What does a sip of Coca-Cola, a bite of a Big Mac and a show by famed Cirque du Soleil have in common?
As it turns out, more than a firestorm of emotions and energy boost unite these world-famous brands. Craig Cohon and his family have been making headlines for pioneering or steering these products into Eastern Europe.
With the coke drink and McDonald’s burgers already on the market, the circus is scheduled to make its first appearance on Nov. 27. Craig Cohon, a 48-year-old businessman from Canada whose family immigrated from Ukraine a century ago, visited Kyiv earlier this autumn to present his new venture.
“It has taken a year and a half to bring Cirque du Soleil to Russia and only a year to Ukraine, which is amazingly fast,” says Cohon, the vice chairman of Cirque du Soleil Rus. Together with his father (who opened the first McDonald’s in Moscow 21 years ago, they own a quarter of the business.
The majority stake belongs to the circus’ founder – famous space tourist, a former stilt walker and a fire-eater from Canada Guy Laliberte.
Almost three decades ago he created an animal-free circus together with his friends – street artists and acrobats, which since then has turned into a mesmerizing international operation giving grand performances on five continents.An amazing growth chart of a company that fuses theater, opera, ballet and circus could not leave Cohon indifferent.
As he got near the top in selling fizzy drinks, he gave it all up and leaped into an ambitious project Globalagency to help create jobs in impoverished communities across the world. Three years ago, he signed up with a new challenge – Cirque Du Soleil in Russia.
“My recipe of success is doing one good business at a time, make it successful and then move on,” he said smiling broadly.
For Cohon, who among his many titles cherishes A Global Leader for Tomorrow awarded by the World Economic Forum in 2000, the hardest thing is to stop competing with his father, whose career path he is somewhat repeating today.
It was George Cohon who inspired thousands of people to line up in front of Russia’s first MacDonald’s on Pushkin Square in Moscow in 1990. Now people queue up to get a glimpse of his son’s famous circus company.
Craig Cohon
After two years of staging performances in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kazan and Yekaterinburg, Cirque du Soleil has been seen by half a million people. But the project is still in the investment stage, admits Cohon.
The ambitious businessman sets Odesa, Donetsk and Lviv as his next geographical peaks to climb.
In Kyiv, the troupe will present show Saltimbanco, a mixture of traditional circus acts including Chinese poles, trapeze, Russian swing, bungee and juggling with modern acts.
Dressed in primal colors, green and yellow Worms will stage the cityscape where life is vibrant despite the concrete and metal constructions. Saltimbanco in Italian means a street acrobat or an entertainer.
The show was conceived in 1992 to fight violence prevalent in the 20th century. After many years of traveling, it’s back onstage to address the 21st century challenges.
The show will run twice per day from Nov. 27 to Dec. 4, at the Palace of Sports
For children under 3 years of age, no ticket is needed.
Tickets can be purchased from official Cirque du Soleil website cds-ua.com or at box offices listed at www.kvytky.ua.
Price vary from Hr 360 to Hr 890 for adult ticket plus 20 percent discount for children.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliya Raskevich can be reached at [email protected]
