About
Marie-Michelle Faber
Creativity has always been the driving force behind her work.
After more than two decades performing around the world with Cirque du Soleil, she now channels her artistry into new forms, blending innovation, heritage, and contemporary design.
Through Ellef, she continues to reconnect with her Wendat roots and honour the resilience of Indigenous women whose voices were silenced by colonial laws.
​
Marie-Michelle Faber is a multidisciplinary artist, acrobatic designer, and jeweller, as well as the founder of Ellef Creative and Ellef Jewelry. Her practice explores the intersection of body, movement and material, where live performance meets technology, and where jewelry becomes a vessel of memory and identity.
​
With more than 6,000 performances across the globe, she brings a deep understanding of human expression and stagecraft to everything she creates. Her work bridges worlds from acrobatic design and immersive scenography to handcrafted pieces that carry stories of lineage, strength, and transformation.
​
Guided by her Wendat heritage and intuition, Marie-Michelle’s work celebrates resilience, transformation, and connection. Whether shaping metal, designing acrobatic movement, or crafting immersive experiences, each creation invites us to reconnect with ourselves, with others, and with the ancestral wisdom that continues to live through us.
Artist Statement
I create to give shape to what cannot always be said, to transform memory into movement, matter, and light.
Through Ellef Creative, I shape experiences that live in movement, light, and space; through Ellef Jewelry, I give form to those same emotions in metal and matter. In both, I explore how creation can carry memory, connection, and presence.
My process begins with listening to materials, to the rhythm of the body, to what lies beneath the surface. Whether I’m designing an acrobatic act, an immersive environment, or a piece of jewelry, I follow the same intention: to uncover the invisible threads that link body, matter, and spirit, creating spaces where emotion and presence can meet.
My creations emerge from a deep sense of lineage and remembrance. They honour resilience and continuity while opening new dialogues between tradition and innovation. Each piece, each performance, becomes a living offering, a space where the ancestral and the contemporary can meet and breathe together.
Resume
Ellef Creative
Atelier Entrepreneurial pour Designers
Training focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, and business development for creative professionals, supporting designers in structuring sustainable and strategic practices.
Courses in Tagtool, Video Mapping, Immersive Storytelling, and AI for the Arts, exploring interactive creation, projection design, and emerging technologies.
Workshop on dramaturgy and self-production, emphasizing narrative development and independent artistic creation.
Perfectionnement technique — Art Scénique | Lionel-Groulx (2025)
Advanced technical training in stage performance
NASM-CPT Certification — National Academy of Sports Medicine (2018)
Certification in kinesiology and performance coaching, specializing in biomechanics, injury prevention, and physical conditioning for performers.
Work Experience | Mentorship | Consultant
Artistic Consultant, Acrobatic Designer & Choreographer | Freelance | 2018–Present
Design, mentorship, and acrobatic creation for professional circus and performing artists.
Projects include:
-
Cirque du Soleil | Human Performance Specialist (2018–2025);
movement efficiency, acrobatic research, and artist training optimization.
-
Cirque Éloize | Acrobatic Designer & Head Coach (ID Evolution, 2025);
-
Automation Board Operator (Microtrol System, 2024–2025).
-
KO TV Productions | Acrobatic coordination and choreography for PLAN B – Season 3 (2024)
and Double Jeu – Season 2 (2025).
-
Creativiva Productions (2020–2021) and Fever Up Bridgerton Experience (2021–2022)
Aerial choreography for international and immersive shows.
Jewelry Teacher | L’Atelier d’Artisanat, Montréal | 2023–2024
Instructor in jewelry techniques; guided students through design, fabrication, and finishing processes.
Aerialist & Singer | Cirque du Soleil (Quidam, Corteo, Amaluna) | 1999–2018
Performed in more than 6,000 shows worldwide as an original cast member and principal aerial artist.
First performer in Cirque du Soleil history to sing while performing an aerial act,
pioneering a new integration of voice and movement.
Artist | Cirque Éloize (Orchestra) | 2001–2002
Performed in Orchestra, a Cirque Éloize production that received a
Gémeaux Award for Best Performance (Television Broadcast, 2004).
