Having claimed Team Jersey’s best finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games – sixth in the men’s all-round final – gymnast Daniel Lee set his sights on appearances at world and Olympic trials.
The Islander held big hopes as an elite athlete. He was making considerable progress towards national selection and he continued to fly the Jersey flag on big stages.
Injury in 2023 would ultimately end those hopes, but a glitzy silver lining away from the pommel and rings appears to have made amends.
Recruiters working for the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil troupe were impressed by Daniel’s gymnastics prowess and came calling from Las Vegas. They offered him a spot as a performer on “KÀ” – one of their headline shows – and since the summer of 2023 he has been a full-time Nevada resident, performing up to 475 times a year.
‘I planned to continue competing in gymnastics after Birmingham in 2022,’ Daniel explained. ‘There were conversations about joining the British national team but in February 2023 I tore a ligament in my finger. That’s when I started considering my options.
‘I applied to Cirque du Soleil and received an email inviting me to audition. I submitted about 15-20 minutes’ worth of videos showcasing the criteria they requested. They review audition tapes and add them to their database, contacting you when a suitable position becomes available. Essentially, you audition to be added to their database.
‘Towards the end of June, I received an email about a potential position, and two months later, I flew out to begin.’
Staged in the 1,950-seater KÀ Theatre at MGM Grand Hotel, the $165million KÀ production boasts a range of acrobatic feats, martial arts and pyrotechnics which draw crowds from across the globe.
The shows run ten times a week, and pushes performers to the limit.
‘One act I perform in is a tumbling routine. Another involves a large weighted boat that rocks back and forth while we jump off it, and one involves a vertical wall. Using a spinning harness with a cable, we perform flips and spins on the wall while it’s at a 90-degree angle.
‘In one climbing act, the stage spins 360 degrees and pegs shoot out for swinging on. At the end there’s a 60–70-foot free fall onto an airbag. It definitely gets the adrenaline pumping.
‘It’s somewhat like a normal job—but not entirely.
‘It’s very different from gymnastics, where you train extensively for one specific competition on one specific day to perform at your peak. Here, you need to be at your best for ten shows a week. It’s a significant shift in how you train and maintain your body. If new people are joining a specific act, we’ll have additional training for that. Some days, I start at 2pm and finish the second show by 11pm. On other days, I don’t train at all and just show up for the evening show at 6pm.
‘I’m naturally a night owl, so this schedule suits me. I’m really enjoying it here.’
Daniel has recently signed a new contract, which keeps him in Vegas until at least March 2026 but rules him out of competing for Jersey in Glasgow next July.
‘I loved training and competing for Jersey, and the experiences I had – especially representing Jersey in the Commonwealth Games – were incredibly special. I would have loved to continue doing that for as long as possible. But at some point you have to consider the bigger picture. Gymnastics isn’t a particularly lucrative career, to say the least.
‘While it’s bittersweet because I loved gymnastics and competing for Jersey, I’m also really enjoying what I’m doing now. The part of gymnastics I loved most was showcasing my skills, and now I get to do that every day.’