Meet Jason Berrent | Producer/Former Cirque du Soleil Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jason Berrent and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jason, why did you pursue a creative career?
Artists were meant to inspire and I was so inspired by so many from stage to screen. I remember being a kid and watching my first Cirque du Soleil show and I knew that is exactly what I wanted to do with my life. In today’s world, we need to stories that inspire us and artists to tell those stories. I knew I wanted to be a part of that!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career began competing for the US National Team in Trampoline & Tumbling. This led to an exciting career performing in Cirque du Soleil. Not only does performing take a lot of you, performing with Cirque really takes a toll on the body. There were many challenges along the way, especially maintaining the level of performance nightly while also acknowledging what your body is telling you. When you miss that, you get hurt. I’ve had multiple injuries I’ve had to overcome, some could have been prevented, others not so much. It’s very easy to give up at this point, but more rewarding to push through and hurdle over it. As an artist, it’s devastating to be told NO or that you can’t do something.

The biggest lesson I learned performing was to always keep going! Never, ever give up. Challenges can be lessons that you carry with you for the rest of your life. There will always be a hurdle, a bad audition, slip up… but that’s OK because it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it and how you choose to overcome it. Choosing to move forward gives you an open space where possibilities are unknown.

My experience with Cirque and touring the world really helped me gather a unique perspective on the world. This has helped me in my career producing projects and promoting talent. The idea of pushing forward when things get tough is no easy feat, but it is very rewarding!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Besides the typical tourist spots in LA (Hollywood Sign, Walk of Fame, Santa Monica Pier) which everyone should see once. There are so many hidden gems. Monday night is SuperSoul Monday hosted by Jason Josephs, where you can see some of the best musicians in the business jam out when they’re not touring. Chef Marcos Spaziani from Below Deck fame, just opened an exciting new restaurant in DTLA. And who wouldn’t want a night out at some of the hottest West Hollywood hot spots- The Abbey, IssimaLA and Bottega Louie.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Grandmother, who just passed away, called me out sick from school and took me to my first Cirque du Soleil audition when I was 15. She always pushed me to pursue and live my dreams. I miss her very much.

Website: https://jasonberrent.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/downwithjason

Twitter: https://twitter.com/downwithjason