Profile: Orlando

My name is Orlando Enrique Vargas Riveros and my nationality is Chilean. In 2000 I started with my career with Circo del Mundo, where I was afforded the opportunity to train as a Social Circus Artist through their professional training course. During this time I developed my body and learnt how to control the body emotionally and physically through their classes of Ariel work (Rope Act, Scarf Act and Rigging of equipment) Basic Acrobatics, Clown etc. I also gained and received teaching experience by working with children in empoverished communities and teaching social circus work. I shared the magic of circus with the children form these communities through workshops. Also by creating small presentations with children and young adults who had limited knowledge of their own culture, I assisted in developing self esteem and confidence, eliminating apathy and teaching people about team work. Circus has taught me to work with my own free will, consistency and demonstrative that nothing is impossible with the eagerness of the heart. In 2004 I participated in the Oxfam International Youth Parliament in Sydney, Australia, where I was invited as an artist and youth delegate. This is where I met Natalie Roberts. Together we constructed an Action Plan that was geared towards assisting the youth in empoverished communities, both in South Africa and Chile, through dance and circus. The first year of our Action Plan was implemented in 2005. We worked in the poor communities of Chile where we initiated dance and circus workshops with the youth, supported by Circo del Mundo, Jazzart Dance theatre and Oxfam International Youth Parliament. Natalie and I got married on the 23 November 2006 on the Milnerton beach. It was a small wedding but it was how we wanted it to be. We then completed the second year of our Action Plan in the communities of South Africa, during 2006 and 2007 in collaboration with Zip Zap Circus School, Namjive in Namaqualand and Jazzart Dance Theatre. From 2006 to the end of June 2007 I was employed at the Zip Zap circus school as a Performing Artist and a teacher. From February 2007 to January 2008 my wife, Natalie, and I were employed to do aerial acts at the Madame Zingara Theatre of Dreams. In February 2008, we left Madame Zingara and started freelancing and travelling to gain more experience and to develop our Artistry. Since then, SircuSynergy has performed in the Seychelles, the Lorries Awards ceremony, the Rock Circus with the Barnyard Theatres and currently the Gold Reef City Casino.