THE CREATORS FRANÇOIS GIRARD Writer and Director “Whether it’s circus, film, theatre or opera, I assume that as soon as the curtain rises, the audience is open, available, ready for anything. And this premise makes perfect sense at Cirque du Soleil.” — François Girard One of Quebec's most respected creators, François Girard navigates easily from one medium to another and has, over the years, acquired an enviable international status. A music lover, he has carved out a unique reputation for writing and directing works imbued with great musicality in productions in which music plays a major role. His professional career began on the Montreal art video circuit in the 1980s, and he first attracted the attention of critics and the public when he directed a television adaptation of the theatrical show Le Dortoir by the Quebec dance/theatre/multimedia troupe Carbone 14, for which he won a score of awards, including an International Emmy. His other television credits include Peter Gabriel’s Secret World, for which he won a Grammy Award, and The Sound of the Carceri, one of the six episodes of Yo Yo Ma Inspired by Bach. François cemented his reputation as a film director with his 1993 feature-length biopic Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. His third feature, The Red Violin (1998) was a huge success, winning eight Genies in Canada (including Best Picture and Best Director) nine Jutras in Quebec and an Academy Award for Best Original Soundtrack. His most recent feature is Silk (2007), adapted from the novel by Alessandro Baricco. He made his debut as an opera director at the Canadian Opera Company with Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and Oedipus Rex by Jean Cocteau, which went on to win eight Dora Mavor Moore Awards in Canada. He also directed Alessandro Baricco’s play Novecento, Kafka's The Trial, the oratorio Lost Objects at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the opera Siegfried and the double bill The Lindbergh Flight and The Seven Deadly Sins, in Lyon, Edinburgh and Wellington. In 2010, François directed Le Fusil de chasse (adapted from the novel The Hunting Gun by Yasushi Inoue) which premiered in Montreal, and the opera Emilie du Chatelet at l’Opéra de Lyon. He also directed Parsifal presented at l’Opéra de Lyon in 2012 and scheduled to run in 2013 at the Metropolitan Opera. Zarkana is François Girard's second engagement as Writer and Director with Cirque du Soleil, following ZED that was presented at Tokyo Disney Resort. François Girard was born in Saint-Félicien, Quebec.

LINE TREMBLAY Director of Creation “My role is a bit like that of an orchestra conductor. It’s the job of the Director of Creation to create a spirit of unity in the creation team, to produce a sense of synergy.” —Line Tremblay

Line Tremblay first fell in love with Cirque du Soleil in 1984, drawn by its freewheeling spirit, a spirit she says has never gone away. “For me, circus is the most complete art form. It addresses the audience on the visual, the emotional and the physical level all at the same time. I always knew I was destined for a life in this milieu.” Before joining Cirque du Soleil, Line developed a passion for working in the world of film and television, notably as an Assistant Director at Radio-Canada, where she worked closely with designers and creators. In 1992, she joined Franco Dragone, assisting him in the creation and direction of the Cirque du Soleil shows Mystère, Alegría, Quidam, “O” and La Nouba. Her talents were also put to work as Artistic Director of Quidam. Her rich association with Franco helped her to master the mechanics of stage direction and show creation. A newcomer to the equestrian field, Line worked with Gilles Ste-Croix assisting in the creation of the 2000 show Cheval Théâtre. She left Cirque du Soleil to work with Franco Dragone on the creation of the Celine Dion show A New Day, and returned to Cirque in 2003 to work on Corteo as the first woman in Cirque’s history to occupy the position of Director of Creation. In 2008, she took on the position of Director of Creation once again with ZED, working with director François Girard for the first time. “With Zarkana, we wanted to create a decidedly acrobatic show in which circus arts would take center stage,” says Line Tremblay. “The choice of disciplines, the staging, the set design, projections and choreography all contribute to a major transformation of one of the biggest performance spaces in the world." Line Tremblay was born in Hull, Quebec.

