Behind the Curtain 

Live Like An Acrobat Podcast Ep.49: Circus Legacy Matters with Ricardo Sosa

Shenea Stiletto

On this episode of the Live Like An Acrobat Podcast, host Shenea Stiletto interviews handbalancer, contortionist, and inventor Ricardo Sosa who was born in Havana, Cuba. At seventeen, he enrolled in the Yuri Mandich Circus School in Havana, the national, Russian-style state circus school.  In 1994, while performing in Colombia at Circo Egred Hermanos, Ricardo and other performers in the Cuban troupe defected. It was a huge scandal in Havana: Never before had such an important group of performers defected.

Ricardo has since settled in the United States, where he has worked extensively for companies including Circus Circus and the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Teatro ZinZanni in Seattle, Washington and San Francisco, California; Universoul Circus; and Circus Sarasota. He has also embarked on an international career, appearing with Circo Moira Orfei in Italy and numerous variety shows in Germany, notably with GOP Varieté and Palazzo.

Shenea Stiletto
Acrobat, Podcaster, Circus Artist, Handstand Instructor -United States
Shenea Stiletto (Shenea Booth) is a two-time World Champion Gold Medalist in Acrobatic gymnastics, a USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame Member, and World Acrobatic Society Inductee. Her career includes a decade of collaborations with Cirque Du Soleil including the coveted hand balancing role as "The Promise" in Varekai, becoming the first-ever African American female soloist to play a lead character in a Cirque Du Soleil production.
Shenea was also a finalist on America’s Got Talent and has continued to be a featured artist with prominent circus entertainment companies worldwide.

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Shenea Stiletto

Shenea Stiletto (Shenea Booth) is a two-time World Champion Gold Medalist in Acrobatic gymnastics, a USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame Member, and World Acrobatic Society Inductee. Her career includes a decade of collaborations with Cirque Du Soleil including the coveted hand balancing role as "The Promise" in Varekai, becoming the first-ever African American female soloist to play a lead character in a Cirque Du Soleil production. Shenea was also a finalist on America’s Got Talent and has continued to be a featured artist with prominent circus entertainment companies worldwide.