Permanent team in Lesbos:
Coordinator / trainer
Thibault Gouin spent his early days in a small village of Normandy, not the one from "cartes postales", not even one where circus comes... but obviously, circus stocked to his mind. Following his dream graduated from ESAC (Ecole Supérieure des Arts du Cirque, Bruxelles) specialized in juggling and objects manipulation .
Really fast he had to face reality, circus without caravans, mud and long hours of constructions wasn't for him! Therefore he ( among others! as he also likes collective work!) created le cirque du Platzak, a raw folk circus company with a full loaded truck, thousands of kilometers and liters of sweat!
But something was still missing : a social aspect giving sense to his art... thanks to LaMule cirque and Circus Lesvos, he is a fulfilled and happy boy!
Leila Köckenberger grew up in a community house in Berlin Kreuzberg, where she start driving unicycle at the age of 7.
Studying circus and performance art, she develops the unique circus discipline"aerial plastic". Leila established circus companies and went touring in international festivals with groups aswell as her solo shows. How to combine form and content is for her art important. Now as a mother she feels ready to give her experience further in Lesvos Circus.
Coordinator / trainer
Trainer
Nefeli Pitsi was born and raised in Victoria, one of the most multicultural and noisy neighbourhoods in the center of Athens.
From a young age she was involved in dance, driven by her need to express herself. Later, she discovered the magic of theater, studied at the drama school of G. Theodosiadis and graduated with the certification from the Ministry of Culture. As a performer she has participated in various projects, physical theater trainings and contemporary dance workshops.
Her love for circus was born when she wore the clown's red nose for the first time in her life. One year ago, she decided to run away with the circus, dreaming of sharing her passion with other people and making art in a social context. First in Berlin and now in Circus Lesvos, Nefeli keeps on following with devotion the inner voice that is calling her to share, create and experience.
Pauline Baudillon. Enthusiastic in acrobatics and juggling. Diplomed sociologist but more practical than theorist hopes that throw circus she will change the world. Comes from the very rainy west coast of France and joined the team to be part of the shinny circus activities that give strength, and offer joy..the important things in life!
Trainer
Trainer
Basil Phoenix was born in Mytilene in 1994,raised in one of the suburbs of Attica and spending most of the summers and winter holidays of his childhood in Lesvos,always felt an attraction to this magical island.
From an early age, he admired the arts of flow and circus but was unaware that a circus with no oppressed animals could even exist. Until the age of 17, when through juggling he came in contact with locals and travelers from the modern circus scene of Athens. Since then, he has tried and practiced most of the circus arts, preferring equilibristics and poi. He has attended a wide range of workshops varying from dance and theater to aerial, floor and partner acrobatics, always in parallel with studying and practicing martial arts and T.C.M.
From time to time, he has collaborated with small groups and the Sea Clown Sailing Circus and Clown without borders Sweden. Additionally, he was one of the founding members of Who Nose, a performers team which spread joy through shows and workshops around the Camps of Attica.
He loves sharing and he is looking forward to Circus Lesvos!
Previous Team Members:
Romy comes from the wild wild east of Germany. When she discovered the world was bigger than her village she couldn´t stop to travel. She always liked to combine voluntary work with her stays all over the world. When she met Claudio she finally got to learn some circus skills and what an impact social circus can have on children. When coming back to Berlin she finished an education for circus pedagogues and now she wants to bring the circus to children in need....
Trainer
Trainer
Claudio Kuzma, 37 was born and raised in Berlin before he travelled and spread circus all over the world. After Highschool he did a voluntary year in a kindergarten.
On one of his first journeys he was given a set of juggling balls, which sparked his love for circus. He started to train everyday and through coincidence or fate ended up volunteering at Zirkus Cabuwazi and found his dream job: working with children AND circus. After doing another voluntary service, this time in Circus Elleboog in Amsterdam, he did a one year full-time course becoming a professional circus-trainer/pedagogue. Since then he worked in many different schools and Projects in Berlin and many other countries.
When he met Leila, who told him about the project in Lesvos, he and his girlfriend Romy were very enthusiastic to join the team.