STÉPHANE ROY Set Designer "In theatre, set design gives concrete form to the author’s intention and the director's vision." —Stéphane Roy A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Stéphane Roy has worked as both a set designer and artistic director on over 100 productions in Montreal and abroad. While mainly active in theatre and dance, he has also worked in film, television, advertising and variety shows. Over the years Stéphane’s career has led to close working relationships with a number of directors and arts companies: He created the sets for several plays presented at Espace Go and the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in Montreal and since 1990 he has designed sets for dance productions by such internationally-acclaimed dance troupes as La La La Human Steps and O Vertigo. Given that professional background, plus an architect father, a mother active in theatre and a unique social and artistic approach to performance space, it was perhaps inevitable that Stéphane would gravitate toward Cirque du Soleil, a relationship that began with the creation of Dralion, and continued with Varekai, Zumanity, KOOZA and now, Zarkana. Since 2011, Stéphane has been one of three artists in residence appointed by the Montreal Nature Museums group to create organic links between the city’s four natural science museums. He also designed The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terra Cotta Army exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. His achievements have earned him many awards and honors, including being named Revelation of the Year, All Categories Combined, by the Association Québécoise des Critiques de Théâtre in 1989. In 1992, the same association honored him with the award for best set design. His talent has also been recognized by the Conseil des Arts de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and the Académie Québécoise du Théâtre. "In the lyrical, fantastic world of Zarkana, the setting, an abandoned decrepit theatre, is a character in its own right,” says Stéphane Roy. “The walls breathe, move and sing. In terms of aesthetics, we are at the beginning of the last century, between 1910 and 1930, midway between Gaudí, Klimt and Art Nouveau. The organic shapes are a nod to the master French glassmaker and jeweler René Lalique." Stéphane Roy lives in Montreal.

ALAN HRANITELJ Costume Designer “Creating costumes is always an exciting adventure. I’m not always sure where the director’s instructions, my imagination and intuition, and the structure and sound of the fabric will finally lead me. Yet at the same time I’m also aware of the performer who will have to wear the costume as a kind of substitute skin.” —Alan Hranitelj

Alan Hranitelj attended the School for the Visual Arts in his hometown of Zagreb, Croatia, and has been living in Slovenia since1985, when he went to Ljubljana to design the makeup for a production of the play Baptism Under Triglav. He did briefly design haute couture collections in Milan in the early 1990s, but quickly returned to the world of theatre in Slovenia where he designed makeup and costumes for stage and film productions. He regards his work as the antithesis of fashion, defining himself simply as a costume designer. Yet his designs are works of art in their own right, pieces of sculpture even. Between1987 and 2010, Alan designed the costumes for about 200 projects, notably for solo and group exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana (1991), the Municipal Gallery, Ljubljana (1991-1995) and the European Cultural Capital 96 event in Copenhagen (1996). In 2000 his work was featured in a movement-theatre performance and fashion show at the Millennium Dome, London. He has designed the costumes for many classical and modern theatre and opera productions directed by such prominent Slovenian directors as Vito Taufer, Mateja Koležnik, Diego de Brea, Matjaž Berger and Meta Hočevar. Alan’s work method is to interact closely with actors, singers and performers. He doesn’t just present them with a fait accompli and tell them, “this is your costume.” He prefers to take the time to find out who they are, what they like, what makes them comfortable, what makes them tick, then apply all that information to their costumes. One of the toughest challenges Alan faced on Zarkana (his first association with Cirque du Soleil) was to mesh the predominance of white in the color palette of some costumes with the darker tones of the show. “It’s a paradox, for sure,” he says, “but it’s also been stimulating and rewarding to come up with an approach that reconciles two such seemingly contradictory elements.” “Details make a costume come to life and give it added depth,” he says. “That can be very important to the person wearing it, because it helps animate their performance. Something as apparently insignificant as a pocket might give an artist an entire repertoire of small gestures that help to define his or her character – even if it isn’t obvious to the audience.” Alan Hranitelj was born in Zagreb, Croatia, but now lives and creates in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

