Erica Furness
Fire and sideshow artist
Erica is a founding member of Illuminair and specializes in fire manipulation and various sideshow acts. Erica is also a successful model and has been featured on stages and in magazines internationally and Canada-wide.
Erica can be seen at her performance residency at Pravda Vodka Bar in downtown Toronto, multiple Saturdays of every month.
Taliya Cohen
Aerialist
Taliya has been performing as a professional aerial artist for the better part of a decade.As a soloist, Taliya specializes in aerial silks, and she is also featured in our signature duo hoop, triple trapeze, and trio cube acts, among others!
Scarlet Black
Fire and LED artist
Scarlet is a founding member of the troupe who specializes in fire and LED object manipulation. She has over 8 years of professional-level experience as a performing artist, and has been a headliner at events across Canada and the US. Her act with Itto Kagutsuchi came in 2nd overall at the 2015 ‘Masters of Fire,’ Canada’s largest fire arts competition, held in Montreal.
Scarlet’s solo and duo shows include a vast array of apparatus, but hula hoops, poi, and fans are some of her core apparatus.
Jasper Empson
Aerialist and fire artist
Jasper has been an Illuminair aerialist for nearly 7 years. He specializes in aerial rope, silks, frame, and various group acts. Jasper is also an accomplished and respected fire artist, specializing in poi and hula hoop. Jasper has been the featured artist at some intriguing events over the years, including the HBO Game of Thrones DVD launch party at the famous Quebec Ice Hotel in 2016, along with numerous events in the US and across Canada.
Ess
contortion and aerial straps
Ess has been studying aerial straps and performing the Mongolian style of contortion professionally for 3 years. One of the only contortion artists working in Ontario, Ess is devoted to their craft and brings great grace and, of course, impressive physicality to any stage they perform on.
A veteran of international stages such as Detroit’s Theatre Bizarre, festivals in Vancouver and repeated appearances in Canada’s own Fort McMurray, as well as numerous events here in Toronto, Ess will be representing Canada at the prestigious 2019 edition of ‘Cirque de Demain’ in Paris, France. They will be performing a duo act with performance partner Troy James.
Illuminair is thrilled to have such a versatile artist on-roster.
Itto Kagutsuchi
fire artist
Itto is a founding member of Illuminair and is one of the most experienced and respected fire eaters and rope dart artists in Canada. Itto won Canada’s largest fire arts competition, The Masters of Fire held each year in Montreal, in 2016 with his contemporary fire eating act and placed 2nd overall with his duo act, along with partner Scarlet Black..
Itto is also the go-to fire arts organizer for multiple large-scale yearly public events in downtown Toronto, including the Kensington Market Winter Solstice celebration, produced by Red Pepper Spectacle; as well as the ‘Night of Dread’ Halloween event produced by Clay and Paper Theatre.
Itto has a performance residency at Pravda Vodka Bar in downtown Toronto, along with Erica Furness, multiple Saturdays each month.
Laura Griffin
Aerialist
Laura has been a professional aerial artist for over a decade. She joined Illuminair in 2016 and has quickly become one of the most versatile aerial artists on-roster. As a soloist she specializes in aerial silks and hoop, but she also performs on aerial straps and net. Laura is also an integral part of spanish web, one of Illuminair’s duo hoop acts, and our signature Triple trapeze act.
Laura was one of 10 chosen from hundreds of applicants to compete in the 2016 US Aerial Championships, held in New York City, with her aerial hoop act, and has toured and performed internationally and across Canada extensively.
Miranda Tempest
Aerialist, fire artist, Producer, Boss
Miranda is a founding member of Illuminair and has worked as an aerial and fire artist for 10 years. She specializes, as a soloist, on aerial hoop, cube, and chains, as well as fire fans and buugeng; and is also an artist in Illuminair’s duo hoop, triple trapeze, and trio cube acts.
Miranda is the producer of the “Nerdgasm” cabaret series, the mastermind behind Illuminair’s successful ‘cosplay circus’ shows, and is the co-producer of Impulse Events. Miranda headlined the "Snake Oil Festival,” held in New Orleans, in 2017 and has toured North America multiple times as a performing artist.
She is passionate about the promotion and support of circus arts, specifically in her home town of Toronto.