N.B. figure skater returns home in Cirque du Soleil show

Growing up, Shawn Sawyer had two big interests: figure skating and Cirque du Soleil. After years of hard work, he’s combining both passions with a show making its way to New Brunswick next year.

“While everybody my age were watching, like, Disney movies or cartoons, I was watching Cirque du Soleil,” Sawyer told CTV News Atlantic’s Katie Kelly.

Sawyer, from Edmundston, N.B., is part of Cirque du Soleil: Crystal, a touring show that merges acrobatic stunts with precision ice skating. It features 45 performers from 25 different countries; Sawyer is the only Maritimer.

“They are known to push the envelope of entertainment business, and they really pushed it this time,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer represented Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and he racked up numerous national medals as a competitive figure skater. He joined Cirque du Soleil in 2017.

“We’ve travelled everywhere in the world,” Sawyer said. “Nothing compares to the excitement on my face when I saw that we were performing in New Brunswick.”

The show will have six performances at the TD Station in Saint John from Jan. 2 to 5.

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