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Armando Farfan and Stephanie Costello practice one of their acrobatic maneuvers suspended 35 feet over the dance floor at Studio 54. Photo by Christine H. Wetzel. Armando Farfan and Stephanie Costello perform their act, the Living Art of Armando and Stephanie, four nights a week at the nightclub. Photo by Christine H. Wetzel.

Sunday, July 15, 2001
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Daring duo presents wild 'living art' at Studio 54

Circus background comes in handy when walking on walls, performing aerial gymnastics

Hanging from a chain 35 feet above the floor may sound like a medieval form of punishment but to Armando Farfan and Stephanie Costello, it's pure bliss.

Known as the Living Art of Armando and Stephanie, Farfan and Costello perform four nights a week at Studio 54 in the MGM Grand.

They entertain and dazzle crowds by walking on the walls, bungee jumping from the ceiling, doing aerial gymnastics at the end of a chain and performing wild stunts, all while scantily clad in tight body suits or racy bikinis. And with no safety net below.

What they do is not for the faint of heart and is not as easy as the former circus performers make it look.

"We bring a whole sort of decadence back into the nightclub. When I say decadence, I mean we get away with a lot!" Farfan says, laughing. "It's not the kind of act you would do for kids."

Farfan is talking about the more adult parts of their act, as well as the costumes. For the double trapeze act, Costello wears nothing more than a 6-foot piece of chiffon, definitely not a costume found in most circuses.

The two started doing the show at Studio 54 in 1998, but Farfan, 32, and Costello, who declined to give her age, have known each other for the past 12 years.

Costello was introduced to Farfan and his family during a visit to Club Med, where she learned the trapeze.

"They would show tapes of professionals to demonstrate how to do tricks," Costello says. The tape she watched featured the Flying Farfans. "They looked like ballerinas in the air and I thought, `Wow it would be so cool to fly trapeze with them.' "

A short time later she got her wish when the Flying Farfans were looking for a new performer in 1987. For the next four years, Farfan and Costello lived the circus life, performing and working from sunrise to sunset.

"I saw myself heading toward a career in banking," Costello says. "My dad always wanted me to be an international banker, and unfortunately, I showed a knack for math. But I just always wanted to express myself artistically."

Her mother and father weren't happy about her decision to join the circus, but in the end supported it.

"It was horrible; my dad was furious and my mom cried," Costello says. "My dad was freaked out but then my mom said if it was something I wanted, to do it."

Born into a circus family, Farfan didn't have to run away to join the circus. He started performing with his family at the age of 6. He was even the subject of a 1979 children's picture book, "A Very Young Circus Flyer," by Jill Krementz.

"We were imbedded into the circus life. Four generations on my father's side and five generations on my mother's," Farfan says. "We were brought up with a very new concept of flying trapeze. One of my father's favorite artists was Mikhail Baryshnikov. He moves like liquid gold. (My father) wanted to bring about a new, more artistic version of performing. It was a gift he wanted to give his kids."

Costello and Farfan traveled with the circus around the world, ending up in Santiago, Chile. When it disbanded in 1991, Farfan decided to stay behind in his father's home country of Chile while Costello moved back to the States.

Using his acrobatic abilities, Farfan earned a living in nightclubs doing relatively tame things such as modeling for painters. Eventually, a nightclub owner asked him to take the performances a step further and Farfan began developing his artistic aerial acts.

"For me that was an incredible growing experience," Farfan says. "That's where the Living Art started. That's where the journey began for me."

After two years, Farfan returned to Las Vegas where his roots run deep. His parents were among the first aerialists to perform at Circus Circus in 1968.

Farfan brought his Living Art to Studio 54 when club representatives asked him to create something special for the nightclub.

"I don't know what's more fulfilling," Farfan says. "Having people say, `We heard about your act and we had to see you.' Or just being down over the dance floor and looking at people with these stunned looks on their faces."

Farfan and Costello perform starting around midnight until 3 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday.

Costello was the perfect partner for Farfan's act. Working together in the circus day in and day out caused them to develop the kind of relationship in which they need very little rehearsal time.

"It depends on the act. Stephanie and I are not normal. If we have to go do an act without rehearsal we could talk about what the tricks are and then flow through it," Farfan says. "You don't even realize you're communicating because it becomes so subliminal. When you can make it flow as simply as breathing you know you've reached a high point in your life."

The two can even carry on a conversation about their day while in the midst of doing a trick, something that comes from the strong bond of trust between them, Farfan says.

"Once you get through the technical training it gets to the point where it's pure artistic expression," Costello says. "Obviously, when you're working at these heights you have to be focused. There's a trust you have to have. If there's anybody I'd want to be with in the air it's him," she says, gesturing at Farfan.

Though not a traditional circus act, the two treat it as such. Farfan creates all of the equipment they use while Costello sews their costumes, much like the days when they traveled with the circus. Though the work is hard on the body at times, neither would trade their jobs for anything else.

Farfan says performing is both physically and spiritually fulfilling.

"To see up close what you've created does to people, to see their faces this close," Farfan says holding his hands only inches apart, "that right there, that's really powerful. There's not a feeling I can compare it to. The euphoria you feel is indescribable."