Biography
Katya performing for the first time with her father, Dmitrii, at the age of two and a half.
Ekaterina (Katya) was born into a renowned Russian circus family: the Arnaoutovs. She is the third generation of her family to be involved in the circus arts. The Arnaoutovs are known in the entertainment industry and especially in the international circus community for their death defying acts, high level circus acrobatics, innovative techniques, their coaching skills, and their achievements and recognitions worldwide. Circus is in her blood; it’s what she’s been doing ever since she was able to walk, making her debut in the ring of the Great Moscow Circus in 1986.
Ekaterina’s training came mainly form her infamous family, carrying a long line of tradition in the Russian circus, as well as coaching from Montreal’s National Circus School staff and from Cirque du Soleil. Ekaterina has toured the world performing for many different circus companies throughout her career, but the most important one must be Cirque du Soleil, with which she shares a ten plus year history. The most recent production that she was affiliated with is the Beatles Love show at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where she resided for over eight years. Her main specialty now is performing aerial acrobatics, but she also has many years of experience in coaching circus to other enthusiasts.
THE ARNAOUTOV FAMILY: THREE GENERATIONS OF CIRCUS PERFORMERS
The Arnaoutov flying acrobats gained great fame for their fearless and creative acts in the circus. Ekaterina's grandfather, Simon, created this act in 1936. It is now known also as the Korean Cradle act.
Dmitrii Arnaoutov began his career at the age of eight, watching his brother, Alexandre, and father, Simon, perform above in the Great Moscow Circus.
Dmitrii started teaching Katya the tricks of the trade as soon as she was able to walk.
Katya's mother, Irina soon joined the famous Flying Arnaoutov act as a flyer.
Katya soaked up all the teachings from her family and renowned coaches at a young age, showing promise and talent.
In 1990, Katya and her parents were among the first group of Russian artists to be invited to perform for the prestigious Canadian company: Cirque du Soleil. The Arnaoutov family went on to tour with Cirque du Soleil for almost four years. They were part of their very first North American tour with the show Nouvelle Expérience. Furtheron, they also starred in Fascination, a show that debuted Cirque du Soleil's fame in Japan and Asia. Then, Nouvelle Expérience found residency in Las Vegas, which launched a very successful partnership with MGM Mirage and CDS, of which the Arnaoutovs were part of and can be seen on the Las Vegas Strip today. After taking some time away from CDS to pursue other affairs, Dmitrii and Irina came back to work as coaches for the touring show Corteo for nearly five years. Whereas Katya went on to become part of the creation of the Beatles Love show in Las Vegas and remained as a performer there for over eight years.
Katya was part of the unforgettable contortion act in Fascination. (bottom left)
Katya took part in the contortion act of Nouvelle Expérience. (top girl)
Katya with her partner, actor Kenny Raskin, main character of Nouvelle Expérience.
The aerial sphere was one of the new acts of Cirque Nouvel Air. (Katya on right)
Katya was one of the most diverse of performers for Cirque Nouvel Air, being able to perform in five different acts.
Katya began her collaboration with LOVE in 2005. She was part of the creative team that put together this show. She contributed heavily in the creation of the aerial acts. Her extensive knowledge of aerial acrobatics, her high level technique and versatility led her to be able to perform in two feature roles: Lucy and Julia. She was also part of the main core for the Gopi act. Katya was an invaluable artist for LOVE for over 4,000 shows. Furthermore, Katya was part of the very first One Night for One Drop event as an aerial hoop artist.
Irina, Katya, and Dmitrii contributed to the beginnings of CDS and in Nouvelle Expérience.
Fascination was also remembered for the incredible acrobatic bicycle act in which Katya was part of. (top right)
Katya played the role of one of the main clowns in the show, the Little Flown of Nouvelle Expérience.
After finishing their tour with Nouvelle Expérience, the Arnaoutov family decided to form their own circus entertainment company named Cirque Nouvel Air. They performed with many different partners in North America, Mexico, and Europe. Cirque Nouvel Air continued to push the boundries in circus performance and acrobatics, creating and innovating the art of circus by bringing together the traditional Russian circus techniques with the modern nouveau cirque as we know it today. Creating new skills, new apparatus, and modernizing the traditional circus performance were some of the most important characteristics that made Cirque Nouvel Air stand out from the rest. For many years, the Arnaoutov legacy continued to live on for thousands of spectators worldwide.
Katya and her father also performed the Da Vinci Duo, a creation of Dmitrii's.
Katya (left) captioned performing with her mother Irina in Europe.
