The Elephant in the Room

Circus Disciplines: Hand to Hand, Chinese Pole

Lina was born in Colombia and studied in Mexico City from 2004 to 2012 at the Academia de la Danza Mexicana and from 2013 to 2014 at the Cirko de Mente. In 2015, she moved to Montreal and studied at the renowned National Circus School, where she graduated in 2019, specializing in hand to hand and dance trapeze. In 2019, Lina was part of a workshop with The 7 Fingers and trained with the Cirque du Soleil. Lina has been on stage since 2004 and has participated in numerous productions ever since. In 2006, thanks to a collaboration with the National Dance Company, she performed in the Nutcracker Ballet in the National Auditorium and other ballet productions. In July 2018, Lina performed with Jack McGarr in a hand-to-hand duo performance on La Rue Montréal Complètement Cirque.

Circus Disciplines: Hand to Hand, Chinese Pole

Jack was born in Canada and has been studying at the National Circus School in Montreal since 2014. In addition to his appearances in circus pieces, Jack competed in various acrobatics competitions. Highlights include the National Canadian Championships from 2010 to 2014 and the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Age Group Championships 2010 in Poland, 2012 in the USA and 2014 in France. In 2017 Jack could be seen in Le Moulin à Vent and in 2018 he was part of a celebrated hand-to-hand performance with Lina Romero at La Rue Montréal Complètement Cirque. Jack has been part of the cast for productions like Blizzard by Flip Fabrique and Brume by The 7 Fingers. When he is not working to perfect his circus skills, Jack plays guitar, bass and drums and is a certified gymnastics trainer.

Circus Disciplines: Handstands, Chinese Pole

Craig comes from a small town in Hampshire, England. He trained at the National Centre for Circus Arts in London (2012-2015), specializing in hand balancing. Prior to this he competed as a Sports Acro base before going solo to develop his own training. This is where he found his love for learning new things and pushing himself to the next level. Craig now performs in a variety of styles and disciplines, from stage shows and immersive ensemble work to solo and duo acts. Sharing the stage and his love for circus with his colleagues and the audience is one of his greatest joys. Connecting with others and bringing them into his own world is something he views as a special privilege.

Circus Disciplines: Hand to Hand, Teeterboard, Chinese Pole

In addition to his bachelor’s degree in circus arts, Antonio also has degrees in carpentry and woodworking. On stage, Antonio already was on a North American tour with Cirque du Soleil with the piece Amaluna and inspired the audience on the Teeterboard. Until 2018 he was also part of the French company XY, which he joined in 2016 for the show Il n’est pas encore minuit. Between 2006 and 2019, Antonio worked as a circus teacher for various acrobatic disciplines at Circus Zonder Handen. With the Trio Acrobarouf, which formed in 2008 at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque, he performed at various circus festivals, in variety theaters and at the Cirque du Soleil until 2016.

Circus Disciplines: Hand to Hand, Teeterboard, Chinese Pole

Kritonas began his performance career at the age of 12, working alongside his father and performing in children’s shows in Greece. He graduated from ESAC in Brussels in 2010, specialising in teeterboard, banquine and hand to hand. In 2007, he became a founding member of the Belgian teeterboard company Acrobarouf, which toured all around the globe. Highlights of the company’s career includes being part of the Cirque du Soleil production Amaluna from 2011 to 2014 and winning the Bronze Medal at the International Young Stage Festival in Basel in 2015. Kritonas joined the French company XY for their show Il n’est pas encore minuit and created the acrobatic solo performance (Telos) in collaboration with Unités/Nomade and Cie ODOS in Brussels. Alongside his dedication to performance, Kritonas has a passion for sharing his expertise, providing the next generation in the world of professional performers with valuable skills.

Circus Disciplines: Handstands, Chinese Pole

Naël started circus at the age of 11. First, he trained at l’Ecole Nationale de Cirque de Châtellerault from 2001 and later joined the world renowned National Circus School of Montreal, where he graduated in 2008. Soon thereafter, he was noticed by The 7 fingers and went on to travel the world with them for 5 years in productions like “Traces”, “La Vie” and “PSY”. In 2012, he established his own Theatre/Circus company called Cie Tête d’Enfant. Their first creation “Me, Myself and Us” has toured worldwide, tour stops including France at the Festival d’Avignon, Belgium, Germany, Cambodia and the Philippines. His outstanding performances made him into a finalist of the TV show “Arab’s got Talent” and in 2014, led him to join the award-winning Broadway musical Pippin. In 2016, Naël performed at the GOP Varieté-Theater in Germany before he was part of Les productions Haut-Vol with the show “Origins” in 2017. In 2018, Naël performed as the main character in Cirque du Soleil at Sea’s “Viaggio”, which he was also the artistic director for.

