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Duo Unity " Monte- Carlo Circus Festival" with Lea Toran Jenner- Circuspreneur Podcast Ep.96
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On this episode of the Circuspreneur Podcast, host Shenea Stiletto interviews Lea Toran Jenner of Duo Unity, who with her partner Francis Perreault, are an innovative Circus Cyr Wheel Duo. Duo Unity is currently performing at the prestigious Moulin Rouge in Paris, and is fresh off of their invitation to compete at the Festival International du Cirque de Monte-Carlo in Monaco. Their other accomplishments include winning the Bronze Medal at the prestigious Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, and the Silver Award at the Budapest Lyrical Circus Festival.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Promotion
00:00:04
Circuspreneur Podcast
This podcast is also available via stageleak.com, the groundbreaking new platform for live performing arts. Please support the podcast by liking, subscribing, commenting, and tagging the podcast.
00:00:15
Circuspreneur Podcast
It helps us to continue to bring the industry high-level content.
Meet Lea Torrin Jenner of Duo Unity
00:00:19
Circuspreneur Podcast
i'm your host, Shanae Stiletto, and my guest on today's Circuspreneur podcast is one half of Dior Unity, Lea Torrin Jenner.
00:00:26
Circuspreneur Podcast
Welcome to the podcast, Lea.
00:00:28
Lea
Thank you so much for having me. I'm really happy to be here tonight.
00:00:32
Circuspreneur Podcast
Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to have you. And shout out to Francis, the other half of Duo Unity. You are with us in spirit, Francis. And to let listeners know a little bit about Duo Unity, Lea Thorn Jenner and Francis Perrault met each other at the Ecole Nationale du Cirque du Montreal in 2011.
00:00:55
Circuspreneur Podcast
In search of new challenges, they decided to work together in one single Seer Will to create an innovative circus discipline, Seer Will Duo.
Awards and Achievements of Duo Unity
00:01:03
Circuspreneur Podcast
After training together for over three years, Duo Unity found their style in combining their strengths with poetic sensibility while creating a romantic atmosphere by mixing grace with danger.
00:01:14
Circuspreneur Podcast
For their act, Lea and Francis have been awarded um with a bronze medal at the prestigious Festival Mondial du Cirque du Dumont, a silver award at the Budapest Lyrical Circus Festival, and a gold medal in audience award the Festival International du Cirque du Albacete.
00:01:30
Circuspreneur Podcast
For their many accomplishments, they have been invited to perform at the Festival International du Cirque du Monte Carlo in 2025. duo Unity has worked internationally with different circus and variety shows, as well as special events and TV appearances.
Performing at the Moulin Rouge
00:01:44
Circuspreneur Podcast
Their latest long-term engagement has been with the prestigious Moulin Rouge in Paris, and that is where you just finished performing just right now,
00:01:54
Lea
Yeah, just minutes ago, i washed up my my face.
00:01:55
Circuspreneur Podcast
layah
00:01:58
Lea
I was still full of makeup. And now I'm here in my little apartment in Montmartre in and the middle of Paris. And I'm speaking to you via this amazing connection we have here.
00:02:08
Circuspreneur Podcast
That is wonderful. And we can start off with discussing your work right now at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, Leo, because that is such a coveted contract and such a coveted performing gig, job opportunity.
00:02:24
Circuspreneur Podcast
Everybody wants to work at the Moulin Rouge. I don't care who you are. You would hope and wish, you know, it's been on my bucket list for quite some time, but we might not ever get there. But that's okay. I can live through you.
00:02:34
Circuspreneur Podcast
and so sorry. my many other friends and you guys have gone you know kind of like in sections of of working at the Moulin Rouge you've gone for a bit and then you've had a break and then now you've come back so can you take us inside of the world of the Moulin Rouge first for those that maybe don't understand why the Moulin Rouge Paris is so significant even though I can't imagine that there's someone out there that does not know. However, for those that are maybe doing a little introductory introductory course into the circus industry, tell them what kind of makes the Moulin Rouge this kind of space that, you know, people would would would dream so to work there one day. Because I think it's, ah I think it really is that type of contract that the few that make it in there are very lucky to do that in their career.
00:03:20
Lea
Yeah, I mean, there are several things. First of all, it's a cabaret. So it's probably the most famous cabaret there is. It's in Paris. It's like over 130 years old.
00:03:30
Lea
And it's famous for also the movie. That's where mostly people know it from, but mostly for their can-can dance. So it's a type of dance that girls do with like lawn skirts and screaming and like throwing the skirts around and kicking and splits.
00:03:46
Lea
And that's kind of where it, like this is the roots that people know it for. But I think now it's mostly like, it's one of the only places that has had shows for like ever and ever, every single night. There's two shows every single night.
00:04:01
Lea
It's always full. Everybody wants to come see it. If you go to Paris, like tourists want to come see it. And therefore it's special because it's like this one of a kind place that only exists here.
00:04:14
Lea
It's a dance show. So most of it is dance. There's three different tableaus of dance. There's parts where girls are topless, which is also exotic. And that's also a reason why a lot of people want to come see it.
