In this iconic interview, multidisciplinary artist and athlete Jared Khalifa talks about what inspired his journey from capoeira, to tumbling, to music, theatre, dance, and now Cirque du Soleil! Jared goes on a deep dive revealing his favourite discipline, how he's overcome setbacks, and the biggest lessons he has learned as a young professional artist.
Jared is a multidisciplinary artist and athlete, born and raised in Vancouver. Jared's interests in music and movement first sparked while training in capoeira, leading him to pursue gymnastics, dance, voice and musical theatre.
As a tumbler, Jared has competed globally - representing Canada at three World Age Group Championships, earning two World Cup Silver medals, twelve National Championship medals and three Canadian titles. While competing on the international stage, Jared was featured for two seasons as a VIP athlete at the All Star Games live spectacle. Alongside his gymnastics career, Jared continued to work in the theatre industry and has been seen in productions such as Beauty and the Beast (The Arts Club), Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat (Royal City Musical Theatre), the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and live appearances in concert with Barry Manilow, Foreigner and Eric Church with the group Showstoppers.
In 2015, Jared was scouted by Cirque Du Soleil and offered a select position at Cirque IHQ in Montreal. Shortly after beginning a position in their professional training program, he accepted a contract for the arena touring show OVO, as a part of the original recreation cast.
Following his time on tour, Jared dove into the Film and Television industry as a dancer, actor and stunt performer. Some of his notable credits include Schmigadoon (Apple TV), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Paramount Pictures), Bring It On: Cheer or Die (Syfy) Descendants 3 (Disney), The Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina (Netflix), Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (NBC), Christmas Chronicles II (Netflix), Motherland: Fort Salem (Freeform/Hulu), Cinderella Story: A Christmas Wish (Warner Bros), video games with EA Games and more.
In 2021, after a global casting produced by Cirque Du Soleil, Jared was humbled to join the cast of Mystère in Las Vegas, and be one of the few people in the show's history to play the lead character of Red Bird. You can follow along on Jared's journey and the casting process in the Cirque Du Soleil produced docuseries, In Search of the Red Bird.
In tandem to his stage and screen career, Jared is a passionate teacher and performance industry advocate. He has taught for internationally recognized dance and acrobatic curriculums, led teacher- training programs, and been on faculty at a variety of conventions. Jared holds a position on the UBCP/ACTRA Dance and Choreography committee – representing artists and bringing awareness to the importance and value of dancers and choreographers in Film and Television.
Follow Jared on Instagram: @jared_khalifa