How to contribute?

Contact
mpiccioni@enc.qc.ca
514.982.0859
ext. 240

Inspire... and be inspired! The National Circus School Foundation's Annual Benefit Evening celebrates the passion, the awe-inspiring grace and deft-defying talent of the graduating class and students of the National Circus School. Proceeds from the evening benefit ongoing artistic and public performances for students, such as the critically acclaimed Annual Show. These activities enable students to master their craft, perfect their skills in artistic expression and closely collaborate with artistic directors and producers - all of which greatly contribute to their development as professional circus artists and performers. Thanks to our generous donors and sponsors, the 2007 Annual Benefit Evening achieved record attendance and raised close to $ 220 000 in net proceeds. Since its inception in 1993, over $1.5 million has been raised for the benefit of the National Circus School and its students. Your support also contributes to solidify Montreal's leading position in circus arts.

Thank you for supporting our young circus artists!

Reserve your seats now!





Since 1993, the National Circus School Foundation, thanks to its numerous donors in Canada and around the world, provides the School vital financial support. With such support, the School can pursue its mission of educational excellence, furthering innovative pedagogical and artistic initiatives and providing talented youth from all regions of Canada with access to the best possible services. The School can thus contribute actively to the development and advancement of the circus arts in Canada and around the world.

How to contribute?

Contact mpiccioni@enc.qc.ca / 514.982.0859 ext. 240





Extracts from the Press release

Montréal, December 18, 2006 - On December 14, National Circus School Foundation board chairman Mr. David McAusland, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer of Alcan, proudly announced that the School's 2002-2006 fundraising campaign had achieved its $5 million target. This feat coincides with the 25^th anniversary of the National Circus School, which from its inception has trained the greater part of Canada's top circus artists.

Of note for this campaign is the diversity of donation sources. Not only private individuals but also businesses and foundations were aware of both the School's success and its fate. Close to 60 donors contributed gifts of $5,000 or more, which averaged $85,000 per gift and brought the median to $25,000. Major donors include Cirque du Soleil, the Fondation Dufresne et Gauthier, Alcan, Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche, and Power Corporation of Canada.

Half of donations collected during this campaign will serve to supplement the financing of relocating the School to the Cité des arts du cirque and go towards the new facilities' maintenance. Since 2003 NCS has benefited from a 7,200 metre-square building that provides exceptional conditions for circus arts training. Not only can it now accommodate a greater number of students, but also offer new training programs and improved services.

The remaining portion of donations, $2.5 million, will be used to finance projects and services essential to the School's pedagogical and artistic mission. Among these projects will be the institution of a library and the development over two years of one of the most comprehensive collections dedicated to circus arts in North America. As well, there is the recent creation of the Foundation's bursary fund, which greatly increases the ability of young people around the country to access the School's programs and ensures that no talented candidate will be denied the chance to pursue a dream due to financial reasons. For the first round, 16 students received significant financial assistance from the Foundation in March 2006.

Campaign co-chairs Mrs. Monique Lefebvre, Psychologist, Executive Coaching and Director for business and Mr. Daniel Labrecque, President and Chief Executive Officer N.M. Rothschild & Sons Canada, along with the administrators and employees of the Foundation and the National Circus School extend warm thanks to new and returning donors, and salute the great determination of all who collaborated in this great success.

Motivations and Reactions from Key Players

	David McAusland, Foundation Chair - "The National Circus School is infused with dynamism and in my eyes constitutes a national jewel, an inspirational model of which all Quebeckers and Canadians should be proud."
	Monique Lefebvre, Campaign Co-Chair - "From my first visit to the School, I was struck by the formidable energy that emerges there: both students and teachers showed a passion for their creative work, and were eager to exceed limitations. I also was very impressed by the rigour with which the School is managed, and the wise mix of art and of science that is practised there."
	Daniel Labrecque, Campaign Co-Chair - "From my point of view, the School makes a considerable contribution to the artistic life of Montreal. In fact, it was impossible to refuse to take part in the development of a unique institution of teaching and creation that contributes so greatly to define Montreal as one of the world capitals of circus arts."
	Marc Lalonde, NCS General Director - "A campaign of this scale for a Montreal organization, however unconventional, represented a daunting challenge. We are quite simply delighted by the encouragement that the circus milieu and business community communicated to us through their numerous and highly significant contributions. This testifies not only to the excellence of the National Circus School's achievements but also to its contributing role in the development of the circus arts sector, which benefits the community at large, on the municipal and national scales."

Campaign Cabinet

Copresidents Daniel Labrecque President and Chief Executive Officer NM ROTHSCHILD & SONS CANADA Monique Lefebvre Psychologist, Executive Coaching and Corporate Director Division Chairs Robert Blain Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer CIRQUE DU SOLEIL James C. Cherry President and Chief Executive Officer AÉROPORTS DE MONTRÉAL Jacques Duval President and Chief Executive Officer MARKETEL David McAusland Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer ALCAN Marcel Messier Chief Operating Officer TECHNOMEDIA FORMATION Robert C. Nadeau Partner, Managing Director SPENCER STUART Members Claude C. Bismuth Partner ERNST & YOUNG Carl Gauvreau Managing Director, Investment Banking HARTCO LP Craig J. Shannon Managing Director, Investment Banking NATIONAL BANK FINANCIAL

