Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/517095
CMU grad Bryan Burnstein, '02, is kind of a big deal. He's paid to keep hundreds of the world's top athletes in peak condition as the head of performance science for Cirque du Soleil, a massive, global brand that wows thousands of fans nightly. Cirque du Soleil shows are a dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment that require performers to possess tremendous strength and flexibility. The company's roster of 19 shows plays in more than 270 cities around the world. Las Vegas, where Burnstein is based, is home to eight resident Cirque shows. "I pinch myself some days," Burnstein says. "In our industry, there aren't a lot of places you can go that will allow you to develop this much professionally and challenge you every day, yet still have an amazing work-life balance." After graduation, the Detroit-area native spent four seasons as the head athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the Saginaw Spirit hockey team. "I loved that world, loved the sport," Burnstein says. "What I didn't love was, at that level, you have to be good at everything but it's hard to be great at anything. I didn't feel like I was developing that much." He started looking for jobs. A trip to Las Vegas and an interview for a job he didn't get turned into an opportunity to meet with Cirque. "I flew in on a Friday, and they offered me the job the next day." Cirque du Soleil's amazing athletes benefit from a Chippewa's training Burnstein and his wife, Brooke, also a graduate of CMU's athletic training program, headed west. "When I was first hired, my role was split between athletic training and strength and conditioning," Burnstein says. "I had to quickly learn how to provide medical care and coverage for all of our Vegas shows. They'd never had that type of integration before." The demand for strength and conditioning training for Cirque's performers was growing quickly. While each show has its own core group of physical therapists, athletic trainers and coaches working with the artists, there wasn't a set of standards for all the Vegas shows. Burnstein began focusing on the integration of strength and conditioning, Pilates, nutrition and psychology and, over seven-plus years, worked himself into the newly created position of head of performance science for Cirque du Soleil. Brooke and Bryan met during freshman orientation in the first year of CMU's Leadership Advancement Program. He credits CMU with developing his self- confidence. "Central helped me grow as a person. Not just to be a good student, but to focus on all of the other areas important to being successful – having a sense of community, service, participation in recreation, in campus life," he says. "And I had awesome instructors who made sure when I graduated I was ready to enter the workforce. They had great connections within the industry I wanted to be in, which opens doors to first jobs." • 13 centralight spring '15