00:04:25
Lea
It is. I wouldn't say it's sexual, though. I would say it's sensual and it's done in a very ecstatic way. Sometimes I even describe it as and Victoria's Secret models, but and but like instead of having underwear, they're just wearing like feathers and all of the pearls and all of those things. And then some of them are topless.
00:04:43
Lea
And in the middle of all of that, there's three circus acts. And part of the reason why so many people want to work here is because it's hard because there's only three. In most circus shows, you have like 10 to 15 acts.
00:04:55
Lea
And another difficulty is that there's no aerial. So it's a small stage. It's very much like you walk down the stairs and you enter a different world from like 30 years in the past. And it's like super romantic and nicely decorated.
00:05:10
Lea
The stage is really small. So that kind of... has also like makes it hard to perform because you can really just have acts that can perform on six by six meters that don't need any aerial and therefore for us performing with a sear wheel it's kind of perfect because it has exactly the dimensions we have we have a romantic act so it kind of fits into the vibe of the show And we actually got this engagement because we performed, as you said, at the beginning in Paris at the Cirque de la Main Circus Festival.
00:05:38
Lea
And we won the bronze medal, but also Mouna Rouge prize. So the owner of the Mouna Rouge, it's still a family business, came to see us there. and gave us a prize because he thought that our act would fit nicely into yeah his venue.
00:05:51
Lea
So and I'm suggesting for people who want to work here, one of the best platforms is the Paris Festival, which is also in itself pretty hard to get into.
00:06:00
Circuspreneur Podcast
yes
00:06:00
Lea
But yeah, so this is pretty much what it is.
00:06:02
Circuspreneur Podcast
you
00:06:03
Lea
It's 12 shows a week, six shows, six days, every day two shows. I only have one day off and the show actually never stops. So on the day I am off, there's another act replacing us.
00:06:16
Lea
So it's kind of like this windmill of shows every night, full every night, and a very cool place to work and a very good condition contract as well.
00:06:26
Circuspreneur Podcast
How long will you be at the Moulin Rouge during this time of your run, Leah?
00:06:31
Lea
So we signed for six months, January till June, 2025, but because of Monte Carlo Festival, we skipped the first month.
00:06:34
Circuspreneur Podcast
Okay. me
00:06:39
Lea
So now gonna be here for another four months until the end of June, 2025.
00:06:45
Circuspreneur Podcast
I think it's a really amazing reminder. And folks, if you happen to be around in the area, don't miss the opportunity to go and see Leia and Francis. How easy is it to get a ticket? I mean, I know it's always sold out. Like you said, it's always full. Some people don't believe that, but these shows are always full.
00:07:01
Lea
Yeah, so I would suggest at least two weeks in advance. If you're going on a weekday, it's easier for sure. Like you might be able to squeeze it in. Like if you go on a Monday night or on a Thursday night, on Friday, Saturday, you want to try to be at least a month earlier or maybe even more than that.
00:07:16
Lea
And it's expensive. That's the thing. Like you you need to be ready that it's an an expensive night, but it's fun. And it's kind of, it's like a thing that you do once in a lifetime. So I feel like if if you're going for it and you want to do the full experience, then you should definitely come and see it.
00:07:33
Circuspreneur Podcast
Yes, it's totally worth it. And it's worth it because you both are there and you are fresh off your, your, your, your your run, at your appearance, I would say at the, um at Monte Carlo Festival, which is again, another really brilliant platform, you know, to elevate yourself and, and use that as well, which I love that you talked about where you got the opportunity for, um for the Moulin Rouge and reminding folks of the power of festivals and obviously doing well and,
00:08:02
Circuspreneur Podcast
what that can turn into and having that type of visibility. But I would love to discuss, this wasn't that long ago, this just happened, it was just the other month where you were in Monte Carlo. And could you tell us a bit, Lea, about your experience with you and Francis as Duo Unity and performing at such a prestigious circus festival that also too is, you know, very
The Monte Carlo Festival Experience
00:08:22
Circuspreneur Podcast
traditional. It has a very unique essence to it. um It's something that can't really be duplicated, I think, um anywhere else. And that's why these festivals in this way are so prolific and powerful, just like Crazy Horse or just like, you know, the Moulin Rouge in Paris. So could you take us through your experience at the festival? And, you know, how do you reflect on festivals? Because Festivals are a competitive space. They can be very intimidating, a little bit overwhelming because literally it's the presence of so many big characters in the industry from all over the world are coming into the space and people that really know circus. Like it is in their game. DNA of circus and a combination. So I'd love to hear about the preparation, the experience, and then ultimately, what do you think about the future in terms of your um relationship to the Monte Carlo Festival?
00:09:18
Lea
Wow, big question. But yes, so it was a big, big event for us.
00:09:20
Circuspreneur Podcast
Yeah.
