Simone Riccio, born in Naples on 22/08/1978, is a contemporary circus artist, creator and director of his own shows, expert in the German wheel, director and artistic director.

A graduate of the NUCT (New University of Cinema and Television in Rome), he won the award for best Director of Photography in 2001 and attended the Experimental Audiovisual Laboratories in Bologna, which led him to create and direct the music video for “Maestri sull’Altare” by Marina Rei and other well-known musicians, which was broadcast on MTV and various Italian TV channels.

It was in the same year that he began to see in contemporary circus, his passion since he was a boy, an opportunity to move from the role of director to that of leading actor, thus also becoming interested in the use of the body as a form of artistic expression.

In 2002, he decided to move to Madrid, graduating from the Carampa Esquela de Circo school and then to London, at the NCCA (National Centre of Circus Arts), specializing in German wheel and acro-balance. After four years of professional studies in England, he worked as a German wheel artist, acrobat, and dancer in Argentina at the Konex Cultural Center in Buenos Aires with the show Sanos y Salvos, by the la Arena company. Returning to Europe with Cristine Thevissen in Berlin, he formed the 360degrees company and, under the direction of Ruben Garcia, created the show “Around the Wheel,” which was presented at well-known festivals (e.g., Ratataplan, Non solo pezzi di legno…) and won the “Artist of the Year” award at the Strabilandia festival and the “Children’s Jury Award” at the International Kleinkunstfestval Userdorm.

For several years, during her free time from touring, she furthered her artistic training and attended numerous contemporary dance workshops, particularly in Berlin, Brussels, and London, in an ongoing quest to explore the use of the body in various aspects and learn from choreographers such as Roberto Olivan, Stella Zannau, David Lorec, Michael Lorn, and Rob Tannion. With the latter, artistic director of Cirque du Soleil, DV8, etc., she worked on the solo show “Nothing Moves If I Don’t Push It,” which won a competition from the Arts Council of England and was performed at the London International Mime Festival in 2012. She also received support from the Jackson Theatre in London and Nofistate Circus (a leading contemporary circus in Great Britain), with which she began collaborating as early as 2008, when she established a relationship with Firenza Guidi, participating in her Physical Theatre and performing arts workshops, and most importantly, working as an artist in many of her shows, particularly with Nofistate Circus.

From 2008 to 2011 Simone created two highly successful shows as a circus artist specializing in German wheel: “Labyrinth” at the Eden Project in Cornwall (2011) and “Tabu” (from 2008 to 2010) an international tour with hundreds of performances in European festivals and theaters (Round House Theatre in London and La Tohu Theatre in Montreal in Canada, Avignon Off festival in France, Zomer Festival, Antwerp, Belgium) and winner of the Total Theatre Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

After ten years, he returned to live in Italy and, upon his arrival, created and performed the solo show “UP!”. Over time, he received advice and collaborations from various exponents of the showbiz scene, but found his greatest satisfaction in the relationships he developed with the numerous audiences he met over the years. The show UP! won the Strabiliandia audience award for “best artist” in 2015 and has a long history of performances around the world (e.g., Tasmanian Circus Fest in Australia, Milano Clown Festival in Italy, The Ofakin Festival in Israel, Shambala Festival in the United Kingdom, Lisbon Busker Festival in Portugal, Tutti matti per Colorno in Italy, Pflasterspektakel in Austria, and Co I Piè Descalzi in Italy, etc.). UP! has been on tour since 2013.

Simone Riccio has worked in television for several commercials: Italians got talent, Greek got talent, Nugo, Trenitalia and in the production of major events such as: Roald Dahl’s City of the unexpected (UK), Aphrodite y el judicio de Paris de la Fura del Baus (IT), Burntman, Tangledfeet (UK), etc.

He took part as an artist in the opera “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” by Dmitrij Shostakovich at the San Carlo Opera House in Naples and at the Verdi Opera House with “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini, conducted by Daniel Oren.

With over 25 years of experience in circus, theater, film, and music, he has collaborated with international artists and musicians, and has participated in the production of numerous circus and music cabarets in London, Berlin, and Italy. Creator and organizer of EPIC Eventi Pazzeschi in Casa (a gathering of artists, musicians, and dancers), he plays the tenor horn in the “Banda Basaglia,” a cultural/musical association of wind instruments and percussion, where he is also artistic director.