Luc Lafortune (born September 1958) is a Canadian

lighting designer In theatre, a lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text while keeping ...

for the entertainment industry as well as one of the original designers of the

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 ...

Career

Lafortune studied at

Dawson College Dawson College (French: ''Collège Dawson)'' is an English-language public general and vocational college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately 12 acre ...

, and then

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, where he obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Arts. He later obtained a

in Fine Arts from

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

. Upon graduation, he went to work for Cirque du Soleil, embarking on their first tour, '' Le Grand Tour'', a 13-week stint across rural Quebec, organized in conjunction with the celebrations marking the 450th anniversary of the discovery of Canada by French explorer, Jacques Cartier. Since then, Lafortune has designed numerous Cirque du Soleil shows, including "Le Cirque Réinventé (We Reinvent the Circus)'', '' Fascination'', ''

Nouvelle Expérience ''Nouvelle Expérience'' was Cirque du Soleil's fourth touring circus show, which premiered in 1990. Before the show's conception, Cirque du Soleil attempted to revive one of its previous shows, ''Le Cirque Réinventé''. The attempt was abandon ...

'', ''

Saltimbanco ''Saltimbanco'' was a touring show by Cirque du Soleil. ''Saltimbanco'' ran from 1992 to 2006 in its original form, performed under a large circus tent called the Grand Chapiteau; its last performance in that form was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, ...

'', '' Mystère'', '' Alegría'', ''

Quidam ''Quidam'' ( ) was the ninth stage show produced by Cirque du Soleil. It premiered in April 1996 and has been watched by millions of spectators around the world. ''Quidam'' originated as a big-top show in Montreal and was converted into an arena ...

'', '' O'', ''

La Nouba ''La Nouba'' was a Cirque du Soleil show that ran for 19 years in a custom-built, freestanding theater at Disney Springs' West Side at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. It was a contemporary circus performance featurin ...

'', ''

Dralion ''Dralion'' (pronounced Drah-lee-on) was a touring production by the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil. The show combined elements of traditional Chinese circus with Western contemporary circus, complementing the "East-meets-West" ...

'', ''

Varekai Varekai was a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montréal in April 2002. Its title means "wherever" in the Romani language, and the show is an "acrobatic tribute to the nomadic soul". The show begins with the Greek myth of I ...

'' (co-designer), ''

Zumanity ''Zumanity'' (zoo-manity) was a resident cabaret-style show by Cirque du Soleil at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, placed into the theatre previously occupied by Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance (musical). The ...

'' and '' Kà''. In 2010, Lafortune completed the lighting design for the

Franco Dragone Franco Dragone (12 December 1952 – 30 September 2022) was an Italian-born Belgian theatre director. He was the founder and artistic director of Dragone, a creative company specializing in the creation of large-scale theatre shows. He was also ...

production ''The House of Dancing Water'' at the City of Dreams, in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. In 2011, he designed the lighting for

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

's Twentieth Anniversary of Independence Gala, in collaboration with Filmmaster Events in

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

Awards

*2013 Recipient of a Les Etoiles du Siel Award *2012 ThEA

Themed Entertainment Association The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its THEA Awards, which were founded in 1995 and ar ...

Award in the "Live Show" Category, for ''The House of Dancing Water'', Macau *2005 USITT

United States Institute of Theatre Technology The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) is a membership organization which aims to advance the skills and knowledge of theatre, entertainment and performing arts professionals involved in the areas of design, production and tec ...

Distinguished Lighting Designer Award *1999 THEA

Award in the "Live Show" Category, for '' O'' *1998 EDDY Entertainment Design Award, Show of the Year, for '' O'' *1997 Lighting Dimensions International Light Show of the Year Award, for Martin's ''Atomic Lounge'' *1994 Lighting Dimensions International Lighting Designer of the Year *1992 Drama-Logue Critics Award in Lighting, for ''

'' In 2004, he registered at #34 on Live Design's list of the entertainment's industry's most powerful people.http://livedesignonline.com/mag/show_business_powerful_people

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafortune, Luc 1958 births Cirque du Soleil Concordia University alumni Dawson College alumni French Quebecers Lighting designers Living people People from Montreal