“People stand with their feet on the ground and their heads up. For acrobats, it is the exact opposite. Their heads are down, their feet are up, and with them they seek balance, harmony and beauty. They overcome both their own fears and those of the audience.”
This statement on Krasimir Vasov’s website made us all the more curious about him and the other talented equilibrists performing every night at the STRAT Theater. Who are these daredevils? What are their stories? We asked three of them —different backgrounds, different nationalities, different skills, one common passion. But we didn’t ask them on stage, after the curtain call for “the sexiest show in Vegas.” Instead, we ventured out to Jean Dry Lake, about half hour from Las Vegas, for this desert-inspired editorial.
We had seen Denys, James and Krasimir captivate the audience with Rouge and bring our erotic fantasies to life; can they heat up the desert too?
KRASIMIR VASOV
Krasimir was born in Bulgaria in 1999. “My parents enrolled me in gymnastics. I was like 8 years old, and I was fascinated by all the tricks the adults were doing. It was very exciting, because they were doing all kinds of flips, splits, jumps, and I wanted to be like them. In the beginning it was presented to me more like a game, so it was fun. Parallel with the gymnastics, I was dancing modern ballet and break dance.
My circus career started on the street: I was doing street shows with friends of mine and I was spotted by a former artist who saw a big potential in me and proposed to train me. He got me started with different genres. But I fell in love with handstand because of my background in gymnastics. We began doing small shows in my hometown, then we did our first trip to Spain and this is where I got my first paycheck —where I started working in front of an audience. That was very exciting for me. Later on, I built my own act and I started traveling around the world and participating in the festivals and winning awards —which made me meet the agents who helped me grow in my career.”
Instagram: @krasimir_vasov
JAMES MURDUCA
James is from Jersey City, NJ. “My artistic journey started a little bit late. When I was 27, I was going to a CrossFit gym in Florida and one of the members invited me to a circus gym. He was working at Disney World, and he basically trained me and taught me everything I know in terms of performing. I love music, so anytime I hear a song that inspires me… Performing is my way of making up for my musical limitations and being able to express myself through that.”
Instagram: @jamesonchains
DENYS SHCHERBII
Denis is from Ukraine —the Donetsk region. “It’s now occupied 100%. My hometown was destroyed, my family moved from there to a safer region of Ukraine. When the war started, I was in Dubai —I had a contract there as a choreographer and assistant manager. I moved to Canada, to Toronto. I lived there for one year but there’s not a lot of entertainment there. A friend of mine invited me here to Vegas, I did the show WOW and the company offered me Rouge just a couple of months ago. At some point, I’d like to go back to Ukraine to visit with my parents and my family… I have a son there.”
Instagram: @denyshcherbii
What does Rouge mean to you?
KRASIMIR: I love Rouge. I’ve been in many different shows around the world, but I really love the energy and the vibe of the show here. I love the team, I love how the artistic director combines so many different themes —from ancient Rome to Versailles.
JAMES: I visited Vegas for the first time in 2020 and I saw two of the shows out here and I was extremely inspired. I had a dream in that moment that I wanted to come to Las Vegas and perform, and I was super happy that Rouge picked me up, because I absolutely love the show —I think it’s the perfect fit for me and, even though we work really hard, I enjoy every minute.
What are the specific challenges of being on stage with Rouge?
JAMES: They ask us to do things that we might need to learn a little bit. Juggling isn’t my specialty, but when I got the role they asked me to be a juggler, and I worked with a coach and now I juggle dildos every night. Things happen on stage in the moment and we need to respond directly, so you don’t really have time to think whether our positioning is off a little bit. We’ll always need to respond, make sure we ourselves are being safe and we’re being safe for the other cast members.
DENYS: Giving 100% of your energy to the audience. Doesn’t matter if you’re not in the mood or you’re sick or you’re injured. I wanna stay here in Vegas for a while. In fact, I hope it’s my last stop. I love the city and I love this show.
Acrobatic feats, hand balancing, quick costume changes: How do you manage, night after night?
KRASIMIR: I guess the love towards the sport and the passion really help, because I don’t take it as a job, I truly enjoy it —every show for me is 100% enjoyment.
Do you keep in shape in between shows?
JAMES: I train regularly. I specialize in aerials, so I train at the circus gyms here. I coach seven classes a week as well and I and I still do CrossFit —once I started with Rouge, I picked it up again. So, I’m constantly moving and I’m also a technician, which involves some physical labor. All of my jobs in combination will contribute to my physical conditioning.
KRASIMIR: To be honest I used to train a lot when I was preparing my act: Almost every day, six days a week, three hours a day. But with time the shows themselves keep me in shape and allow me to skip some of the trainings.
More of Denys, James and Krasimir, exclusively on PLAYGIRL+
