Henrik Bothe (pronounced “Bota”)

A native of Denmark, Henrik began entertaining at the early age of three when he drove the family VW bug into the sea. With fortune on his side, he made a quick escape and was soon mesmerized by plate-spinning acts on The Ed Sullivan Show. This lead to breaking Mom’s plates and throwing Dad’s knives in the wood-shop, until he ultimately attended Aahus Theater Academy to focus on the performing arts. Henrik got his professional start in Europe when he teamed up with David Gomez in the 80s to form the comedy duo “Twist and Shout.” They relocated later in the decade to San Francisco to join the thriving “New Vaudeville” scene. There Henrik was introduced to the world of Improvisational Theatre by Keith Johnstone, an influence that follows him to this day.

In the early 90s Henrik moved to Seattle and headlined as an entertainer for all major cruise lines. During that time Henrik engineered “NeonMan”, a glow-in-the-dark optical illusion that has taken him all over the world for TV appearances and is now a major component in his show. That was also when Henrik “recreated” his plate spinning routine.  One of the biggest motivations for Henrik to become a performer/juggler was watching the Ed Sullivan Show on television growing up.  Gene Siler who produces “A Really Big Shew” which is a tribute show to Ed Sullivan says: “Henrik’s plate spinning act is as good as people remember the original plate spinning act.  When an act can compete with people’s memory of one of the funniest acts they ever saw you know you have a winner.” Performance highlights include appearing on Garrison Keillor‘s “A Prairie Home Companion” where Garrison exclaimed “Henrik is one of the few jugglers that have ever succeeded in performing on the radio.” Henrik has also made appearances with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, in Las Vegas at Caesar’s Palace and on Europe’s most widely viewed variety show “Le Plus Grande Cabaret du Monde” in Paris. Today Henrik performs physical comedy as a professional entertainer for corporate, local and national events. When Henrik isn’t performing solo he either tours theaters in the US with Woody Keppel in “Foolz,” a duo show for all ages, or performs with Steve G as “The Bellini Twins,” an act with a “late night” feel. Seattle Times wrote:”Bellini Twins takes inspired idiocy to new heights”.  Henrik currently resides in Portland, OR with his wife and family where he performs locally, leads team-building workshops and teaches a circus arts program in metro-area schools.