Brandon Pereyda is a rare being in the Vegas entertainment scene, a born-and-raised Las Vegas native who performs in one of the most perennially popular production shows on the Strip. A self-trained aerialist, Pereyda has contributed one of the most thrilling acts in Cirque du Soleil’s “Zumanity” for almost 10 years now, flying above the stage and over the bewildered audience from his customized chain apparatus. It’s sexy and daring and beyond memorable, and for Pereyda, it’s still as intense as the very first time he took the Cirque stage.
“It’s still something I have to prepare for mentally for a couple hours every day and I still get nervous every single time,” he says. “But once I drop in it’s like this second persona kicks in, this rockstar inside of me just comes out and I’m like, okay, here we go. Then it’s over before I remember. It’s like being shot out of a cannon.”
We also talk with Brandon about growing up in Las Vegas at Palo Verde and Centennial high schools, dropping out of college to join Chippendales, breaking into the generational world of the circus arts, getting tied into knots while perfecting his first tissu act, getting the call from Cirque while pumping gas, the ever-present element of danger that comes with being an aerialist and much more.
EPISODE 6: THE VEGAS YOU NEED
Brandon shares one of his favorite restaurants for a late-night bite, Soyo on South Rainbow. Who knows? Maybe you’ll catch him there after a show. Buy him some soju.
{ SOURCE: Las Vegas Weekly }
