Nicholas Flair

Nicholas Flair is an American juggler, comedian, and professional entertainer.^[1] His 60-minute solo show The Other Side premièred to a sold-out audience in New York City in February 2007. Before winning first place in the 2006 Cigar Box Juggling Championship, he starred Off-Broadway and around the world with Lazer Vaudeville, performed with The Metropolitan Opera and Holland America Cruises, worked for corporate clients such as The US Open, AT&T and Bloomberg, and was covered by MTV, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. In addition to graduating from Montreal's celebrated École nationale de cirque, he has earned a math degree from Brown University. On stage and screen alike, Nicholas Flair has charmed audiences from Rome to Rhode Island with inventive, fresh entertainment.

Biography

Background

Nicholas Flair was born Nicholas Goldsmith on July 31, 1975 in Saratoga Springs, New York. One of three children of William and Margaret Goldsmith, he was raised in Ithaca, New York, steps away from Cornell University. He began juggling in the halls of the Alternative Community School at age 15. He quickly became enthralled, practising up to six hours a day. His first performing endeavors were as part of the duo Shazam, with classmate Daniel Forlano.

While at Brown University, Nicholas co-founded the Out of Hand Juggling Club, which attempted to break the Guiness World Record for most objects in the air. The record remains unbroken, but as NBC reported, “they gave it the old college try.” During his last summer at Brown, Nicholas joined the Pan-Twilight Circus. This was his first professional performing experience and he was quickly hooked. Also while at Brown, Nicholas started studying dance, joining the fledgling group Misnomer Dance Theater. Now based in New York City, Misnomer has evolved to become an important fixture in the dance world. Nicholas graduated Brown with a degree in Mathematics in 1998.

Later that year, Nicholas began the three-year diploma program at the celebrated École nationale de cirque in Montreal, a hub for cirque nouveau. He majored in juggling and minored in physical comedy and acrobatics, while getting a taste of multiple disciplines like trapeze, tightrope, and trampoline. In Montreal, he created his signature cigar box (juggling) routine, which combines acrobatics and dance with one of a kind juggling technique. Upon graduation in 2001, Nicholas adopted the stage name Nicholas Flair.

Nicholas is currently based in New York City area, where he lives with his wife.

Career

Flair has performed in many diverse venues. In 2002 he joined The Metropolitan Opera's production of Parade (ballet), conducted by James Levine. Later that year he was featured on the Fox TV show 30 Seconds to Fame. In 2003 he toured Switzerland with Cirque Starlight, run by a fifth-generation circus family. 2005 brought a 6-month Off-Broadway run with the show Lazer Vaudeville. In 2006, Flair took top honors at the International Jugglers' Association Cigar Box Juggling Championship. In January 2007, Flair spent a month in residence at La TOHU in Montreal. Here he created his solo show The Other Side. Nicholas played the Krystallpalast Variety Theater in Leipzig, Germany during the Spring of 2008. Also in 2008, Flair had another performing first – the video game market. He plays the juggling character “Catch” in Grand Theft Auto IV.

References

1. ^ Calhoun, Ada (20 March 2005). "Psychedelic Hoop Dreams Drive a Show". New York Times. http://theater.nytimes.com/2005/03/20/theater/newsandfeatures/20calh.html. Retrieved 24 August 2011. 

External links

• Official Website

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Name	Flair, Nicholas
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Date of birth	1975
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