Caitlan Maggs

Over the course of her 20 years at Cirque du Soleil, the largest contemporary circus in the world, Caitlan Maggs contributed to almost every new show as Artistic Director. She led all the artistic coaches and coaching, and she worked with her team to choreograph the acrobatic acts for all the shows. She also taught creativity to world-class athletes (including Olympians), transforming them from athletes into artists over the months leading up to the show’s opening, often pulling 12-hour days, 6 days a week to ensure they were at the top of their game for opening night. Out of over 4000 employees from over 50 countries, she is one of only a handful of experts who have contributed and participated in the Cirque’s creative process at such a high level and on so many of their iconic shows.

Caitlan knows what it takes to develop creativity in high-pressure environments, and she can show you how creativity can help you and your teams foster resilience, diversity, collaboration, and originality. Creativity not only helps us innovate in more revolutionary ways, it also helps us to unlock our own potential and stay open to changing circumstances. “In today’s world of constant change, creativity has never been more important,” Caitlan says.

In her forthcoming book Inside the CIRQUE of Creativity, Caitlan tells the story of her 20-year career with the Cirque du Soleil and offers creative insights drawn from her time as Artistic Head Coach. She gives us a glimpse into the wonderful world of the Cirque, and shows us how we can draw from the Cirque’s creative process to develop and practice our own creativity, no matter what context we’re in. Caitlan shows us how to navigate different viewpoints and embrace diversity as a stepping stone to true creativity—the Cirque brings together artists from over 50 different countries—and how to develop empathy, communication, and adaptability no matter what.

In her talks, Caitlan demonstrates the power of creativity and shows us practical ways to develop it in ourselves and in our teams and workplaces. She is the Creative Director of CrEaTiVe TeAmS, through which she has conducted workshops and given talks on the creative process all around the world: from the United States to Lithuania to Japan to France.