University of Western Ontario Mustangs cheerleader Aaron Charbonneau is heading to Montreal to begin acrobatic training with Cirque du Soleil.
Charbonneau will have his performance debut in an upcoming show, yet to be named.
Aaron Charbonneau
“I’ll be doing hoop diving, a lot of tumbling on stage, some skipping type stuff, flipping into skipping ropes,” he says.
The 23-year-old Blenheim, Ont. native is completing his Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in history at Western. He writes an exam on July 27 and then expects to be in Montreal in early August for six weeks of training.
From there, Charbonneau said they will do a trial show in Mexico and eventually could be performing in Canada or the U.S.
Charbonneau said he is very grateful for the guidance and training from coach David-Lee Tracey, better known as ‘Trace.’
Before Western cheerleading, Charbonneau competed in gymnastics and came to train with the Western cheerleading program with hopes of one day landing in Cirque du Soleil.
“With Western being top of the line in cheerleading, it was good preparation,” he says. “This opportunity would not have been possible without the cheerleading experience here.”