Lea hinz

About

I was born in the small town of Goettingen in the center of Germany.

I’ve always enjoyed movement and music but when I had to make a choice between intensifying my training in rhythmic gymnastics or my piano lessons I decided to opt for the former. I thought this was the best way to combine my two passions.

Soon, I made it into Germany’s National Team and was awarded National Champion six times. I competed in a generation when elegance and long lines where especially demanded, which was a good fit for me. Already at a young age I was known for aiming for technical precision and for taking high risks. And yes, my favorite apparatus was the hoop.

It was in 2006, while finishing my career as a competitive gymnast, when I first joined Feuerwerk der Turnkunst, Europe’s biggest touring show under the direction of Heidi Aguilar. The feeling of performing for a grateful audience left me amazed. I fell deeply in love with presenting my skills on stage but I didn’t think it would ever become my profession. I had always planned on becoming a doctor like my parents because the combination of humanism and science excited me. When I was looking for an apartment in Berlin in order to start studying there I got an offer from GOP, a known German cabaret chain with several theaters all over the country and decided to accept it. I postponed my studies and built my first acts based on my skills from rhythmic gymnastics. I did contortion, danced on points and juggled props over people’s heads.

The circus arts and acrobatics surrounding me made me wish to try out something new though. I wanted to work in the air. I was especially tempted to explore movements on an aerial hoop so I decided to have one made in the dimensions I wanted and started training.
In order to broaden my horizons I flew to Montreal where I created my first aerial act called "Bloodstream". I kept developing this act and acquiring new skills while touring the cabarets in Germany over the next years. In 2012 I was honored to present "Bloodstream" in my first big production Urbanatix under the direction of Christian Eggert which was a great motivation to keep evolving.

In 2013 I was fortunate enough to join the famous French-Canadian company Les 7 Doigts de la Main. The creation of the show Amuse in Canada and its presentation in Mexico were my first job outside of Germany. It encouraged me to train further in circus disciplines and to dive deeper into acting and character work – and from this point on I knew I wanted to keep performing.

I developed my well recognized act called "Jeans" which portrays female independance, freedom and strength. It led me to performing a season with La Soirée in New York City and afterwards to a run of almost two years with Absinthe, the #1 hit show in Las Vegas where it was performed more than 1500 times.

Feeling in need of change during this long contract I reinvented my stage personality and created the act "Mirror", painting the image of dreamlike elegance and fragility, which I first presented at Feuerwerk der Turnkunst. It was pure joy to return to this show I had joined as a teenager and an honor to accept the offer of the company to keep working with them as a choreographer and director. Following that, I marked my directorial debut at the International German Gymnastics Festival, crafting an enthralling arena show for 17000 spectators.

In 2016 I joined Teatro ZinZanni where I learned to love the world of dinnershows. I presented several acts and got to experiment with audience participation and interactive character work during our three-hour-long show.

It was in 2017 when the street arts show Urbanatix called me back and asked me to perform in an act with powermover PetAir. We decided to pursue this idea and to explore the combination of breakdance and aerial acrobatics. Together with b-boy Lil’Amok we founded our project "ArtCore" and got chosen to present our act at the world renowned circus festival Cirque de Demain in Paris 2018.

In summer 2018 I moved back to US where I performed my aerial solo in Absinthe Vegas until the pandemic hit. While the world stood still my urge to create was stronger than ever before and I found video production to be an excellent outlet. I wrote concepts, directed shoots, choreographed movement and edited footage – these endeavors were garnered recognition through multiple prestigious awards such as Best First Time Director by Independent Shorts Awards for my short film “Consciencia“.

When live entertainment made its comeback, I spearheaded the reopening of Broadway Chicago alongside the accomplished cast of Teatro ZinZanni. Simultaneously, I continued to conquer new creative territories by inventing a new aerial apparatus as well as a new performance discipline which now is referred to as Vertical Contortion. In addition to writing shows across various genres, I also took on the responsibility of choreographing acts for fellow artists.

In 2023, I founded my entertainment company, Cosmic Drama. Our debut production, "After Dark," premiered that summer as an immersive show at the Las Vegas Circus Center, enjoying a sold-out run. Following this success, we quickly moved forward with the outdoor experiment "Reflections." In 2024, we elevated our game with "Cloud 7," another immersive show at the Las Vegas Circus Center, which was met with great public acclaim.

Since 2021 I am working as a creative consultant, choreographer and stage director for Teatro ZinZanni and Particle Ink, an immersive entertainment company that blends cutting edge technology with live performance. I am passionate about creating transformative experiences, both for audiences and performers, by highlighting the depth of human connection, emotion and skill. I have faith in the potential of merging established genres into unprecedented fusions. I believe in the power of collaboration and communication and I hope for many more opportunities to share my creative vision with the world.