Fans of Gia Eradze's work are well aware of his inexhaustible creative potential. For the past 14 years, he has been creating and improving grandiose circus acts, attractions and blocks. And finally, the moment has come when all the masterpieces he created no longer fit into one program. This is how the “Baronets” collective appeared - a project of the production center of the Royal Circus Gia Eradze. This is a real parade of star attractions that have won many top awards at international festivals. The largest circus show in terms of animal composition: there are tigers, leopards, black panthers, bears, camels, horses, deer, white foxes, parrots, pythons, peacocks, dogs of various breeds and many other four-legged, furry and feathered artists. This is the quintessence of modern circus art: filigree animal training, luxurious show ballet, horse riding - not only on horses, but also on camels, and the most complex acrobatic stunts, airy canvases, ultra-modern stage, lighting equipment and specially designed scenery!
The attraction “Visiting the Sheikh” is a real oriental fairy tale, which won Gold at the V International Festival of Circus Arts. Bear attraction "Gypsy camp Roma" with a wagon, dancing bears and gypsies with guitars - winners of the "Silver Elephant" at the XIII Moscow international festival circus art. Horse-drawn horse ride "Apaches" - winners of the Golden Award of the VII International Festival of Circus Arts in Izhevsk. Charming huskies and Dalmatians, luxurious trained parrots, aerialists, hula hoop on a mirror ball, power acrobats, the sparkling clown duo “Nep” and much more, no less exciting and spectacular, awaits viewers of the “Baronets” show.
With a nail new program Gia Eradze became a unique attraction of Natalia and Andrei Shirokalov, where tigers, panthers and leopards appear in one arena.
The trainers have already gained worldwide fame, having won a huge number of awards at international circus festivals. Among the many awards in Natalia and Andrey’s treasury is the IV Grand Prix World Festival circus art in Moscow, “Golden Elephant” of the International Festival of the Moscow Nikulin Circus, “Golden Bear” of the International Festival in Izhevsk, “Golden Globe” of the International Festival in Romania, “Golden Ring” of the International Festival in Massy. In terms of entertainment, the Baronets show is in no way inferior to the legendary Royal Circus, because in everything that Gia Eradze creates, one can invariably read his grandiose emphasis on beauty, luxury and impeccable style!
24.02.2019 23:29
Gia Eradze and Maxim Nikulin present the show “Burlesque”
A big sensation happened in the small kingdom of Monaco in January 2019! The winner of the 43rd festival in Monte Carlo was “ Royal Circus» Gii Eradze! For the first time in the history of the annual International Circus Festival (Festival international du cirque de Monte-Carlo), the highest prestigious award “Golden Clown” was received not by an individual act, but by an entire Russian troupe. The Russians also took home the “Silver Clown” for the acrobatic swing ride. From February 22, Gia Eradze, together with the Moscow Nikulin Circus, presents a new show “Burlesque”, and the Russian audience will be the first to see the unique performances that were so highly appreciated by the international jury together with Princess Stephanie.
The questions are answered by the General Producer of the Royal Circus and main director of the Russian State Circus company, Honored Artist of Russia and Georgia Gia Eradze, and General Director and Artistic Director of the Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard Maxim Nikulin.
— Please tell us about your new show, called “Burlesque.”
Maxim Nikulin: We can't tell you what will happen, it's pointless, the new show is a must see! About my preliminary feelings I can say this: first, great joy that this project, conceived almost three years ago, came true, and deep gratitude to Gia Eradze for the fact that a lot of effort, nerves, talent, and money were spent on its implementation this project. I am very glad that we are working together, because it is very useful for the circus, for the Russian circus, for the art of circus in general, for its development.
The gold of the 43rd circus festival in Monte Carlo was given to the “Royal Circus” of Gia Eradze, but he came not from America, but from Russia. Gia Eradze is the only person in our circus world today who is so fierce and passionate about the development of circus art. The Royal Circus has its team, its artists, its name, its brand, but the circus is Russian, it’s still our circus! Everyone associates this brilliant victory with our national circus, and all the design, choreography, scenery, adaptation of acts, all this is our circus culture!