00:09:24
Lea
It was probably the biggest one we've had so far. And we've been working together for over 10 years now. So it was definitely a highlight. And it had always been on our like list, on like dreams of like one day we would like to do that. But we had no idea how to get in there. Because as you say, it's a traditional circus festival. And we're not from a circus family. So Francis and me, we met at the Montreal Circus School.
00:09:46
Lea
Francis is Canadian. I'm German. So we're both not from circus families.
00:09:51
Circuspreneur Podcast
Thank you.
00:09:52
Lea
And it was always kind of like, it's this thing that we would love to do one day, but how to get there. And also the other thing is we're performing with Searwheel and Searwheel needs a hard floor. And in these traditional circus festivals, they still have animals.
00:10:04
Lea
So very often they do not have a hard floor. They have like sawdust for the animals and then they will put a carpet on top. So for all the aerial acts and stuff, you're just working with a carpet. But if you need a hard floor, that's a bit tricky.
00:10:15
Lea
So it was kind of a chain of events how we got... invited because for this festival you need an invitation. You cannot just like send in your video and ah select a selected group of people is going to analyze it. It's really, there's a small group of people including Princess Stephanie who is the princess of Monte Carlo.
00:10:34
Lea
And these people for years and years will go to other circus festivals will go to big circus venues and they will just look what there is. And they will very often cast somebody early on and they will kind of see how this act develops.
00:10:50
Lea
So we know that the artistic team of this festival, of Monte Carlo Festival, has seen us perform in other festivals and has probably also seen us in the Moulin Rouge and Paris. And like they have been there, but we've never been in contact. And it was kind of a coincidence where...
00:11:06
Lea
During the pandemic, we didn't work together for a while. I worked for Cirque du Soleil. Francaise became a nurse. So there was a moment where somebody asked me, like, are you guys still working together?
00:11:12
Circuspreneur Podcast
Thank you.
00:11:16
Lea
And we were like, yeah, we actually are. We're back at the Monarousian Pirates. We're working together after like a three-year break. And that was a moment where they were like, okay, like this might be the moment. And in this year, in like like now in January, they had a hard floor. So they did half of the show with sawdust for the animals and half of the show, they put a really big hard floor because they had a Chinese troop of bicycles that needed a hard floor just as us.
00:11:39
Lea
So they were looking for other acts with the hard floor. So it kind of was like a conversation, Then Urs Pils, the artistic director, sent us an email saying he's going to come to the Moulin Rouge in Paris if we were performing.
00:11:51
Lea
It wasn't like really an audition, but it was kind of like, a let's see.
00:11:55
Circuspreneur Podcast
Yeah.
00:11:56
Lea
Yeah, exactly. It felt like, ooh, this might be the moment. So that was probably like the most stressful thing of like the starting before was that. Like when he sent us this email, he was going to come. We knew he was going to come.
00:12:10
Lea
So we had the the possibility to watch our act back here in in Paris. Every show is filmed, just like at Cirque du Soleil, but not a lot of shows have that. So you can go back and you can go watch every single show if you want.
00:12:22
Lea
So we watched our last performances just to see if there's any small things we wanted to change or like just make it little bit better. I mean, obviously we knew we were not going to change our own act just because Eurtspils is coming.
00:12:33
Lea
But we were like, maybe we can like give ourselves like two or three notes to make it just a little better. And we ended up doing a really good performance when he came, which is actually amazing because I feel like we've been working together now for over 10 years. And we've done also this whole process of like knowing how to work under stress, knowing how the other person works under stress. Because if you're working as a duo, even though maybe you're calm, the other person is not calm and that will change the whole momentum and all of those things. So we had a really good moment and a really good performance.
00:13:02
Lea
And after that, he came backstage and he invited us in officially. to come the next year. It was a very nice moment because he didn't totally say, i want to, but it was kind of like, I'm having this floor.
00:13:13
Lea
Maybe you guys are free. Then we said, well, we' we're supposed to be in back in the Moulin Rouge.
00:13:15
Circuspreneur Podcast
like
00:13:18
Lea
And then we looked over to the stage manager and he said, he was kind of like, probably like the boss will let you go for this. So it was kind of a nice moment. And it took a couple of weeks longer until we get our like real contract and like that all the like legal stuff was made.
00:13:33
Lea
But we kind of knew about this. I think it was probably like in March or April ah flat of last year. And then we were like, okay, what do we want to do? we want to change anything? do we want to like, this is ah an opportunity where everybody's going to see us just like you said, like,
00:13:48
Lea
the whole circus world, especially people from the XRW assemblies, are going to come and see us. And is there anything we want to add? So a lot of artists actually add harder tricks for this festival because also like the point of danger gives a lot of points.
00:14:03
Lea
But we were like, our act is not... You cannot compare it high wire where we going to risk our life. like Obviously, it's dangerous because we spin really fast, but it's not as dangerous as some of the aerial acts that presented Monte Carlo. So we were like, our strongest point is probably the connection we have on stage.
00:14:19
Lea
and the experience that we have. and therefore we did make new costumes. So we had a completely new costumes made, which I think was very helpful and gave us a different color and gave the act a different color.
