A native of Îles de la Madeleine, Quebec, Jeannot Painchaud has worked in the circus arts sector for over 25 years. Fuelled by a passion for different cultures and a dream of travelling the world, he set his heart on the circus at age 16.

A graduate of Montréal's National Circus School. Jeannot won a bronze medal at Paris’ prestigious Festival Mondial du Cirque de demain in 1992 for his artistic cycling act.

After touring internationally with a number of circus troupes and groups of multidisciplinary artists, Jeannot co-founded Cirque Éloize in Montréal in 1993. He performed in the company’s different shows for five years.

In 1998, he left the stage to devote himself entirely to Cirque Éloize’s development. Having been an acrobat, juggler and performer, he took on a new role as entrepreneur.

Under his guidance and with the help of his partners, Cirque Éloize became one of the leaders of contemporary circus arts thanks to shows like Cirque Éloize, Excentricus, Cirque Orchestra, Nomade, Rain, Nebbia and iD.

As the Artistic and Creative Director for the company’s shows, Jeannot prides himself on melding artistic disciplines and talented individuals from the four corners of the globe. His artistic vision involves incorporating living arts (music, theatre, dance) into the acrobatic acts.

In 2009, he directed iD, Cirque Éloize’s seventh original creation. A stunning combination of urban dance and circus arts, the show won the Conseil des Arts de Montréal’s 26th Grand Prix award in 2010.

In October 2011, Jeannot Painchaud became the 14th Quebec citizen to be awarded the prestigious Prix Samuel-de-Champlain. Founded by the Institut France-Canada in 1997, the award is presented to two people each year, a Canadian who has best showcased French history or culture and a French citizen who has best showcased Canadian history or culture, in order to promote the values that unite both countries.

In November 2011, Jeannot Painchaud was one of several public figures selected to reinvent a work of art from the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts’ permanent collection. The Museum gave the participants carte blanche to create an art installation presented as part of its Big Bang exhibit.

Jeannot Painchaud has also been chairman of the board of the Circus Arts National Network in Quebec, En Piste, since 2009. This position allows him to be directly involved in the future of circus arts and the Canadian circus community.