This fall Circus Juventas is proud to have invited three very different and very distinguished circus artists to join its full time coaching staff. Dmitrii Arnaoutov comes from a noteworthy Russian circus family and has had a six decade-long career performing, directing and creating innovative acts. Irina Arnaoutova, Dmitrii’s wife, is an accomplished aerialist whose most recent professional gig was coaching acts on Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo. Reed Evans, an original cast member of Cirque’s Beatles LOVE show, is an acclaimed gymnast hailing from Canada. We’re excited to see how they contribute to the future of the community, so read on to learn a bit about the paths that led them here!

 An Interview with Dmitrii Arnaoutov & Irina Arnaoutova

Where are you from/did you grow up?

Irina: in a suburb-like town outside of Moscow in what was then the Soviet Union (population: about 150,000)
Dmitrii: He traveled with his family from birth, moving to a different city every month. They would put him in the local school to ensure he was educated, but he never had any school friends because he was always picking up and moving! (Interesting fact: one place he didn’t visit was Africa.)

How did you get involved in circus?

Irina: She started in the circus college at age 11 and graduated at 17, when she began performing professionally right away. She specialized on the trapeze but soon learned many aerial acts, which was necessary in order to keep working regularly.
Dmitrii: is second generation circus, so he was taught what he needed to know at a young age by family members and was performing professionally by the age of eight.

How did you meet?

Both: They met when both were performing on a show with the Moscow Circus in South America. They were with different troupes at the time, but Dmitrii convinced Irina to perform as a flyer in his family’s Russian cradle act, and the rest is history.

What are you most proud of in your circus careers?

Dmitrii: 1) 30 years performing a completely unique act in the world with his family (their first-of-its-kind Russian cradle act); 2) in 1990 he developed the first solo strap act (prior to that straps was a group act!); 3) working with high level, creative circus artists from all over the world; 4) being able to work with his wife; 5) having been the first Russians to work with Cirque du Soleil
Irina: In addition to echoing #3, #4 & #5 above, Irina is proud of having the privilege to live the life of an artist!

As mentioned in the answer above, Dmitrii & Irina worked with the founders of Cirque du Soleil when it first emerged. We asked them what roles played…

Dmitrii: First, he was the artistic director of a team of performers doing a version of his family’s Russian cradle act, then he was a performer.
Irina: She was a flyer in a (different) cradle act.

What do you hope to accomplish as a coach at CJ?

Both: Right now, they’re both focused on acclimating to the culture and community. They hope to open new, high level acts for advanced performers (including Dmitrii’s Russian cradle act) and to offer their insight as experienced performers and instructors to our entire student body!

It’s well worth noting that the Arnaoutovs are part of an advisory committee looking at expanding CJ programming to include a professional track. Planning is in its earliest stages, but expect more news as this idea develops!

An Interview with Reed Evans

Where are you from/did you grow up?

Calgary, Alberta, Canada (which is about 150 miles north of the northern border of Montana).

How did you get involved in circus?

Reed was a gymnast until age 20, when he saw a performance of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam in Calgary. He didn’t have any circus training, per se, but he was a high enough level gymnast that he felt confident putting together a video audition and sending it to Cirque. They were impressed, and brought him onto the O team in Las Vegas to train in trampoline.

What acts do you train in? Are you interested in learning anything new?

Trampoline came first. Then, while training with the O team, he also learned lyra and Russian swing. He was then asked to create his own trampoline act for the Beatles LOVE show, which he performed for 10 years! While with that show, he also learned teeterboard, duo bungee and latex tubes.

 

He’s interested in act creation! He’s got some ideas, but, like many artists, he prefers to keep the details private until he’s ready to share them onstage.

What are you most proud of in your circus career?

He is most proud of being given the opportunity to create his own piece of a Cirque du Soleil show. He’s left a lasting mark – an act that’s still being performed to this day – on a show that’s famous on the Las Vegas strip and beyond, and audiences will be seeing images he created for years.

What do you hope to accomplish as a coach at CJ?

He’s grateful that so many artists and athletes passed on their extraordinary skills to him, and he wants to do the same for his students at CJ.  Not only are the circus-specific skills important, but he wants to teach the importance of things like stage presence, motivation, teamwork and a positive attitude.

What are your impressions of CJ so far? Is there anything you’d like to tell the community?

He’s never coached students as young as ours before, and he’s really enjoying their energy, the looks on their faces when they get a trick. He intends to continue expanding on the familiar idea that teamwork makes us into a family, and that those with knowledge and skills should share them. It’s not about being “better”; it’s about helping each other reach our full potential.