Franco Dragone

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Franco Dragone is a Belgian film and theatre director. He is known for his work with Cirque du Soleil.

[edit] Career

Prior to joining Cirque du Soleil, Dragone worked as a director of theatre and film. He directed 10 productions for Cirque de Soleil from 1985 to 1998, in which he merged theater and the circus.

His visibility greatly increased in the early 1990s after he directed and introduced the cutting-edge Cirque du Soleil production Mystère at the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mystère helped to change the nature of production shows in Las Vegas. Cirque du Soleil benefited greatly from Franco's work; while he only directed one other show in Las Vegas, O in 1998, to many he was the face of Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.

Franco also directed Cirque du Soleil's first motion picture, Alegría - An Enchanting Fable, in 1997.

In 1999, he created Lara Fabian's video clip "Adagio". In the following year he formed his own company called Dragone. During 2003, Dragone created a new live show A New Day... starring Céline Dion, which opened at Caesars Palace, thus continuing his association with Las Vegas.

Most recently, in 2005, Dragone debuted another show, his fourth, on the Las Vegas Strip with the opening of Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Dragone is currently in pre-production for a new show located at the City of Dreams in Macao, planned to open in late 2009.