People always ask what it’s like to live in Vegas. For most people Vegas is the place you come and live big for a hot minute and then beat feet back to where you came from.  However, for those of us staying in Vegas not just Friday-Saturday-Sunday, but Monday through Thursday too, it turns out that being a local puts you in a wildly diverse nucleus of people that are as talented as the strip is glitzy.

Case in point number one: Meet Anja.

Five nights a week, two shows a night, Anja balances on her head while swinging through the air on a washington trapeze, 30+ feet high over a pool of water. That among other acrobatics, aerially suspended feats and unicycling. No, she’s not a stripper. She’s a world class athlete, artist and performer. To see her perform is to see magic. She also speaks five languages, has great style and is interested in world news as much as art.

Extraordinary friends like Anja are part of what makes Las Vegas such an amazing place to call home. That, and the fact that my neighborhood gym is the size of Costco and the workout rooms are covered in neon. Oh, and whatever the craziest, most world record breaking event and celebrity dramas unfold just down the street.

Anja is from Switzerland, the daughter of a composer and a classical pianist and at 14-years-old she went to circus school. She has been performing as an acrobat in shows around the world ever since and has been the lead female character in Cirque Du Soleil’s “O” at the Bellagio since it opened in 1998.

Anja and my other Cirque friends inspire me to no end. We have dreamed up some fabulous photo ideas together over wine and T&Ts the last few years but have not had the chance to act on many of them, yet. One of my biggest excitements about making the transition to freelance is the ability to make time to experiment and play more creatively – in addition to working on other more structured personal projects.

I’m looking forward to sharing these photographic play sessions along the way. For now, meet Anja. If you visit Las Vegas it’s worth every cent to go see her and the incredible cast of “O” at the Bellagio.