Upcoming Cast
Voronin as Maitre d'
Known throughout the world as “The Maestro,” Ukrainian illusionist Voronin has been described as the essence of Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati. After graduating from the Kiev Children’s Studio and Kiev State Circus School, Voronin formed his own theater company, The Theatre of Caliostro. In 1988, he swept first place in magic competitions in Germany, Moscow and Austria. In 1999, he won the Siegfried and Roy prize for Master Magician. When not starring in Teatro ZinZanni, Voronin is one of the most sought-after stars of the European cabaret circuit – in fact, he returns to Seattle fresh from his most recent European tour to collaborate on this all-new production of “A Suitcase Named Desire.” An original cast member, Voronin appeared in the very first production of Teatro ZinZanni in 1998. This is his 18th engagement with Teatro ZinZanni.
Voronin
as Maitre d'
Known throughout the world as “The Maestro,” Ukrainian illusionist Voronin has been described as the essence of Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati. After graduating from the Kiev Children’s Studio and Kiev State Circus School, Voronin formed his own theater company, The Theatre of Caliostro. In 1988, he swept first place in magic competitions in Germany, Moscow and Austria. In 1999, he won the Siegfried and Roy prize for Master Magician. When not starring in Teatro ZinZanni, Voronin is one of the most sought-after stars of the European cabaret circuit – in fact, he returns to Seattle fresh from his most recent European tour to collaborate on this all-new production of “A Suitcase Named Desire.” An original cast member, Voronin appeared in the very first production of Teatro ZinZanni in 1998. This is his 18th engagement with Teatro ZinZanni.
Melanie Stace
as Madame Titania ZinZannia
Direct from London's West End, British TV and singing star Melanie Stace made her American debut at Teatro ZinZanni in San Francisco in June 2006 and she is delighted to be returning for her fourth season as Madame Zinzanni. She became a well-known personality throughout Britain appearing in countless television shows, including six years as co-host of the popular BBC prime time Saturday night TV show, The Generation Game, and to crown her many TV successes, Melanie was invited to appear in The Royal Variety Performance in the presence of HRH The Prince Of Wales. Her West End musical lead roles include Louise in Gypsy, Sally in Follies, Lola in Barry Manilow's Copacabana, April in the Olivier Award-winning tap musical Hot Shoe Shuffle, and Polly Baker in the Tony Award-winning Gershwin, Musical Crazy For You. Her critically acclaimed one-woman show has taken her all over Europe, including appearances at London's prestigious Pizza On The Park. Her recent UK national concert tour, Melanie Stace Steppin Out With The BBC Big Band, received rave reviews and she has recently taken the show to The Empire Plush Room, San Francisco. She has starred in countless musical concerts, including Hollywood and Broadway, Ready, Steady, Dance; and Magic Of The Musicals, the latter of which, culminated in a complete sell-out at the world famous London Palladium. Her debut album How Lucky was extremely well received, and she is currently co-writing her second, which is due for release in the Fall of 2008.
Aurelia Cats
Suspended high above the crowd is Teatro ZinZanni's trapeze temptress Aurelia Cats. A native of Paris, this aerial contortionist crafted her skills at the famous Annie Fratellini Circus School, and studied with internationally renowned teachers Pauline Palacy and Sacha Doubrovsky. Shortly thereafter, Aurelia earned her first Gold Medal at Festival de Monte Carlo festival "Premiere Rampe" when she was 10 years old. She also received a Gold Medal for her performance at the "Festival mondial du cirque de demain" in Paris and in "Circus Princessan" in Sweden. She has performed in Circus,Variety and Cabaret like : Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione, Casino de Paris, Wintergarten, Tiger Palast , Apollo variete ....and was the first Trapeze act at the "Lido of Paris". Aurelia is an original Teatro ZinZanni cast member and has captivated audiences at our tents here and in San Francisco.
Viktor Kee
“What if Diaghilev choreographed for a juggler?… [it is] as though gravity is a force that does not apply to him.” wondered the New York Times. Viktor Kee has been performing on stage since he was six years old, the Ukrainian born juggler is a graduate of the professional Circus School in Kiev. He has won awards at most of the world’s major circus festivals including Cirque de Demain in Paris and the International Circus festival in Monte Carlo. A favorite with audiences around the world, Viktor has performed at the Moulin Rouge, Lido de Paris, the Friedrichstadpalast in Berlin, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand with Barbra Streisand in Las Vegas , the Royal Albert Hall in London, and around the world with Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion. Viktor is now here in his debut with Teatro ZinZanni Seattle.Quite possibly the world's sexiest juggler, Viktor Kee, has developed a unique, mesmerizing style of juggling, which melds dance, acrobatics and juggling into a wondrous ballet of sensuality.
Nancy Emmerich
Nancy Emmerich has performed leading roles with opera companies and symphony orchestras in the US and Europe. Recent roles include Violetta in La Traviata performed in Rome. Josephine in HMS Pinefore with Eugene Opera, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Tacoma Symphony and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus with the Columbia Symphony. She has performed extensively with Portland Opera including eight main stage roles. Nancy sang Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld to rave reviews in the New York Times. Also in New York she received her Master's Degree from the prestigious Juilliard School. She returns to Teatro ZinZanni for her sixth engagement.
Duo Artemiev
High above the audience, Russian acrobatic team Duo Artemiev (Dimitri Artemiev and Elena Mozgalevskaya) performs a graceful and physically demanding tango on the trapeze. The pixyish pair only began performing together in 1998, but they have already graced the biggest halls in Monte Carlo, Berlin, Munich, Paris and their native Moscow with their gravity-defying act. Among the highlights so far in their young careers as circus artists are a ground-breaking aerial performance in The Magic Flute in Berlin under the direction of the legendary Georg Tabori, an early performance at Madison Square Garden where they shared the stage with Liza Minelli, and an invitation to perform for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996. Each time they perform is a dynamic demonstration of delicacy and lightness juxtaposed with heat, passion and strength as they are in constant motion on the static trapeze, slithering and darting through daring holds and catches to capture your heart.
Svetlana
Russian performance artist Svetlana blends modern dance, pantomime skills, magic and contortion to create her sensational new puppet act, which debuted at Teatro ZinZanni in Seattle last winter. Undulating, shifting, transforming right before your eyes, Svetlana’s puppet has been warmly received by the audience as both a highly skilled acrobatic performance and as a new comedic and romantic character. Trained in the ancient art of contortion from the age of nine, Svetlana studied at the Kiev State Circus School and has performed at some of Europe’s most distinguished venues including the Wintergarten and the Apollo. She is an original Teatro ZinZanni cast member.
Peter Pitofsky
Uncanny timing, a malleable face and a willingness to do anything for a laugh have all earned American clown Peter Pitofsky the title of “Human Cartoon.” His years of street theater on the infamous Venice Beach walk, along with go-for-broke stand-up sets at L.A.’s Comedy Store, earned him opening slots with some of comedy’s heavyweights, including Mel Brooks, Jay Leno, Penn & Teller and more. This is Peter’s eighth engagement with Teatro ZinZanni.
