Meet Our Team

OUR MANAGEMENT

Anaïs Guimond, Owner & CEO

When this former bungee-trapeze performer plunged into entrepreneurship, she entered unfamiliar territory. A Quebecer who had been seduced by the Cirque du Soleil at an early age, Anaïs started training in circus arts in 1994. She performed hundreds of shows as a circus artist in Canada and the United States before moving to Nova Scotia in 2001. She then opened Atlantic Cirque in 2002 in a province and a language that were both new to her. Although her specialty was relatively unknown to Atlantic Canadians, it didn’t take long for the local population to be captivated by this unique art form. Today, Atlantic Cirque offers 45 classes to 250+ weekly participants, aged six months and up, as well as camps, workshops, birthday parties and corporate team building programs. In addition, the company’s artist agency has been providing entertainment services since 2003 for corporate events, galas, private functions, fundraisers, commercials and more. In July 2020, with three children at home, Anaïs started a Design business (www.nisinteriors.ca). Now graduated from the Interior Design Institute, she continues to oversee the daily operations of Atlantic Cirque and enjoys balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship.

Awards Nominations
BDC Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 Halifax Business Person of the year 2015
CYBF Best Female Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur 2011, 2012, 2016 & 2019

Michele, Administrative Manager

Michele at Atlantic Cirque you won't find her hanging from the Silks or the Cerceau you will find her at the front desk part time greeting students and their parents while madly typing on as many computers as she can at one time to keep up with all the administration for the school. Michele is a decisive, action-oriented and results focused professional with over 30 years of project management and administrative experience. Michele's interest and understanding about Atlantic Cirque has come from communicating with the school for over 10 years while watching her daughter grow in the performing arts to be one of the instructors at the school today. She joined the team as our Administrative Manager in January of 2016. She can be reached directly at admin@atlanticcirque.com

Vanessa, Entertainment Agency Coordinator

Vanessa has decided what she wants to be when she grows up: Everything. With a heavy performance background beginning at age 5, Vanessa pursued a degree in Music and Theatre from Bishops University in Quebec. Unsatisfied with the lack of a musical theatre program being offered there, Vanessa raised the issue with faculty and went on to produce their first ever musical. It sold out every performance. Vanessa then created a musical theatre program in collaboration with New Brunswick's Interaction Children's Theatre Company, spending four years developing shows and mentoring youth in positive artistic growth. Vanessa chose Halifax as her home next, training in circus arts, film arts, traveling internationally with ECMA nominated group Three Sheet, and pursuing yet another passion: health and wellness. Seven years as an advocate and support worker for people with disability and special needs has helped Vanessa marry her passions to her skills… To enable ALL people to realize that they too can be everything when they grow up. She joins the team as our Entertainment Coordinator in the fall of 2014. She can be reached directly at entertainment@atlanticcirque.com

OUR INSTRUCTORS (coaches vary every term)

Jason, Senior Cirque Instructor (Juggling, Acrobatics, Rope)

When you're at Atlantic Cirque, you can often find Jason lifting people high in the air, juggling or flipping on the trampoline. Jason has been involved in circus arts since 1998 and is a former Cirque du Soleil artist, he attended the National Circus School in Montreal from 1998 to 2001 as a full time student for their professional program. He also has prior experience coaching provincial-stream gymnastics. Jason performed trampoline and teeterboard for two years before he decided to go South, where he worked as a flying trapeze instructor at Mexico's Club Med. His also worked for three months in creation for Cirque du Soleil's show, Love, which opened in Las Vegas in 2006. Jason has been with Atlantic Cirque since 2003!

Rileigh, Cirque Instructor (Handstands, Tumbling)

Born in Halifax Nova Scotia, Rileigh has always been very active. She began gymnastics at 1½ and continued that until the age of 9. During this time period she also studied various forms of Dance from the age of 3 to 13. Rileigh was also a competitive swimmer and a sprint Canoer for many years and has always loved training. Rileigh fell in love with circus after having 2 birthday parties there and decided to join her first class a few years later. Rileigh was selected for Ecole Nationale de Cirque intensive summer camp in 2016 and that was a big turning point for her and that experience lead her to become a part of Atlantic Cirque’s junior troupe and advanced class. Rileigh enjoy’s Acrobatics, Stilts, hand balancing and Straps. Rileigh hopes to continue coaching and performing with Atlantic Cirque for many years to come.

Em, Cirque Instructor (Aerial, Unicycle, German Wheel)

Em grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. They moved to Halifax at age 18 to attend Dalhousie University, where they accomplished a Bachelor’s of Science with a major in Biology and minor in Pyschology. As part of a circus program from the ages 7-18, Em gained excellent experience practicing lyra, German wheel, stacking bike, unicycle, and contortion. They taught circus for 2 years where they gained both an understanding for and appreiciation of the art of circus instructing. When not at Atlantic Cirque, you can find Em studying to be a paramedic. As a new member they are very excited to join the team and meet others to help them accomplish their wildest circus dreams.

