The Story Behind
Grins & Grins!
Ray Grins
. . . began performing comedy magic shows at the age of 17 and has had a career spanning more than twenty years. Born and raised in Long Island, NY, his proximity to New York City gave him the opportunity to quickly hone his skills in front of many different audiences.
Ray decided, early in his career, that magic was no longer his passion and threw himself into learning a myriad of circus skills: juggling, unicycling, stilt-walking, Chinese yo-yo and many, many more.
Using these skills, he created a successful one-man show and traveled the country performing in circuses, theme parks, comedy clubs and on cruise ships. In addition to performing with Cirque de La Mer in San Diego, Riga Cirk in Latvia and Circus Jeager on a U.S. tour, Ray has also performed with the Long Island Philharmonic Orchestra and on the NBC show, "Ed."
When he is not performing, Ray can be found teaching adults and children how to do many of the circus skills he has mastered.
Erin Grins
. . . has been performing most of her life - beginning with a solo spot as a Ladybug in the 2nd grade! Raised in Virginia, she went on to earn a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from Shenandoah University before moving to New York City in pursuit of a performing career.
After acting in several regional Shakespeare plays (yup, THAT Shakespeare!) and singing and dancing her way across the United States in a number of musical productions, she found herself working for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as a variety performer.
Following 4 years on the open ocean, she returned to land where she dove into the variety performing world of the Big Apple which led to invitations to perform globally in festivals and circuses (AEMI 1st World Clown Festival, Liuzhou, China; Festival Circus, England) as well as requests to perform closer to home.
For the last eight years, she has also worked as a circus teacher - showing children and adults how to spin plates, juggle and create their own circuses. Erin was a performer with the highly regarded Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit and, in addition to her appearances with Grins & Grins, she can still be found working for the Big Apple Circus To Go program and directing Mystery Dinner Theater productions onboard Royal Caribbean ships.
Ray and Erin
. . . met in Cozumel, Mexico while working for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. As their relationship progressed, they began performing together more and more.
Right away they knew they had something different with their show - the blend of Erin's clowning and physical comedy with Ray's circus skills and timing delighted audiences and literally left them wanting more.
Together, Ray and Erin have been invited to perform around the world (AEMI 2nd World Clown Festival, Hangzhou, China; Festival Circus, England) and on the Late Show with David Letterman, as well as with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and for many corporations, family resorts and comedy clubs in New York and beyond.