Marie-Hélène d’Amours grew up in the city of Montreal. After her studies in Leisure activity intervention at Saint-Laurent College, drama at the University of Quebec in Montreal and the Circus arts at Quebec City’s Circus School, she starts her own aerial performance company: "Le Cirque en l’Air" which will present itself in many schools and festivals around the province of Quebec. An experience that will draw her towards a new passion: clowning. Between 2001 and 2003, she takes a clown workshop with Francine Côté with whom she will create and elaborate Mademoiselle Manon’s character. She will then present her clown acts in numerous international events and then she start touring around Swiss and Belgium for 275 shows with Starlight Circus with Yves Dagenais as a stage director. By the end of 2005, Marie-Hélène creates a company called "Swigne la Bacaisse" which produces circus, music and clown shows for festivals in France and Belgium. In August 2008, more than 50 presentations were completed with great success. In 2007, she develops a project in France, between the Rhone and Saint-Laurent districts with her partner and children. This same project will then bring her and her family on a sailboat for a tour around half of the globe that lasted 2 years. A journey that brought her to France, Morocco, Cape Verde Islands, Senegal, The Antilles (Caribbean Sea) and the province of Quebec, giving workshops and performing circus as well as bringing ecological awareness to the communities. She’s back in 2010 where she works as a day care educator and plans a circus program specialised in youth. For the past 20 years, Marie-Hélène has been working with kids of all ages in the wonderful circus disciplines. She was also a head coordinator for circus workshops at Quebec city’s Circus School and was responsible for circus activities in many locations in France. In September 2013, she starts her own company Le "Gros Orteil" who’s mission is to perform shows, give workshops, film projections and conferences for the province of Quebec’s youth.