NICK LITTLEMORE Composer and Musical Director “Music is color to me. It always has been. I don’t see notes on a stave, I see landscapes, clouds, sirens in the sky.” —Nick Littlemore Nick Littlemore is a prolific Australian musician, songwriter and producer, perhaps best known as front man of the acclaimed Sydney-based electronic act PNAU, and one half of the electro-pop duo Empire of the Sun. He is also a member of the art-rock band Teenager. Nick attended the College of Fine Arts at the University of New South Wales, graduating with a degree in Digital Media. The musical influences he cites cover a very broad spectrum that includes Laurie Anderson, John Cage, Lindsay Buckingham, Harry Nilsson, Leonard Cohen and Elvis Presley. As a producer Nick has worked with Sir Elton John, Groove Armada, Ellie Goulding, Robbie Williams, Flora Purim and many others. Nick has also produced and arranged (with his partner in PNAU, Peter Mayes) all-new versions of classic Elton John songs for an album to be released in 2012. He won his first Australian Record Industry Association Award in 1999 for Best Dance Release with PNAU, and four more ARIAS in 2009 for Empire of the Sun’s album Walking on a Dream. When Cirque du Soleil approached him for this first collaboration, he could easily have chosen to continue touring the world playing to bigger and bigger audiences with his band, but there was something about the prospect and challenge of creating the music for Zarkana that proved to be a bigger draw. He describes his approach to writing as controlled chaos. “It just happens and I try and embrace whatever is happening with harmony and beauty and some kind of atmosphere,” he explains. “Often when I write a tune I'll create the environment first – the atmosphere and the outer edges, if you like. It’s like making a sky. Once that environment has been created, you can allow a storm or any other natural event to come into it.” “I wanted the music for Zarkana to reflect the ecstasy of existence,” he says. “The sheer joy of being, and the exquisite mechanism of shivers.” Nick Littlemore was born in Sydney, Australia.

DEBRA BROWN Choreographer “I always work intuitively with performers. Intuition is everything. Take what you can from the outside to grow, but make sure you listen to what your inside is telling you.” —Debra Brown A virtuoso in the emotion of movement, former gymnast–turned-dancer Debra Brown is world renowned for her unique choreographies blending acrobatics and dance. Passionate about acrobatics from a very early age, Debra began studying gymnastics at nine, and went on to explore the creative possibilities of dance. After obtaining degrees in physical education from the University of Western Ontario and fine arts from York University in Toronto, she headed for Vancouver in 1978, where she created choreographies for prestigious local dance companies and the Canadian gymnastics team. In 1986, at a friend’s suggestion, Debra snuck into the Cirque du Soleil Big Top during the intermission to catch the second half of a show. Captivated by what she saw, she discovered many parallels between Cirque’s artistic approach and her own. The following year, she joined the troupe as a choreographer for Le Cirque réinventé and went on to choreograph the shows Nouvelle Expérience, Saltimbanco, Alegría, Mystère, Quidam, “O”, La Nouba, Corteo and one act in Zumanity. Between 2004 and 2007, she created and worked with Line 1, a vibrant group of 12 physical musicians and singers led by the talented Wesley Louissaint, accompanied by dancer/acrobats, and worked with François Girard on ZED. Following that she says she went “dance crazy” and worked with a number of Toronto companies including the York University Dance Ensemble and co-created a show called Yes in a joint project with Cirque du Soleil veteran René Bazinet. She also revisited Quidam to remount the choreography for an arena production. At the 1990 Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris, her work with a group of contortionists won her the Soviet Press Award for Most Outstanding Choreographer. She also choreographed for the world premiere of John Corigliano’s opera The Ghosts of Versailles, presented at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Wagner’s Ring cycle, put on by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 1995, she worked with Luciano Pavarotti on the Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Fille du Régiment in New York. Debra created and produced Apogée, a 50-minute trampoline-based ballet which premiered in Toronto in 1994. An excerpt of Apogée was presented in both Los Angeles and San Francisco at “Passport ’96,” an AIDS Benefit hosted by the late Elizabeth Taylor and Magic Johnson. The Apogée troupe performed at the 1997 NFL Super Bowl Party with George Clinton and The P-Funk Band in New Orleans, and has appeared at many prestigious galas throughout North America and Europe. At the height of her international fame, Debra set her sights on the world of rock music, choreographing Aerosmith’s “Jaded” video and energetic performance for the American Music Awards in 2001, as well as Madonna’s “Drowned” world tour the same year. Debra has also worked with major musical acts such as Shakira and Wyclef Jean, Celine Dion and Madonna, and her film work includes Catwoman, Van Helsing and Barney’s Great Adventure.

Over the years, Debra has picked up numerous prizes and awards. At the 14th Bob Fosse Awards in Los Angeles in 1997 she received the Innovative Choreography Award and in 2002, she received an Emmy for her choreography of an act created by Cirque du Soleil for the Academy Awards. Zarkana is Debra’s 11th Cirque du Soleil production. “Working on a Cirque show is like a balancing act,” she says. “We have to keep in our pockets the requests of the director, the talents of the performers in their given space and what inspires the choreography from within. Each show is a small city with so much variety.” Debra Brown was born in Brantford, Ontario.