We really have something to be proud of.
Many people asked me after Monte Carlo, now Eradze will perform in your arena, what will you show after that? I answer the skeptics: don’t worry, we have many projects, we won’t be lost, this is not a milestone for us, and I am convinced that in the future we will definitely work with Gia and his artists.
Gia Eradze: We conceived a joint project in the arena of the Moscow Nikulin Circus, the show is called “Burlesque”, and today, finally, it will be presented to the Russian audience. We rehearsed for a very long time, as soon as you, the audience, enter the circus hall, you will see exclusive decorations that were specially created for the show. Also, costumes were specially sewn, numbers were customized and adapted, a large creative team of composers, directors, choreographers, set designers worked on the project, who together with me created this program.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to say a big thank you to the Moscow Circus of Yuri Nikulin for the opportunity to stage the project here, as a director, completely from start to finish, in two parts. This is a top platform, this is the best circus in the world, this is an old circus, a classic circus. The rooms that have the right to go to this famous arena must be of a high class, so we tried and united some of the most best artists Russian state company "Rosgostsirk" today. These are almost all the artists who were recently at the festival in Monte Carlo. I would like to say thank you to Evgeny Shevtsov and Olga Poltarak, who took part in the preparation of the entire performance together with me. For “Burlesque” the arena of the Old Moscow Circus will be the first, just as the Russian spectator will be the first to come to our performance and evaluate what he saw. We really tried and did our best! It's bright, it's beautiful, it's festive and it's very strong numbers.
Tons of scenery, more than 350 exclusive costumes, sewn specifically for the “Burlesque” show at the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, including those costumes that were with us in Monaco and created specifically for the festival. There will be water, and rain, and animals, and acrobats, and gymnasts, the performance is traditionally accompanied by a clown, Honored Artist of Russia Igor Yashnikov, one of the best clowns we have today.
The program is multi-genre, as always in all my projects, it features a lot of animals: tigers, leopards, panthers, ligers (a cross between a lion and a tiger), zebras, monkeys, horses, dogs, porcupines, bears. There will be an attraction “Baronets”, which has 10 highest world awards, where trainers Andrei and Natalya Shirokalov perform with a mixed group of predatory animals.
The acrobatic genre is represented by the wonderful number “Counter Swing”, which won the “Silver Clown” at the 43rd Circus Festival in Monte Carlo. Mikhail Filinov and his group of acrobats are also the winner of many gold awards at world circus festivals in China and Italy.
The program ends with the wonderful song “Applause,” which was composed by the wonderful composer Alexei Garnizov, and the king of pop Philip Kirkorov himself kindly agreed to perform. Today it will be performed for the audience for the first time, and we specially made an epilogue for it in the style of an old circus. Our entire program is a symbiosis of classic “retro” and modern circus.
Maxim Nikulin: The “Burlesque” show will run until September 1, then there will be a pause when our circus festival will take place, then for a short season in October-November the “Burlesque” program will resume, but in a transformed form, new acts will be added to it, which then we will change it, because all the numbers are very bright and easy to remember. We want to build Burlesque 2, then there will be New Year holidays, Christmas trees, New Year, Christmas, and then we close the circus until February. The next new project will begin in February 2020.
Gia Eradze: On New Year based on the show "Burlesque" we will make New Year's tale entitled "The Mystery" New Year's star" This will be a completely new costume performance dedicated to the New Year and Christmas, which has never been in the Old Circus arena, but that will come later.
— Please accept congratulations on your triumph at the 43rd International Circus Festival in Monaco, which took place in January 2019, and the well-deserved Golden Clown award from the Royal Circus to Gia Eradze. How did Princess Stephanie express her admiration for you?
Gia Eradze: For the first time in the 43 years of this prestigious festival, the entire team of Gia Eradze’s “Royal Circus” received the “Golden Clown”, and not just one act. Of course, the decision on the award is made by the international jury together with Princess Stephanie, who hosts the festival in Monte Carlo. And as a sign that the princess liked it, she made an official offer to me to stage the 45th festival, which I will create as a production director. This will happen in 2 years, but I’m preparing now, and after the launch of the Burlesque show I will be specifically involved in the festival in Monaco.
