My name is Pinky Aiello. I am a traveling performer who lives in Portland, Oregon and who specializes in juggling and unicycling. And I suppose I should mention that I was born deaf.

As a young girl I went to the circus and I saw a performer riding a unicycle. Right then and there I knew I wanted to learn how to do that! A few years later I was visiting a friend and saw a unicycle in his garage and he let me try it. I loved it! Then, a few years after that, I was with my mother in a mall and I saw a unicycle for sale. I begged my mother to buy it for me and I was absolutely thrilled when she did!!! While I was a student at the Florida School for the Deaf I rode it occasionally. But, when I transferred to the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington, D.C. I stopped riding it. After graduating from MSSD, I moved to New York City and worked in a theater off, off Broadway and in the Dance Company of the Deaf.While I was living in New York, I went to Connecticut for a month to study with the National Theater of the Deaf Professional Summer School. While I was there, a director flew from Ohio, saw my work and hired me for a role in “The Double Pierrot” with the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf (now called Cleveland SignStage Theatre) in Cleveland. The role was a character named “Zanni” and I had to learn how to juggle for that role. When I was beginning to learn to juggle, I met a juggler named Dan Nealson who could juggle with pins. He taught me how to juggle with pins and a number of juggling tricks. And I inspired him to take up the unicycle again. We started a friendly competition to see which of us could ride the tallest Giraffe unicycle. A Giraffe unicycle is one that is at least five feet tall. We became close friends and performed together in Cleveland. We also went to New York City and worked as street performers. After that I started taking classes at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. I lived in the dorms there for a year and then decided to move to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles I attended the UCLA Extension program and received a Professional Certificate in computer graphic design and interactive multimedia. I also got a lot of jobs working as an extra in movies and in television programs and commercials. I worked as an actor in Die Hard II, Weird Science, The Howling 6, Cheers, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, and Unsolved Mysteries. I also performed as a juggler and unicylist in Land of the Giants, Moe’s World and a variety of other movies and television programs. I am a member of the International Jugglers Association and I am currently performing at Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain. I also perform with "Girls On Stilts" and "The Juggling Fools". With my partner (a hearing man named Doug Raphael ) I work at private parties, carnivals and other events given by hearing people. I am now branching out to perform at Deaf Festival, Schools, clubs, camps where I also give workshops on juggling, unicycle riding and stiltwalking.  

"The Great Clown Adventure" Winning first prize in the group skit competition!! I just can’t stop thinking about the fact that I FINALLY got the chance to perform on the Midway in Las Vegas Circus Circus Hotel.