Show & Tell: Meet Amanda Ritchie of ‘Zumanity’

Q: When did you begin dancing?

A: Actually, I got into it when I was 2. My mom took me to the mall, and I guess they had a tap performance going on, and I ran up to the stage, eyes glued. She said I ran back to her and I told her I was gonna do that.

Q: It wasn't just a passing phase?

A: Oh, no. This was it. I started competing when I was 5. ...Then, when I graduated from high school, I started working at a swap shop and there was this (attraction) next door doing aerial stuff.

Q: A swap shop?

A: A swap shop is like a big flea market, in Florida. They had this big building with a circus ring inside. They had a circus with, like, elephants and horses. So I started doing aerial stuff. ... Then I auditioned for a company in Florida. They basically trained me on trapeze, and they sent me to Portugal for a year. ... I toured all over Europe with them. Trapeze was my specialty.

Q: Any mishaps that made you reconsider your career path?

A: The only accident I ever had ...

Q: Love how you put "accident" in air quotes ...

A: I was, like, 30 feet high in the air ... and I forgot exactly what happened, but I was supposed to fall and catch with my feet and, for some reason, I turned in instead of out and missed the rope and fell on my back, and I had a concussion. But that was the only time.

Q: What brought you to Las Vegas?

A: I came to Vegas (in 2008) because I knew that this was where everything was. Actually, my brother was the one to say, "You should go to Vegas, because that's where all the Cirque (du Soleil) shows are." I knew I wanted to be in Cirque. That was the ultimate goal of mine.

Q: How did your "Zumanity" audition go?

A: I auditioned for the "Straps" number, which is a bondage number. She's wearing a nude unitard so it's like she's naked, and she has a mask on, and the whole purpose of the act is for her to please herself and, in the end, have an orgasm. (Laughs) So this is what I auditioned with.

Q: Guessing that was new ground for you?

A: (Laughs) Oh, yes. Absolutely. I am so shy, and I hide behind things, and I hate speaking in front of people. And to find out the act was mic'd -- it was a live performance -- I was a little intimidated and out of my element.

Q: It must have went well, though.

A: (Laughs) There were three of us there, and I guess I was the loudest woman because, two days later, they offered me a three-month temporary contract to do "Straps" in the show. ... So my three-month contract ended up being two years.

Q: What numbers do you do in "Zumanity"?

A: I play three characters. ... They're all very different, and I've found ways to connect myself with each character. It took a little searching, because, one character, her name is Blue Blade and she's a dominatrix. (Laughs) That character took me a long time.