JEAN-JACQUES PILLET Choreographer “For me, the human element is crucial to my process. I draw my creativity from my contacts with the artists.” — Jean-Jacques Pillet Jean-Jacques Pillet began his career in dance at the age of 15 at the Académie Bordelaise de Danse in France and at 21 he moved to Montreal. In 1992, he represented Canada at the Suzanne Dellal International Dance Competition in Tel Aviv where he received the Best Dancer award. He went on to work as a choreographer and teacher for a number of prestigious companies including the Paris Opéra Ballet, La Scala in Milan, the Stuttgart Ballet, the Munich Opéra Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and DenNorske Opera Ballet. From 2003 to 2005, Jean-Jacques was the artistic coordinator of the Cirque du Soleil show Varekai, directed by Dominic Champagne. In 2007 he worked on the opening ceremonies of the Outgames in Montreal and for the Quebec singer Diane Dufresne. He also choreographed the Italian production, Tablò, staged by Serge Denoncourt, the Quebec playwright and theatre director. His subsequent work with Cirque du Soleil includes choreography and stage direction for major events such as Eurovision 2009 and the special event created for the 400th Anniversary of Quebec City. In 2007, he was invited by director François Girard to choreograph Cirque's first permanent show in Japan: Zed at the Tokyo Disney Resort. In 2009, he choreographed the first edition of the acclaimed outdoor show Les Chemins Invisibles presented in Quebec City, and in 2010 he directed and choreographed the second edition, entitled Le Sillon des Rêves. Jean-Jacques’ choreography for Quebec-made films includes Un Capitalisme Sentimental directed by Olivier Asselin as well as Macadam Tango, directed by Lyne Charlebois and Laura Cadieux la Suite, directed by Denise Filiatrault. “What interests me more than movement is the artists’ emotions,” says Jean-Jacques. “The choreography in Zarkana is inspired by the surreal world that borders on reality. I'm choreographing the energy that comes from the number and the tableau rather than the characters.” Jean-Jacques Pillet was born in Bordeaux, France.

ALAIN LORTIE Lighting Designer "I often say that if something is not lit it’s badly lit. I love creating full images. I then remove layers until I get the desired effect. I paint multilayered lightscapes through a process of subtraction." — Alain Lortie

Alain Lortie has always produced shows. Self-taught, and constantly developing on both the technical and the artistic fronts, he has worked in almost every métier of show business, from manager to technical director, through operations, touring, and production management. In 1992, he decided to focus his career exclusively on lighting design. "The lighting designer is brought in at the end of the race," he explains. “And it’s the urgency of the final sprint that I find very stimulating.” Alain’s unique, distinctive approach to color and, above all, his great sensitivity to the work of other artists have brought him together with many big names in song, music, dance and theatre. More than 25 years ago, he began working with multi-talented Quebec artists such as Michel Lemieux, Marie Chouinard and Édouard Lock, and has since collaborated on many variety, opera and music shows both in Quebec and Europe. He is probably best known in Canadian and French circles for his dazzling work on the internationally acclaimed musical hit Notre-Dame de Paris, based upon Victor Hugo’s timeless classic about the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He has since designed the lighting for several Shanghai Circus World productions in Asia and has worked with many of Quebec’s leading theatre directors, including Robert Lepage, Victor Pilon, Gilles Maheu and François Girard on a multitude of stage dramas, including The Tempest directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon at the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Montreal in 2005, a production that was also presented in New York. Prior to Zarkana, his third engagement with Cirque du Soleil, Alain created the lighting design for Soleil de Minuit and DELIRIUM. "The music for Zarkana has provided me with a wonderful catalyst," says Alain. “It is definitely one of the driving forces of the show, and it inspired the lighting I've designed both for individual scenes and for the overall ambience of the show." Alain Lortie was born in Montreal, Québec.

