Viktoria's Secret

To launch a website for a new product line of hoops, we wanted photos that would differentiate us from other vendors. We decided to go for imaging which would have an unmistakable New York City look. What better place than a rooftop with views of water tanks, ventilators, high-rise buildings, and the Empire State Building? Or the waterfront in Brooklyn with the Brooklyn Bridge as backdrop?
Of course we needed a hooper who not only has the skills but was not afraid of heights. We happened to know just the person.

Meet Viktoria Shvartsman, professional contortionist, acrobat, aerialist, hand balancer, juggler, and hooper. When I asked prior to the shoot, just as a formality, if she was afraid of heights, she laughed and said, "Absolutely not." Perfect, because we wanted precarious looking stunts. The afternoon photoshoot was split between the rooftop and Brooklyn waterfront in the Dumbo neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Viktoria is the fifth generation of a circus performing family that dates back to 1912 in Russia. Her older sister Gena and younger sister Maria also are performers, as well as her father and mother. Here is a photo from 2002 of the entire family including her mother, father and myself in my studio. If you would like to see a performance montage of her act, you can find it here (updated in 2011).
Viktoria has acted and modeled. She has been in two international circus competitions, including the world circus competition in Italy and Premier Rampe in Monte Carlo. She has been in varioius TV shows, including ABC Family's "Switched," and has performed in numerous venues: Busch Gardens Tampa, Hannaford, Cirque Du Joir, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus, Circus Hamid, Circus circus, Grand Tunica, and Mohegan Sun.

I have known her since she was a young girl. Like her two sisters, she is extremely pleasant and personable. Very talented and confident yet humble. And now you know Viktoria's secret :)

NOTE: The story of my business can be found in the links - Signature and Juggle This. The newly launched hooping website can be found here.

Related Postings: Signature, Artiste Extraordinaire, Spinning, Fire and Drums, Spiegelworld, Titans, Juggle This