Owner, Executive Producer, Acrobat

Born in Mainland China, Yan Yan Zhao comes from an esteemed four generations of Chinese acrobats. As a young child she was taught the many skills of Chinese acrobatics from her father, famous for his bicycle act. She is proud of achieving the title of 'First Class Acrobat' in China.

At the tender age of eleven, her highly developed skills had her featured in a gala performance for American President Richard M. Nixon on his historic visit to Beijing.

In 1986, she performed the bicycle act with her brother and won the gold medal "Prize of the Republic" at the "International Festival of the Circus of Tomorrow" in Paris, France. It was there that she was recruited for the first North American tour of Cirque Du Soleil.

Yan Yan continued to perform live and on numerous television specials, including performances at many famous US venues including Walt Disney World's Epcot Center, Sea World, Circus Circus MGM International Resort in Reno and Las Vegas. To date she has appeared in over 48 countries around the world.

Falling in love with the American lifestyle, in April 2000, Yan Yan was granted US citizenship for her 'extraordinary ability' and later took residence in Las Vegas. This was the perfect location to create her dream of a new entertainment company that would share the artistic and skilled Chinese acrobats with American audiences. Her extensive and impressive background as a highly skilled gold medalist acrobat in China, her ability to speak English, Chinese, and Japanese enabled her to bring this dream to life.

In her show CHI OF SHAOLIN-THE TALE OF THE DRAGON, Yan Yan worked with long-time friend Guy Caron as artistic director. "He helped to bring the show in my mind to life on stage. Each day I learned from his amazing creative talents."

In 2014 Yan Yan returned to China to work on a brand-new show she had in her mind for many years. She searched a year to find the very best female acrobatic talents for her new show concept called DRAGON LADIES. Having created so many shows with Chinese artists and themes, Yan Yan has become interested in creating a show staged with performers and themes from other Asian countries. In this way, the show being performed in 2020 has become more internationalized to give the audiences new perspectives. Yan Yan says, "I always wanted to create a show with an all-female cast that combines their physical beauty with amazing acrobatic skills." "It’s a unique combination of strength and beauty and I knew it would be beautiful to watch these women perform their magical skills".

Having worked with high-achieving directors such as Guy Caron, Franco Dragone and others, Ms. Zhao has obtained great inspiration from them. Based on the achievement of successful evening galas with Chinese cultural elements, Ms. Zhao’s horizon was broadened and she has absorbed cultural ideas from such Asian countries as Japan, Vietnam, China and Taiwan in creating the outstanding show of “Touch of Asia” which was performed by eight superb Asian acrobats in Branson. Every time the show came to an end, there was standing ovation.

Ms. Zhao continues to expand her company to now bring new American produced shows to her homeland of China and the rest of Asia. "I want to share the beauty of both cultures and give new opportunities to young performers, just as had been given to me."