RAYMOND ST-JEAN Image Content Designer "As an image designer, I often have to take an essentially cinematic approach. I am called on to create content to fit the décor – to amplify it, even – to transpose credible constructs of pure imagination into a virtual reality. " – Raymond Saint-Jean

Director, video designer, writer and editor Raymond Saint-Jean studied communications at the Université du Québec à Montréal before embarking on a career directing music videos and short films. Since then, Raymond has written and directed features, including Out of Mind: The Stories of H.P. Lovecraft (1998), inspired by the writings of the master of fantastic literature and documentaries such as L’oiseau de nuit (2006) and Ville fantôme (2005), as well as films about live shows, including Cabaret neiges noires (1997) written by the stage director Dominic Champagne. He has also designed multimedia content for many artists and entertainment companies throughout North America. In 2003, Raymond won the Rockie Award at the Banff Word Television Festival for his documentary Le Mozart noir. In 2006, his documentary Ville fantôme picked up three awards at the Yorkton Film Festival, including the prestigious Golden Sheaf Award of Excellence. His film Peepshow won the Tremplin pour le monde award given by ArTV at the 2009 edition of the Montreal International Festival of Films on Art. Zarkana is Raymond’s second engagement in the creation of a Cirque du Soleil production, following ZAIA, which is presented in Macau. The video content of the show is highly complex and plays an integral role in the storytelling process. "Projections have scenic value," he explains. “A number of the images projected onto the arches above the stage are interactive and react to what is happening on stage. My goal was to bring maximum credibility to this strange parallel world awakened by the wizard Zark." Raymond Saint-Jean was born in Shawinigan, Quebec.

STEVEN DUBUC Sound Designer “To be immersed in a show the music has to bring you in, but the sound has to bring you in too. The sound designer works with sophisticated electronics to create a soundscape made up of colours, feelings, memories and moods.” —Steven Dubuc

Steven Dubuc was still in college when he went to work as a system engineer for a Montreal sound company in 1980. In 1982 he undertook his first cross-Canada rock’n’roll tour as a sound engineer with the Powder Blues Band, hitting 57 venues from coast to coast in 60 days. With no formal training as a sound engineer, Steve worked for the Moscow Circus as Head of Touring Sound from 1987 to 1989. In 1990 he was the Production Soundman for the Canadian national tour of Les Miserables. He returned to Montreal in 1992 to work as Head of Sound at the Montreal Forum and started working with Cirque du Soleil in 1994, as Alegría Technical Director and later moved to Quidam. In 1997, he left Cirque to become the Project Manager (Audio) for Disneyfest Asia and to work on World Cup soccer installations in France. He also worked as the Project Manager for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games international broadcast center and managed the power systems for Celine Dion’s 1999 world tour and worked for the F1 World Championship, providing technical expertise for all European races. He returned to Cirque du Soleil and worked as the Technical Director for Zumanity in 2002, before moving on to KÀ as Project Supervisor (Audio) in 2003. He returned to Montreal in 2004 to become Technical Director for special projects. And then it was back to Vegas as Theatre Technical Director of The Beatles LOVE in 2005. He was the Sound Designer for the Cirque production ZAIA, which opened in Macau, China in 2008. In 2009, Steve was the Senior Theatre Consultant on the Cirque show Viva ELVIS in Las Vegas, and in 2010 he created the sound design for the outdoor programming of the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, as well as the audio system redesign for Quidam’s transfer into arena venues. Steve describes Zarkana as a “highly textured” show. His role is to integrate the sound with the lighting, the video effects, the costumes, the music and band cues triggered by the movements of performers – and at the same time to meet the challenging demands of the theatre. Steven Dubuc was born in Beloeil, Quebec.

FLORENCE POT Acrobatic Performance Designer

“I don’t make any distinction between the acrobatic and the artistic. Acrobatics is as much an art as the visual arts.” —Florence Pot

A gymnast at the age of six, Florence Pot completed her university degree in physical education in France and went on to specialize in sports psychology. She decided to move to Montreal in 1991 primarily to continue her academic career. She studied for her master's degree in sports psychology at the University of Montreal while working as a coach at the club Gymnix de Montréal. She returned to France two years later to choreograph performances for the French Gymnastics Federation. Motivated by a lack of professional challenges in France and a strong desire to work at Cirque du Soleil, Florence came back to Canada in 1997 to renew her network of contacts with the company and to choreograph performances by Canadian competitive gymnasts. In 2001, she accepted a position scouting acrobatic talent for Cirque's casting department and in 2003 she became the company’s Head Scout. In 2006 she accepted the invitation to become Acrobatic Performance Designer on ZED (Cirque's resident show in Tokyo) because she wanted to get closer to the creation process and be part of it from start to finish. She reprised the same role on TOTEM and Zarkana. "What interests me most is the emotion that emerges from the performance of an artist on stage,” says Florence. “The acrobatic framework of Zarkana was born in a world that was firmly rooted in the circus, where virtuosity cohabits with madness. We were inspired by traditional circus sideshows to highlight the crazy and decadent side of Zark’s world.” Florence Pot was born in Rouen, France.