Maxim Nikulin: How did the princess rate it? We have known each other for a long time, we have been friends for many years. Stefania is a rather reserved girl and this is understandable; a lot depends on her words, especially in the circus world. But her attitude for me was determined as follows. She comes to Moscow for one day, March 7, to watch a full-fledged performance in our circus! The princess said: “I want to see the whole show, what I saw in Monaco is wonderful, it’s wonderful, it’s highly rated, but I’m interested in seeing the whole show.” And so, despite the fact that she has a lot of things to do, Stefania will fly in for one day to watch “Burlesque”. It costs a lot!
— How did the idea of the unique “Faberge” act come about, which you presented at the competition in Monte Carlo and will show in the “Burlesque” show to Russian viewers?
Gia Eradze: We prepared the Faberge performance specifically for this festival. First of all, we wanted to do something new. Transformation is good genre in the circus, but it’s not new, so we came up with a group transformation for 12 people. Today there are no analogues to this number. You will see that this number is very delicately built.
Faberge's style as an artist is completely suitable for the Royal Circus show, plus he was a Russian artist who once emigrated to Europe and then lived there. The Faberge Museum exists in St. Petersburg on the Fontanka, and I have been to it several times. The entire style of this issue: transformable costumes, ballet, props are made in the style of Faberge eggs. You will see a whole fashion show, the performers will wear costumes in the form of the sights of St. Petersburg, there is even a “Circus Ciniselli” costume, because this is one of the oldest circuses our country.
The room has a link. When we did this number with Evgeny Shevtsov, we saw that the main character here should be the Nutcracker himself, who at the end transforms into a white prince. The entire Faberge issue is based on this link. Russian specially for this number classical music was partially arranged by composer Denis Garnizov. We prepared the transformation for the festival so quickly that, one might say, we didn’t have time to test it out. This has never happened before; for the first time we worked it out in Stuttgart, Germany, to show it at the festival in Monte Carlo. The Russian viewer will see this number for the first time in general, as well as the entire program.
— Our artists come on foreign tours, but how realistic is it to invite foreign artists to us? For example, an Italian clown recently performed here, and an illusionist came. Is it possible to invite, for example, the famous trainer Martin Lacey?
Maxim Nikulin: It’s absolutely real and I’ll tell you a secret - in our next project, 80 percent of the artists will be invited from abroad.
It is more difficult to invite Martin Lacey, because there are a large number of animals there, which requires complex veterinary clearance, problems with transport, and customs. But all this can be solved, therefore, if we set such a task, we will complete it. There is another nuance: Martin works at the Munich Circus Krone. This circus is 24 hours a day, and Lacey's acts are the main ones there. We talked to him about this topic theoretically, and he said, as, by the way, many other circus stars say, that Russian tours are designed for long periods, about three months, which means that he drops out of the program for this time, to besides, contracts and tours have been signed, advertising arrangements are made there a year in advance, it’s not clear how to tie it all together. But in terms of opportunity, why not?
By the way, I do not agree with Edgard Zapashny that ours have nowhere to escape from the dominance of foreign artists. All this is nonsense, in fact, the country is big, there is somewhere to go and where to work. Our artists begin to relax, and when a foreigner arrives and shows that he literally lives in a cage, like Martin Lacey, or like Alexis Gruss from the Arlette Gruss Circus, the only one in the world that is national treasure of France, who said that he has more than two hundred horses, and he knows all his horses by name and “by sight” - this is amazing. This attitude among many here in Russia, unfortunately, is being lost; the people have become disorganized and lazy.
One day, some guys came up to me and Sasha Grimailo, one said that he had come up with a unique trick, absolutely no one had done it, flying from one board to another. Grimailo replies, no, there was already such a number in 1968, look it up on the Internet. I say that I personally remember that there were such Nikitins, in their final trick with a throwing board they performed a triple somersault onto a column of four people, this is written about in the encyclopedia. The guy shrugs his shoulders in surprise, doesn’t know how it’s done, doesn’t look for information.