Honorary Committee Micheline Bouchard Ronald Corey Corporate Director Guy Laliberté Founder CIRQUE DU SOLEIL Bernard Lamarre Chairman of the Board of Directors OLD PORT OF MONTREAL CORPORATION Monique F. Leroux President and Chief Executive Officer MOUVEMENT DES CAISSES DESJARDINS Jean-Denis Talon Chairman of the Board AXA CANADA Samuel Tétreault Co-Founder and artist LES 7 DOIGTS DE LA MAIN Christian Trudeau President and Chief Operating Officer CENTRIA COMMERCE

Donors

Thanks to the donors

$1,250,000 Cirque du Soleil $750,000 Fondation Dufresne et Gauthier $400, 000 - $749, 999 Canadian Heritage $300,000 - $399,999 Alcan $200,000 - $299,999 Gouvernement du Québec - Programme Placements Culture Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche $100,000 - $199,999 Pascal Jacob Power Corporation of Canada Productions du Dragon $75,000 - $99,000 Anonymous National Bank Bell Cirque Éloize Microsoft Canada $50,000 - $74,999 Ernst & Young Fondation J. Armand Bombardier TD Bank Financial Group IBM Canada JTI-Macdonald Daniel Lamarre Mouvement des caisses Desjardins Ogilvy Renault Quebecor $25,000 - $49,999 Emergis Fondation J.- Louis Lévesque GlaxoSmithKline KPMG N.M. Rothschild & Sons Canada Rona Transcontinental

$10,000 - $24,999 Aéroports de Montréal Anonymous (2) Robert Blain Bull, Housser & Tupper Canadian Pacific Railway National Circus School Employees De Grandpré Family Fondation Marc Bourgie Grand Prix du Canada (GPC) Luc Martin David McAusland Mercer, Human Resource Consulting Gaétan Morency Pratt & Whitney Canada Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton André Simard Gilles Ste-Croix Peter and Mary White $5,000 - $9,999 Bruno Duguay The William & Nancy Turner Foundation Marc Lalonde Lapointe Magne et associés Mac's Convenience Stores Marketel Michel Noël Pierre Vézina Vézina, Dufault $1,000 - $4,999 Axa Canada Daniela Arendasova Jocelyn Beaudoin Alain Blais Jacques Coté Yves Dagenais Jovette Demers Suzanne Durand Marc Gagnon David A. Gilmour Hyperion Solutions Marie Langlois Johanne Larose Monique Lefebvre Robert C. Nadeau Howard Richard Yves Rocray Stéphanie Rose Christophe Rousseau Martin Saintonge André St-Jean Marie-Pier Turgeon Robert Villeneuve

President David McAusland Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer ALCAN Vice-Presidents Lili de Grandpré Partner CENCEO Conseil David A. Gilmour CEO JIG-A-LOO WORLD Treasurer Luc Martin Partner SAMSON BÉLAIR/DELOITTE &TOUCHE Secretary Maria Piccioni Director NATIONAL CIRCUS SCHOOL FOUNDATION

Members Patrice Drouin Director Bruno Duguay Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary JTI-MACDONALD Marc Lalonde General Manager NATIONAL CIRCUS SCHOOL Robert C. Nadeau Partner, Managing Director SPENCER STUART André St-Jean Trainer NATIONAL CIRCUS SCHOOL Pierre Vézina President & CEO, Marketing and Sales VÉZINA DUFAULT INC.

The National Circus School Foundation would like to offer its most sincere thanks to its donors for their participation to the benefit event of the 25^th National Circus School Annual Show that took place on June 12.

Thanks to their contribution, the National Circus School students were allowed to show off their talent and know-how in the best conditions in front of no less than 13,000 people. This experience of importance on the Ring is all the more meaningful to the 16 graduates since they are about to perform under the biggest tops around the world.

The Benefit Event was fully booked again this year. Consequently, the Foundation was able to raise benefits of more than $220,000 which cover the annual show's costs and other public exercises performed during the year.

Once again, thank you!

*$5,000 AND MORE DONORS Cirque du Soleil Air France Fasken Martineau Hunt Partners JTI-Macdonald Corp. Morgan Stanley *$2,500 and more donors Aeroplan Alcan Atelier de perruques de Montréal Axa Assurances BI&I Blake, Cassels & Graydon Bombardier aéronautique Borden Ladner Gervais BPR-Énergie Caisse centrale Desjardins Caisse d'économie solidaire Desjardins Caisse populaire Desjardins de Saint-Michel Centre de Remorques Leader CGI Claude Barry Cogeco Créations D Deeth Williams Wall Dessau Soprin DMR Conseil Ernst & Young Execaire Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy Groupe Ameublement Focus Groupe Conseil GSD

Groupe DCB Hydro-Québec Imperial Tobbacco Limitée Industries Show Canada Irving Mitchell Kalichman J.E. Verreault et Fils Jig-A-Loo World KPMG Léger Robic Richard Le Groupe Forzani Lerners Les Productions Feeling Les Transports Lacombe Loue Froid McCarthy Tétrault McKinsey & Compagnie Mercer, Consultation en ressources humaines Microserv / IBM Osler Hoskin & Harcourt Power Corporation du Canada PriceWaterhouseCoopers Productions Jeun'Est Rail-Term Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton RBC Gestion Privée Réseau Admission Samson Bélair/Deloitte & Touche Scène Éthique TAG Aeronautics Ubisoft UBS Valeurs mobilières Vézina Dufault Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice Zurich