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ARATA URAWA (Performer) Arata Urawa is a diabolist. He was born and grew up in Japan. He is a former Japan juggling champion and Asian diabolo champion, therefore circus festivals started to invite him. He decided to get into the professional circus world and studied in Montreal National Circus School after he graduated Tokyo University of Science. He got the Bronze prize in 39e Cirque de demain. Being a part of The 7 Fingers was a dream too far away from him. However, he is now in his dream.

MICHELLE HERNANDEZ (Performer) Michelle Hernandez was born and raised in Mexico City. Since childhood, she has been passionate about the world of dance. She graduated in ballet from Mexico City's National Institute of Fine Arts in 2012. At the age of 20, she felt drawn to the circus arts. She began her training with aerial apparatus such as canvas and ribbons. A year later, she and her partner, Gerardo Gutierrez, began hand-to-hand training with teacher Vladimir Lissovky at Cirko de Mente in Mexico City. After four years of arduous training, Michelle and Gerardo began to work in cirque companies, TV shows, and festivals in their country. Their first professional experience abroad was in Canada, followed by Germany and Austria. In 2022, they had the privilege of being part of The 7 Fingers and Virgin Voyages' magnificent cruise show Duel Reality in the lead role of Romeo and Juliet.

GERARDO GUTIERREZ (Performer) Gerardo Gutierrez was born and raised in Mexico City. He began his passion for the circus at the age of 15, practicing juggling and floor acrobatics in a self-taught way. At the age of 22, he entered the Cirko de mente diploma program, graduating in floor acrobatics and hoop diving. Shortly after, he and his partner, Michelle Hernandez, began their hand-to-hand training with Professor Vladimir Lissovky at Cirko de Mente in Mexico City. After 4 years of arduous training, Gerardo and Michelle began working in circuses, companies, television shows and festivals in their country. They had their first work experience abroad traveling to Canada, then to Germany and Austria. In 2022 they had the privilege to be part of the beautiful cruise show Duel Reality of The 7 fingers and Virgin Voyages in the main role of Romeo and Juliet.

MARCO INGARAMO (Performer) Marco Ingaramo was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1988. A sports enthusiast since he was a kid and always looking for outdoors adventures. After high school, at the age of 22, he discovered the circus school La Arena, where he took his first acrobatics class. Since then, he knew that nothing would give him as much joy as circus did. In 2011, he auditioned for the circus formation from the University of San Martin directed by Gerardo Hochman, where he trained in acrobatics, teeterboard, Trampowall, Chinese pole and cradle. He also started taking contemporary dance classes in different studios in Buenos Aires. He worked in Argentina in different kind of shows, from musicals to traditional circus and in 2017, he got his first job outside Argentina with the Hungarian company Recirquel. After this in 2018, he started working in Mystere by Cirque du Soleil where he performed Chinese poles and Teeterboard. By the end of 2019, he auditioned for the 7 Fingers in Las Vegas and he was selected to be a part of the inaugural cast of Duel Reality, directed by Shana Carroll, onboard of Scarlet Lady by Virgin Voyages. After the pandemic, he did Duel Reality again and then went to Germany to perform his Chinese Pole solo act with Cirque Bouffon directed by Frederic Zipperlin. Besides being on stage, Marco also helped the 7 Fingers in two Duel Reality remounts as a Line Director, teaching, and coaching the new casts.

SANTIAGO RIVERA (Performer) antiago Rivera Laugerud, born in Guatemala in 1997. Multidisciplinary Artist and owner of his own Circus Cie. Zirconium. Dedicated to the arts since an early age. Influenced by contemporary dance and physical theatre. Specialized in juggling, he has got the chance to develop other disciplines such as hoop diving and Chinese pole. Santiago is the first Central American to be accepted into Montreal’s National Circus School in Canada, recognized as one of the best circus schools in the world. Santiago was part of different art institutions in Guatemala which helped its international launch and recognition in the circus arts. Among them are the art ministry En el arte producciones, Teatro Fantasia at IRTRA Petapa, and the Batz circus school. His work has been recognized by multiple organizations such as Guatecirko, Montreal Completement Cirque, TOHU, and Cirque Éloize. Representing Guatemala internationally in the circus field is overly complicated and due to the lack of support for art from the Guatemalan government, much of this artist's work came from private and personal funding and the ability to create beautiful things out of simple materials. The support of each being that has influenced or promoted the development of circus art in this artist has been of great help and much benefit.