Lolita began circus at 7 years old at l’Ecole de Cirque in Aveyron quickly followed by l’Ecole de Cirque de Châtellerault.  She attended the Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque de Bruxelles to complete her circus studies.  Soon after graduating, with her partner Lennert Vandenbroeck she created the show Seul avec Vous.  Their duo, going by the name Duo Léo performed with Circus Monti and numerous German Varieties. In 2012, she took part in the creation and production of the original cast of Diane Paulus’ Tony Award winning revival of PIPPIN at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. Since 2014, Lolita co-founded the company Cirque Le Roux, a French circus company based in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of France. In 2015 the four co-founders (Lolita Costet, Grégory Arsenal, Philip Rosenberg and Yannick Thomas) created The Elephant in the Room, an exhilarating and deliciously retro circus comedy that over the past four years has been presented more than 400 times all over the world.  In 2019 Cirque Le Roux took up the challenge of creating its newest show, A Deer in the Headlights, another extraordinary “cinema circus”, continuing its pursuit of artistic excellence.

Yannick Thomas was immersed into the world of circus since he was young.  He began at The Circus School of Capbreton, and quickly moved on to The Circus School of Châtellerault before completing his studies at The National Circus School of Montreal.  Here, he was able to fully exploit his acrobatic potential with teachers Alexandre Arnaoutov & Sébastien Soldévila.  With Greg Arsenal, he left the school with, Le Con est L’ange, a surprising number, acrobatic and theatrical, struggling between tenderness and cruelty.  In 2012, he took part in the creation and production of the original cast of Diane Paulus’ Tony Award winning revival of PIPPIN at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.  Since 2014, Yannick co-founded the company Cirque Le Roux, a French circus company based in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of France. In 2015 the four co-founders (Lolita Costet, Grégory Arsenal, Philip Rosenberg and Yannick Thomas) created The Elephant in the Room, an exhilarating and deliciously retro circus comedy that has been presented more than 400 times all over the world.  In 2019 Cirque Le Roux took up the challenge of creating its newest show, A Deer in the Headlights, another extraordinary “cinema circus”, continuing its pursuit of artistic excellence.

Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Philip Rosenberg, left a rigorous gymnastic regime to pursue his love for the performing arts at the age of 10. While attending several acting academies Philip also found the Circus Center, where he began learning Chinese Acrobatics under the guidance of Master Trainer Lu Yi. While learning how to be a powerful and dynamic acrobat, Philip also participated in various shows with the Circus Center and New Pickle Circus, including the original cast of Birdhouse Factory. This ever-expanding exhilarating world of performance and travel led Philip to the “National Circus School” of Montreal where he refined his technique in handbalancing, acrobatics, dance and theatre. Graduating in 2008, Philip immediately began performing with The 7 Fingers in a two year international tour of the show TRACES. The production played in over 15 different countries and dozens of theaters, including Union Square Theatre, Saddlers Wells in London, Casino de Paris, and The Sydney Opera House.   Soon after, Philip began performing his Mannequin Handstand act in various varieties throughout Germany.  In 2012, he took part in the creation and production of the original cast of Diane Paulus’ Tony Award winning revival of PIPPIN at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. Since 2014, Philip co-founded the company Cirque Le Roux, a French circus company based in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of France. In 2015 the four co-founders (Lolita Costet, Grégory Arsenal, Philip Rosenberg and Yannick Thomas) created The Elephant in the Room, an exhilarating and deliciously retro circus comedy that over the past four years has been presented more than 400 times all over the world.  In 2019 Cirque Le Roux took up the challenge of creating its newest show, A Deer in the Headlights, another extraordinary “cinema circus”, continuing its pursuit of artistic excellence.

At 14, Greg discovered the Circus school of Capbreton.  Soon after, he was guided towards a professional program, attending The Circus School of Bordeaux followed by The National Circus School of Montreal.  Specializing in Hand to Hand with his partner Yannick Thomas, they created Le Con est L’ange an acrobatic Hand to Hand number, which they have played over 400 times.  Having won two medals, Yann and Greg have performed with The 7 Fingers, GOP Variete, and Olympic Games in Vancouver.  In 2012, he took part in the creation and production of the original cast of Diane Paulus’ Tony Award winning revival of PIPPIN at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.  Since 2014, Greg co-founded the company Cirque Le Roux, a French circus company based in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of France. In 2015 the four co-founders (Lolita Costet, Grégory Arsenal, Philip Rosenberg and Yannick Thomas) created The Elephant in the Room, an exhilarating and deliciously retro circus comedy that has been presented more than 400 times all over the world.  In 2019 Cirque Le Roux took up the challenge of creating its newest show, A Deer in the Headlights, another extraordinary “cinema circus”, continuing its pursuit of artistic excellence.