''Electric Circus '' (also known as ''EC'') was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

live

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

that aired on

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

and

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...

from September 16, 1988 to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

that once existed at

's first studio at 99 Queen Street East in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Beginning in 1994, the show was also simulcast on

MuchUSA Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multic ...

. It had a loyal following among United States viewers, especially

fans. A

Francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

version of ''Electric Circus'' aired on

Musique Plus Elle Fictions (stylized ELLE Fictions) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Remstar Media Group. The channel broadcasts general entertainment programming targeting young adult women. It was first established in 1986 as the mu ...

, broadcasting live from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in the same format as the Toronto version.

Description

The MuchMusic studio on the main floor of the

CHUM-City Building 299 Queen Street West, also known as Bell Media Queen Street or Bell Media Studios, is the headquarters of the television/radio broadcast hub of Bell Canada's media unit, Bell Media located at the intersection of Queen Street West and John Stre ...

was used to film the show. Audiences often spilled out onto

Queen Street West Queen Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east ...

, and on warm days, the windows to the studio were opened with some acts performing outside. It was common for dancers to be stationed on the CHUM-City rooftop, or even on the rooftops of buildings across the street, effectively making the surrounding neighborhood part of the set. Most music was prerecorded, but live acts were invited onto some shows, and in the 1990s guest D.J.s were also featured. The show was hosted by

Monika Deol Monika Deol is a Canadian television personality. She began as an entertainment reporter for Citytv in Toronto, Ontario, and later became a VJ for MuchMusic, hosting and co-producing ''Electric Circus'' from 1988 to 1996. Simultaneously, Deol w ...

and Michael Williams until 1996, followed by

Juliette Powell Juliette Powell American-born Canadian model, television host, producer and author. She was the Miss Canada titleholder in 1989, the contest's first Black Canadian winner. Early life Powell was born in Manhattan, New York in 1971 and moved to Mo ...

until 2000. The show also featured dancing floor director MC Craig F. (Craig Halket of

Combat Des Clips ''Combat Zone'' (formerly known as ''Combat des Clips'') was a music video program on Canadian music TV station MuchMusic. It was hosted from 1991 to 1997 by Craig F. Halket. The show involved two popular music videos playing the roles of the com ...

on MuchMusic). After that, Electric Circus had a variety of hosts. The show ran for an hour and a half until 2001, when it was shortened to one hour. Two concerts were hosted annually: one at

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life As ...

during the summer, and another at

Winterlude Winterlude is an annual winter festival held in Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec (collectively known as the National Capital Region). Winterlude is run by the Department of Canadian Heritage and was started in 1979. The event is one of O ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

during the winter. EC4ME

Like its American predecessors ''American Bandstand'' and ''Soul Train'', ''Electric Circus'' was known for its flashy dancers. Many of these dancers became fan favorites in their own right. A couple of these dancers later graduated to hosting the show. Many of the dancers lived in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

and some regulars traveled from

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

and

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

for the Friday evening show. The show's original producer, Joel Goldberg, went on to produce many music videos and a few feature films. He took a minimalist approach to the set, using nothing more than a well-run

Vari-Lite Vari-Lite is a brand of automated, variable-colour stage lighting systems. Their intelligent lighting fixtures are commonly used in theatre, concerts, television, film and corporate events. History Pre-history The origins of Vari-Lite dat ...

installation, camera work from videographers (including

George Lagogianes George Lagogianes is a Canadian television personality, best known as a longtime reporter and anchor for CP24. Lagogianes graduated from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute with a bachelor's degree in radio and television arts. After graduation, he b ...

), talented dancers and live performances. As a result, Goldberg created a show that highlighted the music and the dancers while throwing cutaways to videos. Guest artists performed live (or live-to-track), none lip-synched. After Goldberg moved on, the set became more elaborate, the dancers' costuming became choreographed, the quality of the dancing declined, and most of the performances were lip-synced, with the exception of the DJs, who mixed the breaks as well as a short feature each episode. In 1988, some of the original featured dancers included The WiZ, Tori G (also an editor for Citytv), WARP-1, The Hoody Boyz, Brenda C, Kenrick Pompey (aka The Cowboy) and Tyra J. Many of the dancers were regulars at "The Club at Richard's" in Mississauga, as well as working professionally in the "Go-Go" circuit. The WiZ (also the first asked to be on the show) was also a DJ and producer, and created the first theme the show ever had, "The EC Rap," as well as a short audio "stinger" for the breaks. In the summer of 1996, the show was completely re-imagined, with a new multi-camera film open directed by MuchMusic Creative Services producer Carl Armstrong. The series' original theme music, a instrumental of Narada Michael Walden's 1988 single " Divine Emotions," was replaced by a new show theme, "Hang On Here We Go!" (Theme to E.C). Almost a year after the new theme went on the air, and because of viewer popularity, a full-length version of the song was released under the name ''Jet Fuel'' and featured lead vocals by Aleah D'Kos and guest vocals by a gas mask-wearing (video) K-os. The song was included on the MuchDance 97 compilation CD (6X Canadian Platinum) and Pure Dance 3 (Canadian Platinum). The song was also released on 12" vinyl and CD single with various mixes and remixes. The song charted on dance radio and in clubs across Canada in the spring of 1998 and was performed live during Electric Circus at Canada's Wonderland in front of 50,000 people that summer. This music theme remained with the show until the last episode. The CD single by Jet Fuel is available on iTunes etc. Guests on the show included: *