DANIELA CORRADI (Performer) Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Daniela is a circus artist specialized in juggling. She started developing her skills in the year 2014 while traveling through South America, studying with numerous artists from Argentina and Brazil. She has performed in multiple Festivals and Circus Conventions, winning an accolade in 2018 for her act in the IJA (International Jugglers Association) Regional South American Competition. She has also been an active member of groups that have an inclusive and independent focus like the Centro Cultural Ocupação Ouvidor 63 and circus collective 6/12 Circus, as a performer, as well as involved in events production and technical teams. The company focused on alternative theatre productions and social benefit activities. From 2022 on she started to work with the company The 7 Fingers in the show Duel Reality.

ANTON ERIK PERSSON (Performer) Anton Persson, teeterboard artist and acrobat from a small town in Sweden that loves to fight against the laws of gravity. Started off with gymnastics and this was later upgraded to a one-year circus school in Denmark where he met the teeterboard for the first time. And he was obsessed with this sensation of flying and flipping. To carry on with this obsession, Anton continued his studies of Circus at CNAC in France for 3 years, perfecting his technique. Anton has flipped around in Hungry, Sweden, France, Spain, Australia, among other places. Anton is a sucker for trampoline, snowboard, cliff diving, circus, parkour... yeah, basically anything fun!

ASHLEIGH ROPER (Performer) Ashleigh was born in South Africa and moved to the UK at age 5 where she started gymnastics. She immediately found out she had a passion and a natural ability for the sport. A few years later, when her family moved again, this time to Australia, she transitioned to rhythmic gymnastics where she discovered her natural flexibility and her love for the hula hoop. She continued on in rhythmic gymnastics until she was 18 years old. Soon after finishing gymnastics, she felt the pull of performing life and left university to study at the National Institute of Circus Arts specializing in hula hoops and aerial hoop. Since graduating, Ashleigh has performed in multiple productions in spiegeltents and theatres across the globe. Most notably, she performed in the 7 Fingers show Duel Reality on board the Virgin Voyages cruise line and is now part of the Duel Reality on tour cast.

MILIÈVE MODIN-BRISEBOIS (Performer) Miliève Modin-Brisebois is an acrobat from a family of artists. Growing up surrounded by music, theatre, painting, and circus arts, Miliève stands out for her playfulness and straightforwardness. These qualities are evident in her performances and artistic approach. A graduate of the École de cirque de Québec in Chinese Pole, she has joined several different companies and shows. She often says, "If you don't make me laugh, I don't want to know," in the nicest way, of course.

ADAM FULICK (Performer) After 12 years elite international competing experience within sports acrobatics, finishing his sporting career as a British champion in 2016. Adam then went on to graduate from the National Centre for Circus Arts in 2018, specializing in hand-to-hand, general acrobatics, and Cyr wheel. Since then, performed in many avenues within the performing arts space, including: touring the world in award-winning contemporary circus shows (BROMANCE, FAUNA); award- winning cruise line (Virgin Voyages); worked with acclaimed film & TV companies (Disney, Apple TV, Marvel, Channel 4, BBC, Sky Sports); various international cultural art festivals (A few to mention-Glastonbury festival 2017 & 2020, Lattitude festival 2019 & 2021, Edinburgh Fringe festival 2021 & 2022, Brighton Fringe festival 2021 & 2022) and numerous prestigious international events and ceremonies (including The Brit Awards-Dua Lipa 2024, Commonwealth opening ceremony 2022, Riyadh season opening ceremony 2021, Billionaire Indian luxury wedding in 2017, amongst many others).

