Louis Patrick Leroux

Associate Professor, joint-appointment in English and French Studies

After studies and a career in theatre, Patrick became interested in discourse analysis, research-creation and the writing of the body, more specifically interdisciplinary perspectives of contemporary circus as it has emerged in Québec. “Risk” and “Performance” have become two fascinatingly loaded terms in the study of circus, both drawing from high performance sports training and the hybridization of many performing art forms. Risk has come to be expected and, indeed, spectacularized in this art form. Patrick is the founding director of the Montreal Working Group on Circus Research and is involved research into the Cirque du Soleil’s impact on Las Vegas and North American cultural industries; the state and conditions of reception of circus research in Québec; and, most recently, circus dramaturgy and creative process at the National Circus School of Montreal, where he is also an Associate Researcher and a guest teacher.