Andrii_Bondarenko
Andrii Bondarenko
Balance expert
Andrii Bondarenko is a Ukrainian acrobat and a balance expert: he is known a solo hand balancer. In 2003 he was selected to be on the National team of Sport Acro in the Ukraine. He has worked with Cirque du Soleil since 2014.[1] He is a two time Gold Medal winner at the Acrobatics World Championships.[2]
Andrii Bondarenko | |
|---|---|
| Born | Andrii Bondarenko (1986-03-01) March 1, 1986 (age 38) Nikolaev, Ukraine, Soviet Union |
| Citizenship | Ukraine |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2003-present |
| Height | 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) |
Bondarenko began his career in balancing and acrobatics in 2003 when he was selected to be on the National team of Acro dance in the Ukraine.[1] He competed and won several world championships awards for his work in Acrobatics. Bondarenko competed as a member of the Ukraine's National Team and he won Silver in 2004 and Gold in 2005 and 2006 at the Acrobatics World Championships.[2]
In 2012 the Andrii and Oleksandr Bondarenko began traveling the world with a Cirque company.[3] Andrii is known as a flyer in Cirqu du Soleil's production.[2] In the show Bondarenko performed a hand-balancing act called "Upside Down World". Bondarenko would build a chair tower and perform feats of balance and strength while precariously balanced upside down on the chairs.[4][5] He has worked with Cirque du Soleil as one of their best balance performers.[6] Since 2014 he has also assisted with their stage productions.[1]
Bondarenko grew up in the small town of Nikolaev, Ukraine.[1] He and his brother Oleksandr began performing a sport called Adagio (acrobatics) when they were ten years old. The two brothers lifted weights and practiced balancing.[3]
- Silver at the World Championships in France (2004)[2]
- Gold at the World Cup, Belgium (2005)[2]
- Gold at the VII World Games for non-Olympic sports (2005), Germany[2]
- Bronze at the X International Circus Festival City of Latina performing as part of the "Men in Black" troupe, Italy (2008)[2]
- Silver at the VIII Moscow International Youth Festival-Contest in the Circus Arts Russia (2009)[2]
- Merited Master of Sports (the highest distinction in the sport in the Ukraine)[2]
- Presidential Order of Merit[2]
- Lloyd, Joseph (5 December 2019). "Andrii Bondarenko: The Worldclass Hand Balancer". The Next Rush Magazine. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- "Meet Andrii Bondarenko, The Acrobat Winning Making A Splash Working With Cirque Du Soleil". Latestly.com. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- Pandolfi, Elizabeth (27 March 2013). "How Cirque du Soleil's the Bondarenko Brothers train for the stage". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- Adler, Tony (12 August 2015). "Cirque du Soleil is thrilling again". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- "Cirque du Soleil's 'Kurios' is more fun than Christmas morning". Miami Herald. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
- Zinko, Carolyne (19 December 2014). "Cirque du Soleil inspires flights of finery for New Year's Eve". Hearst Communications, Inc. SF Gate. Retrieved 22 July 2020.