a two-day performance, will come in and they could access our\u00a0<\/span>CoachMePlus<\/span>\u00a0monitoring service, which looks at fatigue, soreness, sleep quality, mood and stress. We can actually look at those over, say, a 21-day average and we colour code that. It\u2019s not a process whereby we are ruling people out, we\u2019re actually then able to spark a discussion individually for that artist. If they haven\u2019t slept properly is it worth altering their training load for that day; we do monitor training loads through acute and chronic training loads.\u00a0<\/span>We\u2019ll bring in yoga instructors or they may go off-site for sessions. Ultimately, with subjective and objective analysis we can make a reasoned decision of what the artist needs \u2013 and that is in discussion with the artist themselves.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Things are evolving but with these tools we sometimes forget the individuals<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to tech, what problems are you looking to solve, what questions are you seeking to answer?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AW:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Any monitoring tool is an adjunct, part of the wider process. What we\u2019re trying to answer is if there\u2019s any gaps in training that are affecting our artists; is there anything being red-flagged? If their sleep has been poor, for example, we can use that data and have a subjective conversation to ensure we address that in the right way.<\/span>\u00a0As\u00a0<\/span>I\u00a0<\/span>mentioned before, the artist can access this data themselves; they can come to us and we want these artists to be driving the organisation, not just the managers. We need to make sure we have suitable people to drive that so it is not just top-down \u2013 it should be an empowerment approach.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This enables you to\u00a0<\/span><\/b>make<\/span><\/b>\u00a0interventions.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AW:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0Yes, and that is important\u00a0<\/span>but the thing I\u2019ve learnt through my sports science background is that it\u2019s important that we keep improving too. We might have recovery tools in place for an artist but if their fitness is not good enough to be able to cope with the training or the show load then it\u2019s going to be a problem. Recovery is about letting them train the next time or improving a performance, but it\u2019s also about increasing their durability. Our conversations must lean towards physically improving the readiness and durability of the performer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you see as being the next big innovation in recovery over the next 12-18 months?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AW:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0We\u2019ll be looking at mood, stress levels and the parameters within those. Beyond tech, it\u2019s maintaining a focus on our culture, implementing suitable processes with the buy-in of the artist; that they are educated in the right way and making decisions for themselves.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

More on the topic of recovery:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are Your Young Athletes Up to Speed on their Recovery Protocols?<\/a><\/p>\n

Summit Session: The Winding Road to Recovery at the Atlanta Falcons and Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senior Head Therapist Andrew Walker tells us of the company\u2019s efforts to consolidate the 99 percenters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1231,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[21],"pathway":[],"topic":[],"sport":[],"class_list":["post-1230","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-performance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDurability By Design at Cirque du Soleil - Performance Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil - Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Senior Head Therapist Andrew Walker tells us of the company\u2019s efforts to consolidate the 99 percenters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Performance Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-15T05:12:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1999\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"499\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/\",\"name\":\"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil - Performance Institute\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-16T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-15T05:12:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg\",\"width\":1999,\"height\":499},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/\",\"name\":\"Performance Institute\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil - Performance Institute","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil - Performance Institute","og_description":"Senior Head Therapist Andrew Walker tells us of the company\u2019s efforts to consolidate the 99 percenters.","og_url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/","og_site_name":"Performance Institute","article_modified_time":"2025-12-15T05:12:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1999,"height":499,"url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/","name":"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil - Performance Institute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg","datePublished":"2019-04-16T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-15T05:12:35+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/app\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/GettyImages-631505276.jpg","width":1999,"height":499},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/durability-by-design-cirque-du-soleil\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Durability By Design at Cirque du Soleil"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/#website","url":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/","name":"Performance Institute","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32401,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1230\/revisions\/32401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"pathway","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pathway?post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=1230"},{"taxonomy":"sport","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sport?post=1230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}