About Katya
Katya Guimaraes is a former Cirque du Soleil Performer, circus coach, certified Pilates Instructor, Kinesiologist, Corrective Exercise Specialist, Flexibility Coach and Personal Trainer. She was born in the Amazon region in Belem, Brazil. After moving to Rio de Janeiro at the age of 4, she was exposed to all kinds of arts developing passion for dance, circus, music and theater. She started onstage dancing at 10 years old. In 1988, she graduated as a professional acrobat at The National Circus School in Brazil in which she acquired a variety of skills such as Teeter Board, Russian Swing, Unicycle, Basic Juggling, Stilt, Ball walker, Trapeze, Spanish Web, Hoop, Aerial Silk (Tissu), and Acrobatic Roller Skate. Later on, she performed in many Theaters and Circus in Brazil such as Villa Lobos, Gloria and Joao Caetano in Rio. And also, Circo D'Italia, Hatary and Circo Scala untill 1993. After that, she went to Germany to work in amusement parks such as Phanthasyaland and Europa Park until 1997.
In 1998, she joined Cirque du Soleil to create a permanent show " La Nouba" in Orlando, Florida, as a performer of the Aerial Ballet in Silk. In Montreal, Canada during the creation of "La Nouba"at the Cirque du Soleil' Studios, Katya was introduced to the Pilates of Body Conditioning and Contrology; and since then, it has been the way she realigns her body, warms up for the shows, prevent injuries, and improves the quality of her performance. In 2005, she got certified as Pilates Instructor. She considers the Pilates Method to be the key for her longevity as a performer. From 2005-2007, she performed at Disney World at Epcot Center for the Party of The Sense as an aerialist presented by Cirque du Soleil. In 2009, she took part on Khol's Christmas Commercial. In 2010, her passion for fitness led her to get certified as a Personal Trainer.
She currently teaches Pilates at Cirque du Soleil at the show Drawn to Life in Disney Springs and at Lavender, The Spa in Celebration. She is also a CEO and founder of AEROPILAFIT- a combination of Aerial, Circus arts, Pilates & Fitness. She teaches private Aerial Silks. She believes that the circus arts and fitness are a perfect combination. Also, that the Circus itself is a melting pot of culture with people from all over the world, in which she had a chance of learning five languages: Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and German. She says "The circus ring is where all the arts come together, and in which I experience spiritual and personal growth. Once under the lights, I feel powerful sharing my soul with the audience. I truly believe in the healing power of the Circus, the arts, Pilates & fitness in general. I feel rejuvenated sharing what I've learned over 30 years as a circus artist, Aerial Silk coach and a Pilates Instructor with anyone at any level of fitness."