Sara, Cirque Instructor (Aerial: Cerceau)

Sara has always been active and a climber, from the age of 2 all she wanted to do was go do "monkey bar business" at any playground she could get to. She started ballet at 3, soccer at 4, gymnastics at 5, and was introduced to Atlantic Cirque at the age of 9, it was a fit for her and she soared through the class ranks. In February of 2012 at the age of 11, Sara was the youngest cast member selected for the 10-year anniversary show Decade. Sara's favourite apparatus are the silks and the hammock. Sara love the babies and hopes to continue to coach them and be with the school for many years to come.

Vanessa, Theatre and Performance Instructor

Vanessa has a strong performance background, she began at the age of 5 in musical theatre and expanded to film, dance, direction, choreography, orchestral conducting and later on got into circus arts.Vanessa has a degree in Music and Theatre from Bishops University in Quebec. She became the director of Bishops U's first ever musical, and delivered it to a sold out audience. Vanessa also created a musical theatre program in collaboration with New Brunswick's Interaction Children's Theatre Company, spending four years developing shows and mentoring youth in positive artistic growth. Vanessa chose Halifax as her home next, training in circus arts, and traveling internationally with ECMA nominated Three Sheet as the lead singer. Vanessa feels truly at home with the Atlantic Cirque family and looks forward to years of sharing the magic of theatre with all involved.

Meaghan, Cirque Instructor for privates (Aerial: Cyr Wheel, Cerceau)

Meaghan is another import to Halifax. She grew up in Ontario, where she has been involved with musical theatre and competitive sports since the age of five. Starting with dance and baseball, she did her first performances with a local children's musical theatre troupe in 1998. In 2001, Meaghan progressed to a more professional level, and has since been in a wide variety of shows, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat, and Les Misérables. In 2003, she moved to Nova Scotia and decided she needed a change of pace! She spent the next few years participating in competitive cheerleading and soccer, and eventually found a way to combine her love for performing with her intense athletic abilities... circus! In the summer of 2010, Meaghan began learning circus arts, and quickly realized that this was her niche!

Amy, Additional Cirque Instructor (Aerial)

Amy has always been involved in some type of artistic sport. She started dance at the age of 5, moved on to gymnastics at 9 and went back to dance at 13. It was through dance that she discovered cirque by taking an acro class, where she learned some contortion tricks and how to combine them with a contemporary style of dance. Wanting to learn more she took a beginner class at Atlantic Cirque and was immediately drawn to it, taking as many classes as possible. Now she is a member of junior troupe and hopes to continue performing and teaching for many years to come.

OUR JUNIOR INSTRUCTORS (coaches vary every term)

Chloe, Assistant-Instructor

Chloe was 6 years old when she was first introduced to circus arts. IT quickly became a passion and she hasn't stopped attending Atlantic Cirque classes since. Prior to this, Chloe was involved in gymnastics for a few years before making the switch to circus arts. Since then, she has progressed through Circus level I to III, including silks classes and summer camps. Chloe likes learning new skills and drops on the silks and hammock are her favourites. She now focuses mainly on aerial silks and has performed numerous routines on them. Chloe joined the team as a junior coach in the summer 2022 and really enjoys helping students perfecting their skills.

Emma, Junior-Instructor

Emma was born with the gift of imagination. An avid reader always eager to perform, Emma loves telling stories. Her first visit to Atlantic Cirque was at the age of 7 at a friend's birthday party. It wasn’t surprising that her interest for circus arts led her to join classes right away. From weekly classes to summer camps, Emma loves the aerial hammock, ninja circuit and everything in between. Now in high school, Emma is involved in theatre classes and also volunteers for theatre camps for children in the summer months. Emma joins the Atlantic Cirque team in the fall of 2022 as a Junior- Coach.

Madison, Junior-Instructor

Madison was 5 when she first visited Atlantic Cirque and joined her first class. Since trying her first trick on the trapeze, she has never missed a class. Prior to circus, Madison did ballet for 2 years and piano for 4 years and performed at the Magnolia during the Holidays. Circus Arts allowed her to express her creativity through music, dance, makeup and costumes. She has crafted graceful routines showcasing her strength and flexibility on different apparatus. She specializes in silks and when she is not in the gym, she can be found regularly in her backyard practicing silks on her own aerial rig. After celebrating a decade with Atlantic Cirque, she continues to train and is now part of the coaching team!

We also have various instructors available for PRIVATE LESSONS

You want a chance to join our amazing team?
Visit the job opportunity section and send us your resume!

MEET OUR TEAM