THE TALENT
Mason Ames - Acrobat
Mason was born at home in the backwoods of New Hampshire. A shopkeeper showed him how to juggle on the sidewalk as a child.
At 12 year sold, Mason met Tristan Nielsen at a juggling club, where they were both dressed in sweat suits, green and blue. He then met Eric Bates at Circus Smirkus camp at age 14. They toured with Circus Smirkus 2 summers together and then all ended up attending L'école Nationale de Cirque de Montréal, where they developed their skills in a major way.
At school, Mason studied partner acrobatics and has since worked internationally with Cirque Eloize, les 7 Doigts, Cirque du Soleil, Cirque le Roux and others. When not on stage, Mason enjoys being outdoors and being physical, baking, woodworking, knitting, cooking and spending time with family.
Eric Bates - Juggler
Eric grew up in Vermont, USA, and has been juggling for as long as he can remember. He attended the National Circus School in Montreal, specializing in cigar box juggling and russian bar. Since graduating in 2011, he has toured around the world with companies such as Cirque du Soleil, The 7 Fingers, and Cirque Eloize. He has won both silver and bronze medals at the Cirque de Demain festival in Paris and has also participated in numerous television shows around the world.
Along with Tristan, Alex and Eve, Eric co-founded Cirque Barcode in 2019 so they could make shows of their own. Together they have since co-created a theatrical show, Sweat & Ink, and an outdoor performance, Branché, performed in parks and forests and meant to draw attention to the environmental crisis.
Eve Bigel - Acrobat
Ève grew up in France, and, around 4 or 5, was already dreaming about running away with a Circus, every times one was showing around in her town.
She finally attented a circus school in Lille when she was 17, where she specialized in partner acrobatic and mini-teeterboard.
After school, she joined Cie XY and its show « Le Grand C », which she toured for a few years around the world, then discovered stunts during workshops and participated in various shows... She met Tristan, Eric and Alex in 2017 and after touring with their acts for a couple of years, they founded Cirque Barcode to have the opportunity to create their own show.
Stefanie Fournier - Dancer
Stefanie is a Monteal based dancer, choreographer and circus artist. She has a diploma in Performing Arts from the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, B-C. She grew up doing high level artistic gymnastcs before heading out at sea performing with Royal Caribbean Cruises.
She spent two years in New York joining the casts of ‘’Fuerza Bruta’’ and ‘’Daughter of te Waves’’ Off Broadway. Stefanie has worked with Cirque du Soleil, Les 7 doigts de la main, Cirque Eloize and on numerous other dance, circus and television projects; Revolution, Dancing with the Stars, Masked Singers, TPMP Paris etc... Stefanie is currently on tour in Canada and Europe with the highly acclaimed French Canadian singer; Veronic Dicaire.
Zander Howard-Scott - Founder and Director of Eclipse Events + Experiences, Musician
Zander is a multi disciplinary creative and raised in Winnipeg, MB.
Based in Montréal over the last 10 years, his adventures have brought him all over the world performing in classical, pop, jazz and circus settings. From Carnegie Hall in NYC, to the Middle East, Asia and Europe with Cirque du Soleil, Zander thrives on adventure and uniting the contrasting elements of culture into his performances and creations.
He started Eclipse Events + Experiences, to create world-class, ambitious shows, give work to high level creatives, and do good in the world above all else. Currently based in Dubai for the World Expo 2020, he is thrilled to have this opportunity to present the world premiere of Dessa for such an amazing cause.
Adam Hummell - Media Director
Adam Hummell is a multidisciplinary director with a passionate working experience in video creation, projection mapping, scenography and lighting design.
Creating at the edge of multimedia production for over 15 years, Adam notably collaborated on Beyoncé's Formation World Tour, Billie Eilish’s Where Do We Go World Tour, Cirque du Soleil's Reflekt at the World Expo in Kazakhstan, Madonna’s Super Bowl Halftime performance, and recently League of Legends LCS opening ceremony, to name a few magnificent shows.
Adam’s background is in music and live performance. He uses his experience as a dj to connect his audience on a rhythm that values the narrative and the journey above all. Notable examples of these creative journeys can be seen in Cirque Du Soleil's Axel Touring Show, Billie Eilishes 2019 American Music Awards performance, Ode à la Vie show on Sagrada Familia, Miley Cyrus Bangrz Tour and Imagine Dragons Smoke And Mirrors Tour. This creative approach to his artwork connects his audience with deeper, and more emotional memories.
This is the essence of Adam’s work, and the driving force behind all his creations.
Gabriella Laberge - Musician
Gabriella is a singer-songwriter from Montreal, Canada. She started to play violin at 6 years-old and had been singing for as long as she can remember. At 18, she toured around Canada and the United States in a country folk band.
In 2015 at the age of 22, she released her first album, Story Of Oak, with all original folk songs. She toured this material extensively, where she met Zander Howard-Scott, also featured in this show and the founder of Eclipse. She quickly gained attention in 2016, after being a candidate of The Voice France. With more than 250 millions views, her blind audition has been one the most popular audition of The Voice France. She became a Youtube sensation, reaching more than 300,000 subscribers in a short period of time.
Gabriella started her first international tour in 2016, playing more than 200 shows in different countries, such as Canada, France, Mexico, the United States, Belgium and Switzerland.
In January 2019, with her song “Never get enough” she was chosen as a finalist to represent France at Eurovision, the world biggest song competition. She released her second album later that year, Étrangère for her Canadian and French fans.
Tristan Nielsen - Acrobat
Tristan grew up in rural New England in the north eastern United States where he was introduced to the circus arts through youth circus programs. Following his passion for the circus arts he attended the National Circus School in Montreal, where he developed his hand to hand and Russian bar prowess. Since graduating in 2011, he has toured all over the world with companies such as Cirque du Soleil, The 7 Fingers, Cirque Eloize, Cie XY and more. He has won both a silver and bronze medal at the prestigious Cirque de Demain festival in Paris and has also participated in numerous television shows around the world. In 2019 Tristan co-founded Cirque Barcode with Eve, Alex and Eric, with which they have created two touring circus shows.
Alex Royer - Acrobat
Alex Royer is an artist and cofounder of the Barcode Circus company, with Eve, Eric and Tristan, also featured in this show. For close to 15 years she has flourished in the performing circus arts. Working all over the world with some of the largest and most recognized companies, she has continued to refine her craft, searching for more and more ways to bring her strong human and artistic values into relevance in an ever-changing world. She rarely says no, as she thrives on new experiences, whether she is performing in a show or seeing one.
Outside of performing and creating, she travels, physically and mentally, to learn from people of all types, nature and the world at large.
Camille Tremblay - Acrobat
Camille graduated from the National Circus School of Montreal as a hand-balancer and has been performing professionally for 9 years. She is a master of her craft, having travelled around the world, participating in big festivals and tours, as well as actively competing in different circus contests as well.
Her successful career as a performer has led into the entrepreneurship and education space, where her company “Learn2Handstand” helps people of all ages and backgrounds learn to be comfortable on their hands.
Francois Levesque - Lighting Director