Taras Grigorievich Shevchenko was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984. He currently performs in the Cirque du Soleil show "Corteo". He is performing an act called "Paradise", as well as portraying one of the leading characters in the show - White Clown.
Whereas the famous Ukrainian poet Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko was born on March 9, 1814, the latter Taras was born on March 8, which happened to be an International Women's Day. He jokingly states that he was a present for his mother that day. Just like the poet, Taras was named according to the Christian Orthodox Calendar.
In 2003, Taras joined Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, Canada. He spent one year experimenting the new structures for what later became "Paradise" act. A couple of months later, he began the creation process for Cirque's show "Corteo".