Co-Founder & Creator | AIR YOGALATES Method | 2012–2025
Developed and taught an aerial-yoga certification program combining yoga, Pilates, and aerial techniques;
mentored international instructors.
Mentorship & Research Workshops
-
Les RAM — Master Workshop in Research and Artistic Creation (2019 & 2024)
-
Institut National du Sport du Québec (INS) Artistic Workshop linking physical training and creative process (2019)
Residencies & Special Projects
Innovation Festival — Cirque du Soleil | June 2025
Invited participant developing new concepts merging performance, movement, and technology.
Residency with Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux-Noranda (March 2025)
Research and development with art technology & live performance
Ellef Jewelry
3D Jewelry Design — Rhino CAD (2024)
Introduction to digital jewelry design using Rhino 3D; creation of precision models and renderings for 3D printing applications.
with Yves St-Pierre (2024)
Traditional sand-casting methods for small-scale jewelry; hands-on exploration of ancient techniques offering creative freedom.
&
Le sertissage with Saïd Abbas (2024)
Stone-setting mastery: claw, bezel, pavé, channel, and gypsy settings; personalized approach based on students’ own stones and designs.
with Amboise Degenève (2023)
Training in electroforming for jewelry; development of organic metal structures and experimental surface textures.
Mokume-Gane with Anne Wolf (2023)
Introduction to the Japanese metal-lamination technique blending metals into unique patterned surfaces.
With creation in my hands and lineage in my bones
Education
Professional
Development
Speaker — Sommet Jeunesse 2025 (Réseau Jeunesse des Premières Nations Québec–Labrador)
Invited to give a conference on contemporary Indigenous creativity for Indigenous youth aged 15–35,
exploring the intersection of memory, innovation, and cultural identity.
Panelist | Team Canada Lab, Olympic Games (Paris 2024)
Invited speaker for the Canadian Olympic Committee innovation lab; discussion on performance,
creativity, and movement design.
Podcast | Tapis Rouge! (June 2023)
Guest interview
Guest Speaker | London Circus School (UK, 2016)
Q&A with students on career longevity and sustainable performance practices.
Conference “Life on Tour Experience”, Québec (2002)
Talk on touring life, balance, and artistic discipline.
Panels, Conferences & Media
-
Entrevue 66 minutes, M6 (Paris, 2017)
-
BAFTA British Academy Film Awards, London (2017)
-
Entrepreneur of the Year Ceremony, Salle des Étoiles, Monaco (2011)
-
400th Anniversary of Québec, Cirque du Soleil Special Event (2008)
-
USA National Anthem Performance, “The Astros” Baseball Stadium, Houston (2008)
-
Opening Ceremony 25th World Trampoline Championships, Québec (2007)
-
Grand Opening The Venetian Grand Casino, Macau (2007)
-
Singer–Songwriter Band Qi, Japan Tour (2003–2004)
-
Summit of the Americas, Québec (2001)
-
Australian Logies Awards, Melbourne (2004)
-
Good Morning America, USA (1998)
-
The Oprah Winfrey Show, Chicago (1998)
Special Appearances & Media Features
-
Semi-Finalist Pow Wow Pitch (2025)
​National Indigenous entrepreneurship competition celebrating creative and community-driven Indigenous businesses.
-
Gémeaux Award | Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program or Series
(Orchestra, Cirque Éloize. 2021)
Académie canadienne du cinéma et de la télévision
-
Drama Desk Award (New York) Unique Theatrical Experience (Quidam, Cirque du Soleil, 1998)*
Recognizing outstanding creative achievement in live performance.
Awards & Distinctions
-
« Autochtone inc : l’audace entrepreneuriale au féminin » Les Affaires, 2025
Feature article profiling Marie-Michelle Faber and Ellef Creative among leading Indigenous women entrepreneurs shaping Canada’s creative industries.
Press & Publications
-
En Piste | National Circus Arts Alliance
-
Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCIB) Ellef certified Indigenous business
-
Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA) Member
-
Ahkwayaonhkeh — First Nations Artists Collective Member
-
Wendat First Nation | Official Status Member
-
1D1N Identification des Premières Nations | Certification No. 9570
-
Lululemon Athletica | Brand Ambassador (2013)
Affiliations & Memberships
