Lea Hinz
German aerial performer and director (born 1989)
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Lea Hinz (born 1989) is a German aerial performer, creative director and choreographer based in the United States. Hinz practiced rhythmic gymnastics while growing up, eventually becoming a six-time German national champion and a member of the German national team. As an adult, she transitioned into circus arts, specializing in the aerial hoop. She performed internationally, eventually settling in Las Vegas. Since the 2020s, Hinz has worked as a creative director and choreographer for films and stage productions.
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Lea Hinz | |
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Hinz in 2021 | |
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37) Göttingen, Lower Saxony, West Germany |
| Occupations | Aerial performer, creative director, choreographer |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | leahinz |
Early life
Lea Hinz was born in 1989 in Göttingen, West Germany.[1][2] Both her parents were doctors.[3]
Hinz began practicing rhythmic gymnastics at the age of eight and competed for TSV Obernjesa during her youth.[4] She achieved significant success in the sport,[3][2] winning the open competition at the Deutschland-Cup der Rhythmischen Sportgymnastik in 2006, an event considered the unofficial German national championship.[5][6] In total, she won the German national championship six times and was part of the German national team before withdrawing shortly before the 2008 Summer Olympics.[2][3] She wanted to retire from competitive gymnastics, but did go on a tour doing acrobatics with the Feuerwerk der Turnkunst (Firework of Gymnastics) troupe.[3]
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After graduating high school in 2008,[3] Hinz was about to start medical school in Berlin for neurology, but gave up her place when a director for a variety show offered her the opportunity to create an aerial acrobatics act.[2][7] At first it was only going to be for an hour, then for a year, before she returned to her studies, but it became her career.[3] Her father was initially dismayed, but approved of her choice when he saw how happy it made her.[2]
Aerial performer
Hinz performed contortion and aerial acrobatics for the GOP Varieté-Theater Hannover, including a 2011 performance in Hannover airport and onboard a special flight to and from the Canary Islands.[8] She gradually began to specialize in the aerial hoop, performing aerial acrobatics sometimes 10 meters (33 ft) off the ground.[7]
In September 2012, Hinz won 25,000 euros in the ZDF Germany's Superbrain television game show, by navigating a laser obstacle course while blindfolded.[9][3] In 2012 she performed aerial hoop in Gütersloh and at the Urbanatix street art festival in Bochum.[10][11]
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In 2013, Hinz began performing internationally. She joined the Canadian contemporary circus company The 7 Fingers, to create the act "Amuse" in Montreal and perform it in Mexico.[1][12] In 2014, she appeared in the La Soirée cabaret and variety show in New York City.[13] There she developed her solo act, "Girl in Jeans", portraying a self-confident young woman performing aerial hoop acrobatics in street clothes. The act became one of her signature performances.[3][14] She later performed it over 2000 times in the Absinthe circus show in Las Vegas, where she also developed a more sensuous act, "Mirror", where she performs in the hoop as she changes from a red evening dress to lingerie.[3]
In 2016, Hinz performed in Absinthe in Las Vegas,[15][16] at Teatro ZinZanni in Seattle,[17] and returned to Europe for performances with the Feuerwerk der Turnkunst touring troupe.[7] In 2017, she performed in La Soirée at the Aldwych Theatre in London,[14][18] and appeared on the La France a un incroyable talent (sometimes called France's Got Talent) French television show.[19]
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In 2018, Hinz began living in Las Vegas.[20] She was under contract with Absinthe at Caesars Palace, while continuing to tour internationally.[3][4] In 2021, she appeared on America's Got Talent.[21] She also performed at Teatro ZinZanni in Chicago in 2021, 2023 and 2024.[22][23][24] In 2022, she performed with the circus Flic Flac in Kassel, Germany.[4]
Director and choreographer
In 2021, during the shutdown of live entertainment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hinz created and directed Consciencia, a short film featuring multiple performers.[25] The film received the Silver Awards for Best Screendance Short and Best First Time Director (Female) from the Independent Shorts Awards in March 2022.[26] Her short film Nasty Infinity, which she both directed and starred in, received the Outstanding Achievement Awards for Microfilm and Experimental Short at the 2022 Indie Short Fest (Los Angeles International Short Film Festival).[27]
Over the 2022–23 New Year, in Kassel, Hinz realized that her time as a stage performer was running out, so she would need to move behind the scenes.[28] Her partner in Las Vegas had been staging an immersive reality show, "Speed of Dark", where the audience walks into the performance, and Hinz developed her own immersive performance concepts.[4]
In 2023, Hinz founded the entertainment company Cosmic Drama, through which she directs and choreographs immersive performance works based in Las Vegas.[1] The company's debut production, "After Dark", premiered in 2023 at the Las Vegas Circus Center and sold out its run.[28][29] It was followed by "Reflections", in 2023,[30] "Cloud 7" in 2024,[29][31] and "Dolls: Invitation to the Blues" in 2025.[32]
In addition to her own productions, Hinz has worked as a director and choreographer for other artists and companies. In 2021 she co-directed and choreographed a Feuerwerk der Turnkunst tour in Sweden.[33] In 2023 she and Carisa Hendrix co-directed the stage production "Shuffled" for magician Andi Gladwin.[34] In 2024 she worked as choreographer and director for the Particle Ink production "House of Shattered Prisms" at Luxor Las Vegas.[35]