00:14:31
Lea
And we performed at a Christmas circus in Germany that also has a round stage because we were very used to performing on small stages and very front facing. And in this festival, we knew it would be a big round stage and we needed to include the audience on the sides.
00:14:46
Lea
And we had a supposed, like the floor, we didn't really know how it was going to be because a hard floor on top of sawdust is never the same as a theater. So having that experience of doing four weeks in a circus that was round, where the floor was super bumpy and going everywhere with the new costumes, that was our best preparation. And so when we arrived in Monte Carlo,
00:15:07
Lea
There was hardly no time on stage. like we had We had one hour where we could fix our lights, music, and spacing. like We had one hour. That was it. At the end of the hour, we ran it once. Then we had a general rehearsal.
00:15:18
Lea
And then that then after that, it was a show. There was no more rehearsal. So it was amazing because we had had all of the preparation in this other circus before. And when the day came, we were basically...
00:15:30
Lea
We were basically just like, let's hope we can enjoy this. like This is going to be probably the only time in our lives we're going do this festival. The fact of being invited and selected is huge. All artists dream of doing this one day and we have the chance to perform here.
00:15:43
Lea
And we just wanted to have a good memory of this. And what you said at the beginning of it being like, it's a competitive field, there's people judging you. That was never really on our mind because you could really tell also all the other acts invited. It's all acts with experience. It's all acts that deserve to be there.
00:16:01
Lea
It's all people who really good at what they do. And it's hard to compare an aerial act to an animal act. to a CEO we like, to clown. like it's It's kind of impossible. So for us, it was never about winning a prize or being better than anybody else.
00:16:14
Circuspreneur Podcast
Thank
00:16:15
Lea
It was really just to enjoy the moment and do a good performance. And we had two runs, two performances. The first one was good and clean, but we were nervous and we kind of felt like we couldn't really fully take it in.
00:16:27
Lea
And then after having done that one, it was like, okay, we have one more. This is just for us. And that one was a magical performance. It was like everything was perfect. It felt super safe. It felt like we could really live the moment and and share it. And at the end, it was like sharing our art with the people from the circus industry and also knowing that it's going to be filter. It was filmed.
00:16:49
Lea
It's going to be on television next year at Christmas. And it's going to be shown, like, especially in Europe, it's shown in all the major TV channels. And so it's kind of like we've created this piece of art that it will stay there forever.
00:17:00
Lea
And we're really proud of ourselves. We had a really moment, like a super beautiful moment after like tearing up and being like, oh, my God, like we did it. And yeah, it feels like maybe a bit of a turning point of our career. Like it was definitely a highlight. And we're going to like see what's going to come out from this.
00:17:16
Circuspreneur Podcast
Oh, that's so beautiful and amazing. I love the detail that you went into, Leah, and I'm glad that it came at this point in your career because you guys are very ready and grounded and you're very self-aware in where your career is and who you are as artists and as an act. And I think, you know, it speaks to that. Some people, you know, artists get an opportunity at different times in their career. And there's been times in my career where I'm like, I'm so happy it didn't happen until now.
00:17:46
Circuspreneur Podcast
because I'm in the most grounded, centered place I could possibly be in, right? After having all of these experiences underneath your belt, especially when you're a partnership and the energy and the amount of time it takes to create that partnership and be symbiotic and you know each other super well and you've had that time to create that unity and that relationship. So you can actually be present. I know sometimes we've been in experiences for years we feel so underprepared or we are so stressed out and the moment is bigger than us.
00:18:16
Circuspreneur Podcast
And it really feels like you were both able to rest in that moment instead of allowing that moment to overwhelm you, which again, coming back to the fact that we know it's one of the biggest circus platforms in the world and it's so legendary.
00:18:29
Circuspreneur Podcast
but I love that it happened at this time in your guys' career where you were both so settled in the fact that you were like, we don't want to miss this moment to enjoy it We want to remember it. We want to be in our bodies. And that's not something that every single person is able to do. And that's okay because maybe you're just at that time in your career, in your life, there could be so many different outward influences, but I think it's great that you were in that where you didn't feel like it was so overwhelming to the fact that you couldn't take it in. um and and and have fun with it and have enjoyment because so many times our opportunities are shielded or kind of shrouded in a space where we're maybe not enjoying it as much. And sometimes it's hard for us to say that we actually had fun in an opportunity we've been waiting like our entire careers for where it's like, did you enjoy it?
00:19:16
Circuspreneur Podcast
like not really. I just was, there was a lot going on and I was stressed out, but I'm glad I did it, but now it's done. and So it's, it's great. And, you know, just to, just to segue out of you discussing about the competitive aspect of that and how, you know, that competitive aspect did not overwhelm you. and I come from a competitive background, so I really love competition.
00:19:36
Circuspreneur Podcast
I've seen some circus people, they didn't come from a competitive background. So are competitive spaces for even festivals, is different for them because they're not used to that comparison. they're not used used to being judged or scored or having, you know, people look at them like through that lens.
