My Life Through Hoops... A Full Circle

By Elena Lev and Martin Frenette

This book is the true-life story of a little girl born in Moscow, Russia, in 1981 to a simple family of amazing gymnasts and performers. The girl lived and did not think that she would end up where she is today. Her two parents raised her without much help from their relatives, two parents who worked hard and traveled a lot, and were apart for a long time, just so they could provide and create a future for that one little girl. They thought of having more kids, but decided that they were going to give everything to her, just her, and create something wonderful and magical with her talents that she had started to develop in early age. They decided to do something completely different that no one had ever done before. The little girl was excited for the journey awaiting her.

And now what? Now . . . life! I want to live and experience it to its fullest, that's all! I love where I finally am in life, where I chose to live, and how things have taken a turn in the best and most unexpected way. I am done stressing, underestimating myself, and living in fear of what my body might do. I will turn 40 soon and have no interest in looking back, only in what lies ahead. I need and will find new ways to challenge myself, but have proven by going through so many hoops that I do not need one spinning on my foot to do so. This dream of opening my own restaurant first came to me in college and still lives within, and because of that idea, an ownership might be the next adventure. The road to get there will be long and I'll learn enough to write a whole other book, but it will be so worthwhile once I put the key inside my own door of something special to me, a door behind which I'll keep on speaking three languages and share my knowledge with those around me. Until this day comes, here are some parting pieces of advice: Dream big! Never look back! Never give up! Follow your heart and your goals, your passion and intuition! Succeed!

My name is Elena Lev, I am 40 years old, and this is My Life Story . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Jan 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9780228868781

Elena Lev

Elena Lev, born in Moscow, Russia, in 1981, began her training to become a rhythmic gymnast at an early age, assisted and coached by her mother, Elena Lev Sr. She developed a signature hula hoop act incorporating gymnastics and contortion. Her big breakthrough came when she was invited to join the Alegría touring troupe of Cirque du Soleil, of which she was a member from 1994 through 2000. She also performed briefly with the Quidam troupe in 2002. Lev performed with Cirque du Soleil's Wintuk at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Zumanity in Las Vegas, The Oscars in 2002 and many more worldwide events and galas. Living in the United States for many years, Elena now lives in Canada where she found her home and love after returning from tour a few years ago.

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 by Elena Lev

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-0-2288-6877-4 (Paperback)

978-0-2288-6878-1 (eBook)

This book is dedicated to

my parents who are my biggest supporters—and my biggest critics—of all time. No matter how strange or how distant our relationship has been in the past, I know you have always believed in me and been proud of me. You pushed me to the limit, judged me, and criticized me. I was never good enough for you despite everything I was doing or achieving, but I know that it was all just to push me to get to the point where I am now. I thank you both, and I know that you love me unconditionally for who I am, and I do too;

my daughter, the one I live for. I look at you every day and keep going. I know that, because of you, I cannot give up. I am not allowed;

my fans around the world who keep me going with their support, motivation, love, comments, and interest in what I do. Because of you, I started something I never thought I would—this book. Through it, I can now share my life story with all of you.

Table of Contents

Author picture

Acknowledgements

Introduction

My Family

Me

The Process

First Time in the Ring

Passion for Life

Magical Moments

Departure

Cirque du Soleil: The Beginning

Montreal

My Journey to Cirque du Soleil

Alegría

Integration

School Life and Growing Up

From Festivals to Japan and more

Europe

Biloxi, Las Vegas, Sydney

Quidam and the Oscars

Las Vegas and Freelancing

My House, My Life, and Becoming a Mother

Too Many Shows: My First Surgery

Empire: Another Challenge

Zumanity

On Call

Moving On

Alegría: The Comeback

Rebirth

Pause and Reboot

Rising to the Occasion

A Life-Changing Experience

Here and Now—the Choice

Life

Tattoo Drawing Picture

Tattoo: My Life Story

My Picture with Hula Hoops

Me and My Daughter Picture

Author Closing Picture

Original Photography by Yves Decoste,

(Except for the Baby family picture taken in 1981)

Tattoo drawing by Varvara Lev

Cowriter Martin Frenette.

Acknowledgements

Many people have provided support and inspiration to me during my life. Without them, I would not have been able to write this story. I would like to thank:

My friend, Kristina, the godmother of my daughter. You are the only one who never judged me. You became my friend at a very young age and were following in my footsteps. But then you grew up into this amazing woman and friend. You are not always there in person, but you are always there in spirit—forever understanding and loving, and never harmful, negative, gossipy, or judgmental. You are a true friend, always and forever;

My other forever best friend, Elena. We have been friends from near and far for the past twenty years. This is the kind of true friendship that I know will never end. There is no judgment or hard feelings, only truth and support for one another;

My godmother—also an amazing artist and performer in the past— who is a wonderful, true friend and supporter, no matter what, no strings attached. You are the person who I sometimes don’t see for more than a year, but I know I can always turn to you for anything. You have always been kind to me;

Anna, my angel and spiritual guide. You came into my life unexpectedly and helped me get through a lot of rough times. You helped me to find myself, see myself for who I really am, and love myself first. Your true friendship and spiritual guidance initiated an awakening in my soul and personality that continues today;

My Karapylka, the one and only, my cousin and sister at heart. I will not say much, because you know exactly what I would want to say to you. We unfortunately lost so much time when we grew apart, but I am grateful for what we have gained since we reconnected. It is priceless and forever;

Joe, you became an amazing friend and supporter; you have always listened to me and have been there for me. You are the one who made me believe that I am a princess and that I deserve the best. You will always be my friend;

and last but not least, my guardian angels: my grandfather and grandmother.