SHANA CARROLL (Director Artistic Director The 7 Fingers) Shana Carroll is co-founding artistic director of the Montreal-based contemporary circus company Les 7 doigts de la main (The 7 Fingers). Since its founding in 2002, Shana first performed and created (alongside the collective) their shows Loft and La Vie, then went on to direct, write, and choreograph (often in partnership with fellow “Fingers”) their shows Traces, Psy, Sequence 8, Feriamuse, Le Murmure du Coquelicot, Cuisine & Confessions, Passengers, Duel Reality (for Virgin Voyages), Dear San Francisco, and Mon Ile Mon Cœur. Outside of The 7 Fingers, Shana directed Cirque du Soleil’s first-ever ice show Crystal, in addition to their performance at the Academy Awards in 2012. Also for Cirque du Soleil, Shana was acrobatic designer and choreographer for their shows Iris (Los Angeles) and Paramour (Broadway). Other collaborations include: Queen of the Night (World Wide Variety); Soul of the Ocean (Moment Factory); Temporel (Lemieux-Pilon), Cité Mémoire (Lemieux-Pilon); and the Sochi Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies. In 2023, Shana worked as co-choreographer and circus designer for Water For Elephants the Musical with Pigpen Theatre Co. Shana has also created many world-renown circus acts, her work receiving 6 gold medals at international circus festivals through the years. In 2023, Shana became a member of the Ordre des arts et des lettres du Québec in tribute to her remarkable contribution to development and reputation for excellence of Quebec's arts and letters here and abroad. Born and raised in Berkeley, California, and daughter of beloved San Francisco Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll, Shana began her career as a trapeze artist with San Francisco’s Pickle Family Circus. She went on to a 20-year career in the air, including seven years as original solo trapeze artist for Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco. She currently lives in Montreal, Canada.

SNEHAL DESAI (Artistic Director, he/him) was appointed Center Theatre Group’s third artistic director in 2023. As an artistic leader, Snehal has sought to raise awareness on social issues that affect Angelenos through impactful and empowering storytelling. Previously, he was the Producing Artistic Director of East West Players. A Soros Fellow and the recipient of a Tanne Award, Snehal was the Inaugural Recipient of the Drama League’s Classical Directing Fellowship. He has served on the boards of the Consortium of Asian American Theaters and Artists (Caata), Theatre Communications Group (TCG), and currently serves on the board of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT). Snehal was on the faculty of USC’s graduate program in Arts Leadership and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

MEGHAN PRESSMAN (Managing Director/CEO, she/her) joined Center Theatre Group in 2019. Previously, she served as Managing Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (D.C.), Director of Development for Signature Theatre (N.Y.), and Associate Managing Director of Berkeley Rep. She is a graduate of Yale School of Drama/Yale School of Management and serves as a mentor in the Theater Management program. Meghan has served as the Vice-Chair for the Theatre Communications Group Board of Directors and is a member of the Broadway League.

GORDON DAVIDSON (Founding Artistic Director) led the Taper throughout its first 38 seasons, guiding over 300 productions to its stage and winning countless awards for himself and the theatre—including the Tony Award for theatrical excellence, Margo Jones Award, The Governor’s Award for the Arts, and a Guggenheim fellowship. The Kentucky Cycle and Angels in America (Part One) won the Pulitzer in consecutive years and, in 1994, three of the four plays nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play were from the Taper (Angels in America won). In 1989, Gordon took over the Ahmanson and, in 2004, he produced the inaugural season in the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

DOUGLAS C. BAKER (Producing Director, he/him) ) League, the Independent Presenters Network (IPN), and is a proud member of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers (ATPAM). In 2013, Doug received the Broadway League’s prestigious Outstanding Achievement in Presenter Management Award.