00:19:51
Circuspreneur Podcast
But this last year, you actually competed Sear Will, which is also an official sport along with German Will, and you became the world champion Sear Will after just, you know, training for a few short months.
00:19:56
Lea
Yes.
00:20:01
Lea
Yeah.
Lea's Journey in Competitive Sear Wheel
00:20:06
Circuspreneur Podcast
So I want to discuss how that experience was for you.
00:20:06
Lea
Ciao.
00:20:09
Circuspreneur Podcast
And you know, this is Women's History Month. And I was so inspired by you as a woman of going from the circus environment and then going back into the competitive environment where it is very sportive, right?
00:20:20
Circuspreneur Podcast
um And so you were in a very different space this last year, which is great that you were doing Moulin Rouge. You were competing and you became the world champion in Sir Will. And then you went and also too did Monte Carlo. So this is like a really huge year from you coming off from Luzia and leaving, you know, this really big contract that you had Luzia and Cirque du Soleil, coming back to do a unity, you know, Francis became a nurse, which is amazing.
00:20:41
Circuspreneur Podcast
I love his segue from circus to medicine, back to circus, um you know, shout out to that.
00:20:44
Lea
Yeah.
00:20:45
Circuspreneur Podcast
Super important of how we can evolve and do multiple things throughout our circus career, because we can have multiple loves. And I'm sure his circus work informs his medicine and his medicine now informs his circus work. which I'm sure is a really amazing pairing.
00:20:57
Circuspreneur Podcast
So please tell listeners a bit about how you became the most recent world champion of the, of Sear Will as well.
00:20:59
Lea
yeah
00:21:05
Lea
I love how you bring that up because I keep forgetting about this. and It was a big thing. it was a huge thing.
00:21:11
Circuspreneur Podcast
yeah
00:21:12
Lea
But because it's just a small sport, it's like a side thing. And um yeah, I'm the world champion. it's like a It's a crazy title to have, especially because at the base for me, it's a circus apparatus.
00:21:26
Lea
It's not a sport equipment. But basically what happened is that Sea Wheel exists, like basically 2003, Sea Wheel became really popular with Daniel Cyr who invented the Sea Wheel, who brought it to Cirque du Demain and kind of showed it there for the first time.
00:21:29
Circuspreneur Podcast
And.
00:21:39
Lea
And then people were like, oh my God, this is a new apparatus, how great. And then it took about like 10 years until it really became a discipline that people were doing more and more. And I learned it when I was in the Montreal Circus School 2011 till 14. So I was kind of like 10 years after and one of the first-ish women. I was not the first, I was not the second, i was not the 10th, but I was in the the first round of women.
00:22:03
Lea
And I remember that i was I was good at it, but I always had the feeling I was like really good at the duo. So when we started working at the duo, we were like, we have something very special here.
00:22:12
Circuspreneur Podcast
and
00:22:14
Lea
And I kind of neglected the solo work a bit.
00:22:15
Circuspreneur Podcast
he
00:22:17
Lea
I was like, I'm good, but I'm not not the best. So let's focus on the thing I'm the best at. And um this was kind of a belief I've had for a long time. And even though I've worked with Solo and I had really nice contracts, I worked for a whole year with Cirque L'Oise, which is a smaller company also from Montreal. Did like a world tour and it was successful and I could have probably continued.
00:22:38
Lea
When the duo came along and we had our first successes with Cirque de Demas and Moulin Rouge, we kind of both stopped working with the Solo and we didn't push ourselves even more. And then after the pandemic, I got cast to do Lusia at Cirque du Soleil and it was an act with two sea wheels.
00:22:55
Lea
So it's two sea wheels and a trapeze at the same time, a dance trapeze. And there's rain. It's one of the most iconic Cirque Soleil acts, I would say, because like having rain on stage is quite a big thing.
00:23:07
Lea
and And we had so much fun. And its it was like it was a great time. And I learned so much like just from the other girls and being around so many amazing people. But also my co-performer, like with the other girl in the act, Sarah, Sarah Toni, she's from a circus family, actually. So completely different background. And we got along super well.
00:23:27
Lea
and she was a bunch younger about like eight years younger than me and she was had way more drive and was like i want to learn this trick and this trick and like she was really like i still have so many things to learn so then to kind of support her and be there i was training with her and she would bring in teachers and was like oh i like found this teacher and he's gonna come he's gonna teach us tricks and at the beginning i was kind of like well i'm not sure if i still want to learn so many new tricks
00:23:49
Circuspreneur Podcast
Thank you.
00:23:53
Lea
But somehow I learned them really fast. And it was probably because I've had like this, like eight years of performing and being in the wheel that my body kind of got better and I didn't realize. And so coaches came in and I was learning tricks really fast. I was like, oh, this is actually fun. Like this is way more fun than I thought this would be.
00:24:13
Lea
And then i I met a coach. So she brought in coaches, I brought in coaches, and then I brought in this German coach. His name is Hauke. Shout out to him because he would love if anybody is doing C-wheel out there and he wants to get better in C-wheel. He has kind of the C-wheel hotspot in the middle of Germany. It's a little bit in the middle of nowhere, but he has like access to gyms basically all the time. And it's like big gyms and he loves C-wheel and he wants to share his passion with like everybody.