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Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

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Carl Cox Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and ele ...

Darude Toni-Ville Henrik Virtanen (; born July 17, 1975), better known by his stage name Darude (), is a Finnish DJ and record producer from Eura, Satakunta. His music is characterised by its progressive/uplifting style. He started making music in 1995 ...

* *NSYNC * Stars on 54 * Steps *

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...

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Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the su ...

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Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

Roger Sanchez Roger Sanchez (born June 1, 1967) is a Dominican-American house music DJ, remixer and producer. He won a Grammy Award for his remix of "Hella Good" by No Doubt in 2003, and is best known for his song " Another Chance", which was an internationa ...

Bob Sinclar Christophe Le Friant (; born 10 May 1969), better known by his stage name Bob Sinclar (), is a French record producer, DJ and remixer. He is the owner of the record label Yellow Productions. Musical career A native of Paris, Le Friant began DJ ...

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

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* Bow Wow *

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* ATC *

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Dancing alumni from the show also include former CFNY-FM Producer and DJ, Edd "The Wiz" Scorpio, radio DJ Ashley Greco of the Z103.5 Morning Show and boy band

b4-4 b4-4, later known as Before Four (stylized as before four), was a Canadian boy band from Toronto, Ontario. The band was composed of twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, along with Ohad Einbinder. They were signed to Sony Records and achieved commer ...

, and comedians

Marcus Brigstocke Marcus Alexander Brigstocke (born 8 May 1973) is a British comedian, actor and satirist. He has worked in stand-up comedy, television, radio and musical theatre. He has appeared on many BBC television and radio shows. Early life Brigstocke is th ...

and

Katherine Ryan Katherine Louisa Ryan (born 30 June 1983) is a Canadian comedian, writer, presenter, and actress based in the United Kingdom. She has appeared on many British panel shows, including as a regular team captain on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' and '' Never ...

. MuchMusic aired an ''Electric Circus'' special on Christmas Day 2006 and featured an ''Electric Circus'' New Year’s Eve special on December 31, 2011. In the days before the 2011 special it was advertised as the return of Electric Circus. MuchMusic aired ''Electric Circus'' on October 27, 2012 for Halloween.

Past hosts

(1988–1996) *

(1996–2000) * Brodie Chaisson (1999-2000) * Nadine Ramkisson (2000–2002) *

Rick Campanelli Rick Campanelli (born January 5, 1970) is a Canadian television and radio personality known for his work as a VJ and host for MuchMusic and for co-hosting ''ET Canada''. He joined Z103.5FM CIDC-FM in November 2021, and is currently co-host of t ...

(2002) *

Bradford How Bradford How was a MuchMusic VJ from 2000 to 2003. He won the 2000 MuchMusic VJ Search, and became one of the channel's most well-liked video jockeys. After stints hosting '' Electric Circus'' and '' Gonna Meet A Rockstar'', among other shows, he ...

(2002) *

Rainbow Sun Francks Rainbow Sun Francks (born 3 December 1979) is a Canadian actor known for his role as Lt. Aiden Ford in the television show ''Stargate Atlantis'', and his recurring roles on ''The Listener'', ''The Umbrella Academy'' and ''High Fidelity''. Ea ...

(2002–2003) * Namugenyi Kiwanuka (2002–2003) *

Amanda Walsh Amanda Walsh (born October 3, 1981) is a Canadian actress, writer, and former VJ for the Canadian television station MuchMusic. Early life Walsh was born in Rigaud, Quebec. She went to Hudson High School, in Hudson, Quebec. Career Walsh star ...

(2002–2003) * Liz Trinnear (2012) * Tyrone "T-RexXx" Edwards (2012) * Michael Williams *

References

External links

* {{coord, 43.649701, N, 79.390233, W, type:landmark, display=title Much (TV channel) original programming Dance television shows 1980s Canadian music television series 1990s Canadian music television series 2000s Canadian music television series 1988 Canadian television series debuts 2003 Canadian television series endings

Description

Past hosts

See also

References

External links