Introducing the Body Talk Mime School
Mario Diamond - Mime Teacher
School description
Always captivated by the silent art, Mario developed his own style and teaching techniques to apply to physical acting with circus performers, actors, figure skaters, and politicians.
Teaching experience (a selection):
- NECCA Circus School, Brattleboro, Vermont, USA
- MOTH Poetic Circus, Denver, Colorado, USA
- Street Theater troupe, Belgium
- Canadian Olympic figure skaters (Josée Chouinard, Canadian Champion, Patrick Chan, World Champion)
- Chinese Olympic figure skaters
- Japanese Olympic figure skaters (Fumie Suguri)
- American Olympic figure skaters
- Russian Olympic figure skaters (Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov)
- Various international circus artists; jugglers, clowns, contortionists etc.
- Montreal Mayor (1980's)
- US Senator (2010's)
- Zani Ecole de Clown et Comedy Montreal (2025/26)
I use my three step technique; learn, practice, apply.
First, the technique is demonstrated and explained. Then it’s your turn to practice. You are shown examples through videos and live acts. Now you apply it to your own needs!
Body Talk Mime School Courses
Here are the current courses.
Here are the current courses, designed for both individual students or for teachers.
Pricing and access vary depending on your choice
Testimonial- Jacob D'Eustachio
Jacob is a world-renowned circus juggler.
He was my student at age 14 at Circus Smirkus and for a full year thereafter.
Jacob has performed in 15 countries on five continents. Highlights include juggling with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, clowning at North America’s oldest theater, performing at the Kennedy Center, being the only American to compete in Moscow’s Nikulin Circus Festival, and performing for Adele with England’s Giffords Circus.
Video of Jacob at the Circus Festival in Moscow in September 2018.
Testimonial - Soleyman Pierini
Soleyman Pierini is a circus artist, live entertainer, and film & TV actor based in Montreal. He performs at cabarets, parties, and corporate events. He loves to create a joyful and lighthearted ambiance with acts that involve clowning, mime, juggling, and magic.
Bio of Mario Diamond
As a kid, I could not stop talking, with words as much as with gestures. When my mother could not take it anymore, she would have me sit on my hands, and like magic not one more sound would come out of my mouth! Later in life, I discovered I was only duplicating my message. I could remain silent and still say so many things.
After trying dance, a beautiful discipline in which I was not that good, I tried theatre where I felt limited by the language. I needed to be able to communicate with the entire world. In 1976, I discovered mime at the same time as I discovered Vincent Marcotte, an incredible teacher. After only a few hours in class, I decided to become a full-time silent actor.
One year later, master mime Claude St-Denis was performing in a theater close to where I lived. I needed to see how one person on stage, with no décor, no music, and no props could be so interesting as to entertain an audience for an hour or more. After the show, I was lucky to meet him and talk about silence. A few months later, I became his student and stage partner.
I am still performing onstage and using mime in different spheres such as that of film where I play physical characters. Teaching now takes up more of my time and allows me to use what I have learned from my elders. From what I hear and observe, there is a crying need for artists to learn my craft differently and more quickly. As well, for those who will not become mimes, I have developed my personal teaching method and adapted mime techniques for figure skaters, jugglers, magicians and politicians, amongst others.