Introduction

It is my hope that this book illustrates not only the passion and dedication it takes to be a performer, but also how to persevere and attain your goals and dreams. I also hope that it serves to support, motivate, and inspire young performers—especially young women and mothers—from all artistic fields. This book is not just for athletes; my story includes lessons that I hope people from all different professions will find useful and beneficial.

This book tells the true, life story of a little girl who was born in Moscow, Russia in 1981 to two amazing gymnasts and performers. That girl never thought she would end up where she is today. Her parents raised her with little help from their families; they worked hard, traveled a lot, and were apart for long periods of time just so they could provide for that little girl and create a future for her. They considered having more kids but chose to focus on her and to try to create something wonderful and magical with the talents she started to exhibit at an early age. They decided to do something completely different and unique—something that no one had ever done before. The little girl was excited for the journey that awaited her.

My name is Elena Lev. I am forty years old, and this is my life story.

My Family

It was 1980 when my parents, both young and innocent, met each other in Moscow, Russia. It was first love and love at first sight for both of them, and they were married six months later on February 20, 1981. In fact, they were ready to get married three months into their relationship, but the rules in Russia would not allow it. At that time, couples had to apply to the marriage counsel and then wait for about three months. They were very young—about twenty and twenty-three years old—and were both students and high-performance gymnasts; they were ready to tie the knot and start their big journey together. Almost exactly nine months after the wedding, on December 1, 1981, I arrived: 3.8 kilograms and 53 cm long. My mom really wanted a boy and to name him after my dad: the only man she was ever in love with (and still is to this day—forty years later). But my dad wanted a girl and to name her after his wife, my mother, and also his grandmother. So here I am, Elena Lev Junior. My mother was twenty-one years old when she had me and still in her last year of university; my father was twenty-three and about to quit gymnastics, the big sport, which he was pretty amazing at and at the top of his league. He was part of one of the biggest gymnastics clubs in Moscow—the CSKA—but he decided to finally quit the big sport and switch to a career in the circus. I believe my mother was a little shocked, but she was not against it. They were always the couple that thought alike—together, always and forever, no matter what. At that time, I was about one year old, and we lived in a three-bedroom apartment with my dad’s father, my grandfather. My parents and I stayed in our little room, which was very small and narrow as I recall. My grandfather was in another room, and there was a living room where we would all hang out, play, talk, eat, and watch TV.

My grandfather used to play silly games with me. One of my favorites involved him putting me in a nylon grocery bag, a potato bag as we would call it; he would carry me and swing me in it up and down—I loved it. He would always give me candy and read lots of books and stories to me. He was also an amazing painter and photographer. He would paint pictures of nature with oils and take black and white photographs, which he would develop himself using our bathroom as a darkroom. He also loved music and had lots of old records. He had a funny mustache and always wanted to give me a warm, wet smooch. I never liked that part, but he was someone who always loved me, believed in me, and was proud of me until his last day. I was the last person in my family to see him alive on December 28, 2017. I came to visit that year for Christmas and New Year’s Eve to see my family. I had this feeling that I needed to see him one last time, and my gut feeling was unfortunately right. I saw him that day for a few hours as planned, but he was in pain and so I had to send him off to the hospital where he later died. It was terribly sad, but I was happy that I got to see him that one last time, and that he waited for me. Along with some other family members, I buried him on December 31, 2017.

I never knew my paternal grandmother as she became ill and passed away before my parents even got married. I believe my mother had the chance to meet her a few times. My father also has a younger sister, who did not live with us, but occasionally came to visit with her husband and her daughter, my cousin Karapylka, as we know her today. Karapylka and I were never very close growing up and did not see much of each other as we lived in different places. We grew apart over time as we each followed our own paths but have since grown closer as adults.

I have two cousins on my mother’s side: a boy and a girl. I was close to the girl, Yana, until I was about fourteen. We were closer because we would visit my mother’s family more often, and spend time on the weekends with her parents, my other grandparents, while my father was traveling with the circus. My maternal grandmother was a great cook and also loved to knit and sew. We would always eat plenty of delicious food when we would visit and receive something cute and new to wear. She would make us colorful summer dresses or knit us some warm sweaters and socks for the winter. My maternal grandfather was also a very special person. He was quiet but very funny. He loved to make jokes and play with me and my cousin. He was a great warrior and soldier in the Second World War, and he crossed all the way from Moscow to Berlin between 1941 and 1945. He was shot three times and the bullets remained in one of his legs. He loved fishing and worked in one of the biggest newspaper printing presses. He would bring us fruit and other yummy food from work when it was a very hard time in the 1980s. As a veteran, he would get special treatment and would spend summer vacations with my grandmother outside of Moscow; we would all gather together to go visit them. Unfortunately, he died in