Have you ever wished for a food truck that not only sold delicious snacks, but that also came with entertainment to accompany your meal, preferably in the form of an acrobatic circus act atop said truck? If so, you’re not alone.
Quebecois company, Cirque Kikasse has travelled throughout North America carrying with them a re-conceptualized vision of what live performance and circus arts means. From West Lafayette, IN to the Lincoln Center, NY, Cirque Kikasse has presented their show, SANTÉ! And entertained municipalities, festivals, special events and private parties. Now they’re coming to grace the City & County of San Francisco, performing in California for the very first time. The company opens the SF International Arts Festival on Wednesday April 29 at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in the Mission District.
Started in 2021 by co-founders Hugo Ouellet-Côté, playing the role of Matteo in the performance, and William Poliquin-Simms, the emcee throughout the show, have years of trained experience as performers and artistic directors as part of Quebec’s thriving contemporary circus scene. In the build-up to the festival, I had the opportunity to speak with William.
He describes the main premise of the performance simply: “It’s about this circus family traveling around the world with its amazing and unique circus food truck.”
“It may sound like a chaotic idea to some but every piece—being part food and beverages and circus all in one truck—is intentional to carry out the united goal of the performers: to make the circus arts as accessible to everyone as possible.”
When asked about its conception, William shared that, “The truck allows us to be more autonomous. We can drive anywhere and we have the whole show with us. It’s our equipment and it all fits in the truck.”
“It allows us to offer something unique, to personally serve each audience member and to give this level of circus that you tend to associate with the grandeur of a theatre or a big top. But because it’s a whole set up on wheels, we are capable of bringing this ‘wow’ effect whilst still being super accessible to everyone.”
William’s favorite part about being a performer is creating human connections. Interacting with the audience is of utmost importance: “Before the show we’re there serving snacks and people can come meet us for real. Then afterwards we’re hanging out with the audience. For me, there is an integral relationship between circus and live art.”
It is also the only mobile acrobatic circus in the world with idiosyncratic routines such as “Walking the Plank” with one performer sitting on a seat hanging from the end of a horizontal wooden beam situated 30 feet in the air atop a stack of precariously balanced wooden chairs, whilst an acrobat does handstands at the other.
Cirque Kikasse will have audience members both young and old nervous yet in awe. SANTÉ! provides a spectacular glimpse into the world of contemporary circus, where fantastical ideas exist and are brought exuberantly to life.
And after they have conquered California, William looks forward to upcoming years and shares that the company would like to branch out and connect with the international circus community beyond the North American continent. Cirque Kikasse moves forward considering how else they can bring their abstract ideas to fruition, and (literally) elevate the circus arts wherever they go.
CIQQUE KIKASS will perform SANTÉ! on April 29th, April 30th and Mayh 1st at 7 PM at the Cesar Chavez Elementary School Playground at 2616 Folsom St. in San Francisco. For further information click here.
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TheatreStorm is a proud contributing supporter of the 2026 San Francisco International Arts Festival, which celebrates the arts by bringing together a global community of artists and audiences and by presenting innovative projects that focus on increasing human awareness and understanding within and across cultures.
For a full schedule of the 2026 San Francisco Arts Festival, click here.
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