00:24:39
Lea
So he basically, I called him once for like, it was a kind of coincidence of things. I was working on a new trick. He wanted to see the backstage of Cirque du Soleil. So I invited him to come to Cirque du Soleil and we were working on some big tricks.
00:24:51
Lea
And I was like, wow, this is amazing. And he told me about these competitions that they are in Germany. And they're basically held together with German wheel. So German wheel and Germany is not called German wheel that would be really weird it's actually called Jim wheel or Röhnrad like the original name and they since about like 10 years they decided that sea wheel is kind of very similar to what they do and also there is kind of an origin this would be a very long story but there's an origin of sea wheel that also comes from that German wheel
00:25:08
Circuspreneur Podcast
Amen.
00:25:22
Lea
So there's competitions and they have rules how to judge it. There's two, you do two routines. One is a technical routine where you enter the wheel and you do 10 tricks, do them back to back, each trick three times, no more than three turns in between.
00:25:38
Lea
It's a very technical thing. And for people doing Sea Wheel, it's a cool challenge, I feel. For people who don't do Sea Wheel, it's probably just like doing tricks back to back. And then you have a second routine that's an artistic routine where you have music and you get also judged on like artistic design and like creativity.
00:25:54
Lea
And so he was teaching me and he was telling me about these competitions. And he said, well, like the competition world is still small and it's very much coming from sport. And it would be really cool to have influence from circus coming in there because just the way how we use a wheel is different than people from sport.
00:26:09
Lea
And so we made this deal where he said, you can come and train in my gym anytime and I'll teach you and I'll train you. But you need to start competing. And I was like, OK, I mean, I've never really liked the idea of competing because I still think it's like an art form.
00:26:26
Lea
But hey, why not? I mean, i have nothing to lose. And if I get this free training, i mean, I'm going to start doing this. So I did my first competition, which was a small competition, and I really enjoyed it. And then we talked about the world championships.
00:26:37
Lea
And he was like, well, do you want to do world championships the next summer? So this was probably around like eight months before the world championships. And I asked all these questions, how this it would work. And then we figured out, because I'm actually half German, half Spanish, that nobody was competing for Spain.
00:26:54
Lea
So if I was competing for Spain, I didn't have to do any like qualifications. I could just basically buy myself a permit, pay a bunch of money, but no qualifications needed. So then I was like, this is great.
00:27:06
Lea
Exactly. Because the qualifications, I mean, it's it's two play like no it's three competitions you have to do before to be selected.
00:27:07
Circuspreneur Podcast
yeah
00:27:13
Lea
And I would have probably also made the German team. I mean, obviously I would have because I won at the end. but But it's like time of performing where you're going for free to like a little gym to compete. So basically at the end, it was like, this is the best way to do it.
00:27:29
Lea
And then when I decided to actually do it, I was like, I want to do it good. Like, I don't want to just participate and and just do it. I want to give myself a chance of winning. So I like really looked at all the rules and all the elements that give points. And I was training, as you said, for about like four months, I was training like,
00:27:47
Lea
a lot. ah was I was performing at the same time when I was training, like I would say one to two hours but every day extra just to learn these tricks. But at that point I was like, I'm just doing this for the heck of it.
00:28:00
Lea
And I got better and better. And then when I was competing, I did not think I would win. I was hoping for a medal, but I didn't think I would win because the the German team is really good. Like technically they're really, really good.
00:28:12
Lea
And so, yeah, it happened that like the perform day I did like a perfect performance and the others did not do perfect. And then it happened. I mean, competition is competition.
00:28:23
Lea
And yeah. And so I'm the, I'm the current world champion.
00:28:25
Circuspreneur Podcast
Yeah.
00:28:28
Lea
And i already told them I would probably do it again. It's every two years. And I mean, it's still a challenge.
00:28:33
Circuspreneur Podcast
um
00:28:34
Lea
It's not like, even if I do it again next year, it's not going to be like an easy thing or like an obvious that I'm going to win it. It's, it's a hard competition. It's, it's it's tough, but it also motivated me a lot to train more. And now I continue training just for myself. And I give myself challenges and work on new tricks because it's actually very satisfying to be like, I want to learn this trick. And then you put in time and effort and then you have the trick.
00:28:57
Lea
It's like, it's, it's cool. Yeah.
00:29:00
Circuspreneur Podcast
That's amazing. How all of that like works out for you is just absolutely amazing.
00:29:04
Lea
Yeah.
00:29:06
Circuspreneur Podcast
Like what like a synchronistic journey of all of those things coming together
Balancing Sports and Circus Performance
00:29:11
Circuspreneur Podcast
to just like push you into that spot.
00:29:11
Lea
at the Stoke.
00:29:13
Circuspreneur Podcast
Like it just is really phenomenal. And you know, when something is meant for you, It is just honestly just meant for you. I love that you just followed your curiosity and you followed this kind of sequence of events.
