Bio
Maicon Clenk is an Italian-Brazilian illusionist, director and choreographer, with a consolidated career in the creation of original shows. He is the creator of the artistic language “Illusionist Theater,” and his works have been seen by over 20 million people live. Clenk combines the best of illusionism with a particular aesthetic that includes special effects, dramaturgy, and movement. His shows express themselves through body and visual language, communicating with a universal audience. With a multidisciplinary background, he integrates various artistic genres such as physical theater, dance, acrobatics, and illusionism to create magical worlds. His creations depict fantastic universes and challenge the laws of physics and the so-called reality.
Biography
When Clenk was eight years old he began his studies in theater and created magic tricks, produced and appeared as magicians and performers in events and theaters. As a teenager he had produced, directed and choreographed theater groups. He studied performing arts, circus and clown for more than twelve years, contemporary and classical dance in Brazil and on Broadway. He specialized in dance theater and physical theater and researched with renowned professionals from Brazil, the United States, France, Japan, Italy, Spain and Germany, including the group Pilobolus and the Family Floz. He professionalized as an illusionist, actor, dancer, aerial acrobat and has a degree in advertising, Clenk performed as an actor, dancer and acrobat in more than thirty award-winning shows and companies in Brazil. He created, directed and choreographed shows in partnership with some of the largest Brazilian production companies. He lived in the United States and Spain and nowadays he lives in Curitiba, Brazil.
In 2008 he inaugurated the Mish Mash, the official performance art show of the Curitiba Theater Festival, the Brazilian biggest theater festival. From 2009 to 2011, he was artistic and production director of the Beto Carrero’s World theme park, where he also created, directed and choreographed the musical “O Sonho do Cowboy” (2010- present) and the show “Blum” (2011). In 2012 he created with the renowned illuminator Peter Gasper at the Iporã Lenda Show space (2012-2018) in the city of Foz do Iguaçu. In 2016 Clenk created the Burlesque Paris 6 show house in one of the most famous streets of São Paulo, which host his BANQUETE show (2017 – 2018). In 2018 he created the special Christmas musical “TORQUE” (2018 – 2022), for the city of Curitiba which have been viewed for more than 50 thousand people in 2022 and closed the national festival “Diversão Em Cena”. In 2020 Clenk received from the Government of the State of Paraná the award “Recognition of Artistic Trajectory”. In 2022 he was the artistic director of the Curitiba Theater Festival opening ceremony, one of the most important in Brazil, celebrating 30 years of the Festival.
In 2005 he founded Maicon Clenk Illusionist Theater Company with the aim of developing contemporary illusionist authorial shows. In this period, Clenk began to integrate traditional illusionism into his artistic multidisciplinarity, which was further consolidated with each year. Clenk creates, directs and choreographs his shows in an integrated way, creating the dramaturgy of the figurines, scenography and illusionism effects. In some of his works he is also performer.
With his company’s first shows, “O Grande Show de Mágica” (2005 – 2011) and “É Tudo Ilusão” (2012 – 2016), Clenk stood out performing tours for some of the best theaters in Brazil as Guaíra Theater in Curitiba city, São Pedro Theater in Porto Alegre city, “Espaço HSBC Brasil” and Frei Caneca Theater in São Paulo city.
Maicon Clenk also received national recognition on Brazilian television such as Record TV, Globo TV and SBT. He was among the best illusionists in the world in the series “Mestres do Ilusionismo”.
Among his Illusionist Theater creations, Clenk stands out with the show “VIK” (2019 – 2022), the first solo in the world performed by a person with dwarfism actress and winner two “Gralha Azul” awards as the best show and the best actress in 2019, including nominees for the best direction, dramaturgy, costumes and lighting. The show toured in Brazil with seasons in important theaters such as the “Teatro Guaíra” in Curitiba and “Teatro Alfa” in São Paulo and participated in the “Sem Barreiras” Arts Festival promoted by the São Paulo City Hall.
With “POLARIS” (2023), the illusionist theater spectacle inside the giant crystal globe, achieved two Brazilian records as the first show performed inside a globe and the largest globe in Brazil, and received the ABRASCE trophy for the best event in Brazil. Polaris toured through some of the main theaters in Brazil and has already been watched by 70,000 people.
Clenk directed and choreographed more than five thousand artists of different nationalities. He brings the best of illusionism, increasing a particular aesthetic that has special effects, dramaturgy and movement. His shows are expressed through body and visual language, communicating with a universal audience. His shows materialize fantastic universes, challenging the laws of physics and the so-called reality. This new artistic expression of illusionism was named by Clenk as “Illusionist Theatre”.