DANNY ZEN Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer

"The riggers hold the artists’ lives in their hands." —Danny Zen

Danny Zen first arrived at Cirque du Soleil in 1990 to work as a welder in the company's workshops. That same year he went on the first European tour of Le Cirque Réinventé, then moved on to Nouvelle Expérience on which he worked as a welder, assembler, mechanic and head usher. In 1992 he toured with Saltimbanco as a tent technician. Since 1993 Danny has worked in the continuing development of the Creative Studio at Cirque du Soleil. His innovations as head rigger and technical expert are largely responsible for establishing Cirque's demanding standards in training all its riggers, and maintaining the safety of the performers and technicians at all times. Danny has worked at the National Circus School in Montreal and has, over the years, contributed to the design of most of the aerial acrobatic equipment used in the Cirque du Soleil shows Alegría, Mystère, Quidam, Dralion, Varekai, "O", La Nouba and KÀ. He was also Head Rigger for Quidam in 1996. In 2008, he designed the rigging and equipment for the acrobatics show at the Quebec City 400th anniversary celebrations. Zarkana is Danny Zen’s third engagement as Acrobatic Equipment and Rigging Designer for a Cirque du Soleil show, following Corteo and KOOZA. “The acrobatic equipment on Zarkana was designed to blend in with the 1930s-inspired décor of the show,” he says. “The action of the show is set in the same period. I'm fascinated by the curves and organic shapes of that era and I've been inspired by the French Art Nouveau master glassmaker and jeweler Lalique and the Spanish architect and engineer Calatrava." Danny Zen was born in Saint-Luc, Québec.

ELENI URANIS Makeup Designer “Makeup offers a great deal of freedom of expression. You’re working with a face and with your imagination.” — Eleni Uranis

After completing studies in fashion design at Seneca College of Applied Arts in Toronto and costume and set design at the National Theatre School of Canada, Eleni Uranis first joined Cirque du Soleil in 1989 as assistant to costume designer (and former classmate) Dominique Lemieux on the show Nouvelle Expérience. She undertook research for the designs and was responsible for coordination between the creative team and the costume workshop. That engagement led to work on Saltimbanco, Mystère, Alegría, Quidam, “O” and La Nouba. Eleni took care of fabric research, fittings and artistic quality control. She then worked closely with Cirque cofounder Gilles Ste-Croix as costume designer for a unique show called Pomp Duck and Circumstance which was presented in Hamburg, Germany in 1997. In 2002, Eleni worked as assistant to the worldrenowned designer Thierry Mugler, creating and coordinating the costumes for the Cirque du Soleil production Zumanity in Las Vegas. In March 2004 Eleni’s career took a new direction when she went to work for the Makeup Department at Cirque, creating designs for the cast of Dralion. She particularly enjoys the close contact she has with the performers, because they work as a two-person team to create a look for the character. “Makeup hides, reveals and transforms the character all at the same time. With just a little color, everything can change,” she says. “Through makeup you can forget the person playing the role and discover the true nature of the character.” Between 2004 and 2006 Eleni assisted Makeup Designer Nathalie Gagné on the Cirque du Soleil productions KÀ, Corteo, Delirium and The Beatles LOVE. In 2005, she designed the makeup for Reflections in Blue, the show Cirque produced for the opening ceremonies of the FINA World Aquatic Championships held in Montreal. Zarkana is her fifth engagement as Makeup Designer on a Cirque show, following Dralion, Wintuk, ZED and Banana Shpeel. "I was inspired by the world of circus and the stage magic acts of the early 20th century when I created the makeup for several of the Zarkana characters," says Eleni. “And given the sheer scale of the stage, I punched up the contrasts to accentuate the artists’ facial features and make it easier for the audience to read their expressions." Eleni Uranis was born in Oradea, Romania.