00:29:25
Circuspreneur Podcast
And for those of you listening in, Leia's Instagram and her social media, she gives such good stories and very consumable stories about her journey in getting to the world championships.
00:29:36
Circuspreneur Podcast
I love your social media and the way that you reflect on your journeys. And it's it's very effective. You do it in very short increments, but you really just tell the entire story. Like you don't miss any aspect consistency.
00:29:48
Circuspreneur Podcast
kind of what you went through. And so I'm wishing you luck for your next world championships. I'm very curious how that second time around will be for you when you know more, because sometimes I think it's so great to go into a space where you really just don't know very much.
00:29:53
Lea
Thank you.
00:30:00
Circuspreneur Podcast
And sometimes it's like you're underdog and that's why it works out so well for you because the pressure just is not the same. And that works in your favor. I've seen people maybe the next time around, they know more.
00:30:11
Circuspreneur Podcast
so it's a little bit harder, maybe a little bit more intimidating in some ways. And Not for everybody, but I think that it's it comes down to it's so great when you just don't know what you don't know. And sometimes that can get you further than people that are really embedded in a space and have so many expectations.
00:30:25
Circuspreneur Podcast
And you didn't have expectations. You had an amazing coach, which I love seeing your coach online. He's such a character.
00:30:31
Lea
yeah Yes.
00:30:32
Circuspreneur Podcast
He's got such a cool, fun personality. I imagine it was like really fun working with him and training with him and stuff. He must've made everything like really um as gentle as possible for you because you're working and you're competing for such high level competition at the exact same time. and Many people are starting to do that a lot more now.
00:30:50
Circuspreneur Podcast
They're leaving and going from circus into the Olympics and kind of melting those worlds in a way that we didn't used to do that so much. So I feel like you're very much about this time, Leah.
00:31:02
Circuspreneur Podcast
So we're coming down to the very end. of the podcast Leah and in discussing your amazing and phenomenal career. It's been such a pleasure listening to how you describe your experiences and your journey through circus.
00:31:14
Circuspreneur Podcast
I really, really like it. And I just wanted to say the very, like, you know, at the very end of the podcast, could you give just a little bit, maybe like one or two minutes of your experience in harnessing social media?
Social Media's Impact on Lea's Career
00:31:26
Circuspreneur Podcast
in the way that you do that has really, in your words, on your social media platform, really elevated your career in how you display yourself and where that came from from you and how you feel like it's really benefited yourself as what I like to call it a circuspreneur in the field or someone that does circus who's also an entrepreneur and uses the capabilities and the tools that they have around them to, you know, to favor their career positively and remind and use it in a way that's in the form of business minded person, not necessarily that you're using that kind of language.
00:31:26
Lea
Mm-hmm.
00:32:01
Circuspreneur Podcast
But for me, it's someone that sees the opportunity and harnessing things around them um that are accessible, that are free, but that can also elevate your career in ways that you didn't know and give you opportunities that you maybe originally wouldn't have thought of for yourself. So I'd love to hear just a little bit about that and then we'll close out.
00:32:17
Lea
Yeah, I feel I can tell really a lot of stories about this topic because it has been also like a gradual process, like most of the things.
00:32:24
Circuspreneur Podcast
and
00:32:26
Lea
But if I take it in like a quick way, it was a it was a tryout. I was like, let's see what TikTok brings. Like, what this is this new app? What can I do there? I was telling stories and and vlogs. And basically, it was mostly just showing what I do. It wasn't like super creative or thinking about like really like concepts of videos. It was mostly like,
00:32:45
Lea
I'm working now for Cirque du Soleil. What does my day-to-day look like? What does my makeup look like? How many costume changes do have? It's like basically questions that people in the normal world have about circus artists. I was just answering them and showing that.
00:32:57
Lea
And it had a huge success. And so many people were so interested. So I also then copied the content on Instagram. And for a while, people were not even... We're not really able to place me like where I'm from.
00:33:09
Lea
And then when people figured out that I was German, I had all the German community being like oh my God, can you wait like can you make videos in German? Because we would love that so much more. So I was like, oh, that would be so much more work. But I started a second channel, second TikTok, second Instagram.
00:33:22
Lea
in German and that one took off like even more because and that's what I realized afterwards was that people want to follow their own people like their own tribe like being like okay shak she's German just like me and now she's in Montreal and now she's in China like they can relate so much more so i kind of after a while was like I'm still making videos in English but I'm making a lot less because it's just so much I would love to get to a system where it works I can do both but now I'm focusing on the German content and
00:33:26
Circuspreneur Podcast
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:33:30
Circuspreneur Podcast
me
00:33:38
Circuspreneur Podcast
a
00:33:49
Lea
And it has opened opportunities that are crazy because not only is my platform big enough that I can have and brand deals like an influencer, which I do for for products that I actually use and i actually like, I have brand deals with them. And that's actually quite a lot of money. Like seeing also like the long-term idea of like how long will actually be able to perform or in what ability?
