Every night, dancer Tetiana Lotiuk paints on a smile and prepares to wow the crowds as part of a spectacular circus act touring the UK.
The troupe perform daring stunts on unicycles and BMX bikes, juggle with their feet and defy gravity on aerial poles. But behind those painted-on smiles lies the heartache of war.
Because like most of her fellow Circus Cortex performers, Tetiana comes from Ukraine – and carries with her not just the fear for her family, but guilt too at having left them behind.
