A group of new artists from all over the world arrive at the international headquarters of Cirque du Soleil in Montreal. The adventure begins with the creation of the new show.

First Aired: September 15, 2002 (Global) January 6, 2003 (Bravo)

The first episode begins on Varekai's opening night in April 2002. We see the Grand Chapiteau in the Old Port of Montreal, clips from the show and some backstage shots. Director Dominic Champagne gives the performers a pre-show pep-talk; "Give your soul to touch their hearts, that's what we have to do". Then we flash back nine months to the artists' initial arrival in Montreal. An exciting but tense atmosphere is established right from the onset; the viewer is made aware that it is up to the artists to either make it or break it. "Not all who started on the journey made it to the end," the narration informs. We witness the performers meeting each other for the first time and moving in to the Cirque du Soleil residences in Montreal. This scene is reminiscent of my first time moving into residence at university and conjures the same feelings of excitement and anticipation mixed with a heavy dose of anxiety.

Throughout the episode we follow the artists as they venture through the creation process at Cirque du Soleil. Studio Director Bernard Petiot warns them, "We're not going to avoid complexity. We all accept that it's not clear. That's your reality and that's our reality". We sit in on various workshops; "movement training" a dance/movement improvisation class, a rhythm and percussion workshop, and a characterization workshop lead by Director Dominic Champagne. We also get to come along on a weekend social outing as the artists unwind after an arduous week of the Cirque du Soleil regime and sing a version of the B-52's "Love Shack" in a karaoke bar.

Where Fire Within really soars is in telling the personal stories of the people behind a Cirque du Soleil show. In this episode we are introduced to several individuals, each struggling to discover or rediscover his/her place within the Cirque du Soleil dynamic.

We meet Stella Umeh, a Toronto gymnast and Canadian Olympian ready to become an artist as she ventures into new challenges and unchartered waters at Cirque du Soleil. "I'm apparently signed on for a trapeze number with five other girls and something called 'Body Skate', so that's all I know," she tells her mother. We later find out that although she is a talented gymnast, Stella has never performed on a trapeze.

Raquel Karro Oliveira is one of Stella's performing partners. She hails from Brazil and is a seasoned trapeze artist. She is trying to deal with the strain of being away from her boyfriend.

Raquel and Stella are introduced to a brand new apparatus that Cirque has created called the "multiple-trapeze". They both look at it with what seems to be a combination of wonder and intimidation. The multiple-trapeze is a large, rigid, cage-like structure that looks like several trapezes fused together. It resembles a playground jungle-gym that's been suspended in mid-air. This awkward new structure proves difficult to work with.

We're introduced to Oleg Ouchakov, a veteran Cirque du Soleil performer from Russia. We learn that he has dreamt of being a dancer all his life and is now working to make the transition from acrobat to dancer. Oleg has been on the road with circuses for the past nine years and although his experience gains him much respect and admiration amongst his peers he must still face the challenge of breaking out of the old circus mold and working to create something original while adapting to the style of a new creative team. At one point during a characterization workshop Director Dominic Champagne critiques Oleg's movement style and urges him to innovate, "It's a little too 'Cirque du Soleil' for my taste. It's been seen so much, you could be the poster you know. I would like you to surprise me a little more."

The first non-performer we meet is Michel Laprise, a Cirque du Soleil talent scout who is in charge of finding singers for the new show. When auditions in Montreal and Toronto fail to find the required talent he forges onward with an audition in New York City. His job is made doubly difficult by the fact that the show's creators do not exactly know what kind of singers they are looking for. The New York audition produces one candidate, a woman with a powerful, gospel-style voice. Michel presents a video tape of the audition to the creators who reject the singer outright. Although his search is once again fruitless he now has a better sense of what the show creators are looking for. His search proceeds to Sofia, Bulgaria where he auditions a slew of talented singers who can sing in the gypsy style. He eventually winds up in Paris for yet another set of auditions. But by the end of the Paris auditions he still has not found any suitable singers. Time is getting critical and Michel's situation is urgent.

We are also introduced to Kevin and Andrew Atherton, of Manchester, England. Andrew and Kevin are identical twins, both are champions of the British National Gymnastics team. They meet with aerial acrobatics coach André Simard on their first day and proceed to rehearse their duo aerial straps number. Their act is already very polished and impressive early on and they are promised their own act in the show. Director of Creation Andrew Watson remarks how the twins aesthetic produced a very "interesting image". Even in the very early stages of rehearsal without lights, costumes, music or set the act is already breathtaking and the magic is apparent. Their act puts the twins at the head of the troupe, which could leave them susceptible to the pressures and possible jealousy that entails.

Finally, we meet Ashley Beaver and Gareth Hopkins, performing partners from London, England. At 21, Gareth is one of the youngest members of the troupe and is away from his North London home for the first time. Ashley and Gareth train with coaches Pedro and Adrian to learn Icarian Games (foot-juggling), an ancient and rare circus tradition which is to be a center piece for the new show. Their progress is slow and difficult. The first day, Gareth attempts to land his buttocks on an inverted Ashley's feet (the starting position for Icarian Games) but instead lands on his "family jewels". Their progress continues to be slow and agonizing throughout the first few weeks, and we experience their frustration.

Gareth finds the Cirque du Soleil regiment to be suffocating. He is at times temperamental and argumentative. Gareth's progress is also hindered by his preoccupation with personal matters. In a poignant moment he shares with us that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer before he left and had to undergo an operation. He also explains that his father left their family during his mother's illness and he harbors much bitterness towards him. We begin to understand that Gareth's personal demons are keeping him from succeeding at Cirque. He is withdrawn from most of the troupe and refuses to be a team player. The coaching staff holds a meeting and issues Gareth an ultimatum; either adapt to Cirque or leave the show. At the end of the episode Gareth is at a crossroads, he must decide whether he wants to stay with Cirque or give it up. He takes a sabbatical and returns home to Britain in order to see his family and to make his decision. Meanwhile, we see Ashley beginning to rehearse the Icarian Games with a new partner, Darren.