00:34:11
Lea
You could also like then switch it over slowly. So that's like part of, yes, the business idea of like, let's see what this takes me. But what I find way more interesting is a new way of doing life entertainment, which is now there's people buying tickets to shows because they want to come see me.
00:34:30
Lea
So for example, for this Christmas circus we did last winter, It was in Germany. And it was the first time I had the chance somebody wanted to try this out for me. So I had a code and people could buy ah ticket it to the show through my code.
00:34:43
Lea
And I sold 1164 tickets for a Christmas show. Like, exactly. It was a lot of tickets.
00:34:49
Circuspreneur Podcast
Oh, crazy. There's a lot of things.
00:34:53
Lea
It's a lot of tickets. It's a lot of tickets.
00:34:55
Circuspreneur Podcast
It's off.
00:34:56
Lea
And exactly. And it was basically, for me, it was amazing because it brought in people to circus that usually do not watch circus. Circus is still something that is kind of branded as like, it's for kids or it's like, yeah, it's a bit trashy, but circus can be so much more.
00:35:04
Circuspreneur Podcast
Mm-hmm.
00:35:11
Lea
And I feel having people online that see all of that and then get curious and then come to see a live show basically gives them a new opportunity to see something that usually they wouldn't have. for the For the people who doing the promotion for their show, it's amazing because instead of paying like a billboard and targeting random people, they can target people that already know me. So it makes like so much more sense.
00:35:32
Lea
And it also increases my value as an artist. like Usually you just get paid for how good you are, how many people there are doing what you do. But if you can prove people that then you're going to bring an audience, that definitely increases your value. So there's definitely now a little bit of a strategy that I want to continue doing that. And all of the deals I'm signing now in Germany, I always sign them with a ticket code and with and making videos for them.
00:36:00
Lea
So we do videos on each of our platforms that are like collaborative posts. And then there's like a ticket code, which is mostly, I do get a little bit of a percentage on that, but it's mostly to track where people are from, like who these people are, who this audience is to kind of really be able to see who these people are.
00:36:17
Lea
And if everything goes well, like long-term, I would see it as maybe one day I have my own show and then I already have my own audience and like basically doing it the other way around. So that's kind of the whole idea. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. I can spend as many hours making videos as training, but it's fun and it's something that has not really been done yet. So I'm also really excited to see where it takes me.
00:36:41
Circuspreneur Podcast
Oh, it's taking you so many new places. That is like a master course in... In circuspreneurship, that is just absolutely genius. I love that.
00:36:51
Circuspreneur Podcast
And thank you for putting that in such a small, um you know, kind of perspective of what you did in telling something that's really big, actually, like you said, a very unique entrepreneur.
00:37:01
Circuspreneur Podcast
on branding and the power of that. you know We discuss branding a lot on the Circuspreneur podcast and how important that is. And I love seeing performers taking it to just completely new levels and innovation within that.
00:37:15
Circuspreneur Podcast
And it really feels like it's having a lot of control over your career. It's very, I think, very empowering for those that sometimes feel like the industry is beyond them.
00:37:25
Circuspreneur Podcast
This is, I think, a really amazing approach. to take the career like into your hands and say, this is the way I'm going to direct it. And then having the freedom to see where it can take you and then having something that'll take you into the future too, and into the different versions of yourself and the different paths you want to lead into.
00:37:41
Circuspreneur Podcast
And I'm excited for your show in the future.
00:37:43
Lea
yeah
00:37:45
Circuspreneur Podcast
I'm excited for my code. So that's...
00:37:48
Lea
Yes. oh Yes. Yeah.
00:37:50
Circuspreneur Podcast
you But thank you so much, Leah, for sharing Duo Unity with us. And thank you to Francis as well. um I adore Francis. And ever since we worked together in Ooh La La several years ago when we when we met originally, which is funny that I met him as a soloist.
00:38:07
Circuspreneur Podcast
you know And I didn't didn't meet you both as Duo Unity, but I love that has come full circle in being able to introduce you to this audience, even though this audience I know already knows you both because you've been very established for a very long time and you're establishing yourself and motivating and inspiring others.
00:38:09
Lea
yeah
00:38:25
Circuspreneur Podcast
so Thank you so much, Leo, for coming on to the Circuspreneur podcast. And I am very um excited to see all that you continue to do. And for listeners out there, this Circuspreneur podcast is also available on stagelink.com, S-T-A-G-E-L-Y-N-C.C-O-M,
00:38:42
Circuspreneur Podcast
the groundbreaking new platform for live performing arts that provides unmatched access and connection to this vibrant world of shows and entertainment. If you're a professional in the performing arts, visit stagelink.com slash pro. StageLink Pro, S-T-A-G-E, L-Y-N-C-P-R-O, offers industry professionals higher visibility, networking opportunities, and tools to support and enhance their careers.
00:39:05
Circuspreneur Podcast
Until next time, everyone, I'm your host, Shanae Stiletto. Thank you so much for tuning into the podcast. I appreciate you. And stay safe and stay healthy.