Emmanuel was proud to host The Petite Palace the first two weekends of November 2018.

 

 

The Petitie Palace regulars Nelson Pivaral and his wife, Goulia Rozyeva perform together in a breathtaking duo hand-to-hand acrobatics act. They have been working together for 24 years. In the intricacy of their act and the synchronicity of their movements, the experience shows.

 

But what is really moving about watching them perform isn’t just their incredible strength, balance and grace, it’s knowing where they have come from to get to that lovely place on stage together.

 

 

Nelson grew up in Guatemala.

 

His mother worked multiple jobs, struggling to keep food on the table for her two boys.

 

One day, the circus came to town and the young boys found themselves hanging around, trying to see the action.

 

The owner of the circus offered them money to clean up the garbage left behind by patrons after the shows, a job they accepted gladly. When the boys came home with their earnings, their mother demanded to know where they had gotten the money, which was more in a day than she had made with her three jobs combined.

 

They told her about the circus and the next day she showed up with them, getting a job for herself as well. The rest, as they say, is history.

 

Nelson and his brother never left the world of the circus. They began to travel with the various circus shows and as they grew, begged the acrobats to teach them acrobatics so they too could become performers some day. The acrobats refused and so the boys took it upon themselves to learn by observation and trial and error.

 

Eventually, the boys managed to come up with their own hand-to-hand acrobatics act, and eventually, that act was hired by none other than the famous, Ringling Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth Circus.

 

They had made it.

 

Meanwhile, a young gymnast in Turkmenistan was dreaming of traveling the world with the circus.

 

Goulia worked tirelessly with her coaches but when she tried out for the Mongolian acrobatics team that was to be hired by Ringling Barnum & Bailey, at first they did not choose her.

 

That decision became a moot point when the team didn’t end up getting hired. The next year however, Ringling Barnum & Bailey’s Greatest Show on Earth did hire the Mongolian team and this time…

 

Goulia was their girl!

 

She was thrilled to be going to America but her parents, who she loved dearly, were not supportive. She sometimes speaks about the heartbreak of that moment when she walked out the door of her parent’s home and into her new life.

 

That boy from Guatemala and that girl from Turkmenistan met while touring the US with Ringling and fell in love.

 

 

A few years later, while living on a train and traveling all across the United States, Goulia gave birth very prematurely while in New York City.

The family welcomed their daughter, Sasha.

 

It was a frightening time for the couple, especially for Goulia who was in a hospital by herself in the time that Nelson had to continue traveling and working with the show, in a place where no one spoke her native language.

 

Both mother and baby recovered beautifully, however, and life on the train resumed for the young family.

 

About a year later, Nelson tragically lost his brother. Goulia left her Mongolian acrobatic troupe and she and Nelson moved on from Ringling and began working together as a duo.

 

As Sasha continued to grow, they discovered she had a natural ability for contortion. They began training her in contortion and handstands and at the age of 8, Sasha worked her first professional job.

 

Today, Sasha is known throughout the circus world as one of the most highly skilled contortion hand balancers in the world.

 

Her signature is shooting a bow and arrow with her toes while standing in a contorted position on her hands.

 

Over the years, the trio has traveled the world together performing in a plethora of shows, festivals, and special engagements while still making sure Sasha attended school as regularly as possible, earning her a graduation with honors from high school.

 

 

The Pivarals are based in Las Vegas where Nelson’s parents also now live and where Goulia teaches contortion hand balancing to students of all ages. They visit Goulia’s family in Turkmenistan as often as they can, though both her parents have passed on.

 

Faith has played a major role in their lives. Nelson, being from a Latin country, was no surprise, raised Catholic while Goulia came from a rather unique religious background: her father was Muslim and her mother Russian Orthodox Christian.

 

In Vegas they attend both Catholic and Russian Orthodox services, finding peace, and fellowship in both and Goulia has spoken of her admiration of her parents and their ability to respect each other’s religions and faith.

 

You don’t need to know all the wonderful and fascinating things about Nelson and Goulia to appreciate what they accomplish on stage. Their performance alone leaves audiences in awe. But knowing them, where they’ve come from, and who they are makes watching them just that much sweeter.