Nazi Shiraï

Juggler

By Dominique Jando

Born May 1, 1926 in Kurdistan, Nazi Aleksandrovna Shiraï was orphaned at a young age and was adopted by the celebrated Russian acrobats, Aleksandr and Maria Shiraï (1898-1984 and 1904-1979, respectively) in Tbilisi, Georgia, where she had fallen asleep in front of the circus. She was originally trained by her adoptive parents, and finished her apprenticeship at the Studio for Variety Arts in Moscow. The original juggling act that made her famous was directed by K. Kulieshov, with a choreography by E. Grikurova, and it premiered in 1954.

Shirai's act was performed in traditional Georgian costume, and made use of folkloric tambourines. An outstanding artist, she juggled seven rings, 8 tambourines, nine balls, and combinations of balls and tambourines. She performed extensively in the USSR after WWII, and was made Artist Emeritus of the Armenian Socialist Republic in 1956.

See Also

• Video: Nazi Shiraï, juggling act (excerpts), at the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, Moscow (1966)