This doesn’t happen because it’s impossible, it’s just that people set some limits for themselves. When everything is good, there are contracts, we earn money, the family is in order, why bother? There is no such fanaticism as there used to be, I remember it very well, including the example of my parents. He, unfortunately, leaves, only a few remain circus fanatics, but these few now form the basis of the world circus, and almost all of them gather in Monte Carlo.
— Gia Giulevich, as of February 1, 2019, you have been appointed chief director of the Russian State Circus. Where will you start your work, what positive changes should you expect?
Today we will talk about “Royal Circus” by Gia Eradze. This is a place that everyone should visit at least once in their life. We'll learn more about the history of the circus and its performers, and also look at reviews.
About the creator
The creator of the circus is Honored Artist of Georgia Giorgi Eradze. He was born in Tbilisi in 1978. Interested in circus art since early years, studied at a circus studio. In 2000, the guy graduated from the State College. Sh. Milorava. The man’s career was also closely intertwined with circus art. He held positions in various circuses in Russia. At the same time, G. Eradze does not limit himself to organizational activities. He is not only a generator of ideas. Georgiy Eradze is a performer, a talented trainer and even a costume designer. He tours all over the world with his circus.
What is it about?
"Royal Circus" by Gia Eradze is a circus performance in which a huge number of artists and animals take part. A distinctive feature is the presence of a single storyline. Each performance features more than 200 exclusive costumes that are made to order. It is worth noting the incredible scenery, which has no analogues in the whole world. The music and lighting design is also very well thought out. Modern special effects make performances more spectacular and vibrant. The circus tells the "royal story". This means that Gia Eradze’s circus is not a set of numbers where the performances of artists alternate. The circus in question is unique. There is a story told here. It's unlike anything you've seen before. "A Royal Story" is truly demonstrated in a royal way. Everything is thought out to the smallest detail. All costumes, sets and special effects are made at the highest level.
"Royal Circus" by Gia Eradze is an entertaining place that is designed for children and adults. The show will impress adults as much as kids. A bright, spectacular show that everyone will remember for a long time.
Scenes
Young talented circus performers appear on the arena. These are beautiful artistic people. They can perform a number of complex tricks and work with trained animals. During the performance, skits on various topics are performed. For example, you can watch the funny adventure of Indians who are surrounded by skunks, lemurs, porcupines and monkeys. The sketch entitled “Spanish History” deserves special attention. Experienced artists perform at the arena and demonstrate the highest class of horse riding. There is also a skit "The Empress". Young girls perform here and skillfully handle wild, dangerous animals. Of course, one cannot ignore the “Brazilian Scene”. You can see magical Pegasi, angels, jesters, and jugglers.
Features of the circus
"Royal Circus" by Gia Eradze in Kazan has a number of distinctive features. The main one is that all types of circus art are presented here (stunts on chains, illusionist tricks, balancing act, pop ballet performances, aerialists). The scale of the show is truly amazing. For the transportation and maintenance of animals, for the use and transportation of props and scenery, sound and lighting equipment, the maximum of modern technology is used. For this purpose, the circus has 14 huge trucks.
Indeed, Gia Eradze's "Royal Circus" is a unique phenomenon. That's why he receives a lot of awards. The circus regularly participates in a number of festivals, where it wins prizes. Every year he occupies an increasingly higher position on the world stage.
Gia Eradze's show "Royal Circus": reviews
There are different reviews about the circus. But mostly they are positive. Everyone notes the enchantment of the spectacle and the abundance of emotions. Much attention is paid to animals in every review. It seems incredible that a person can train animals like this. Moreover, each “artist” lives in excellent conditions. This point is given special attention. Viewers can look at the living conditions of the animals and make sure that training takes place on the principles of encouragement and not violence.
The audience emphasizes that they have never seen such a show in their lives. There really is hardly anything comparable to him. Gia Eradze is very attentive to the smallest aspects, which is why today the circus has no equal. Visitors note that each number is individual, there are no repetitions. This is the case when you won’t be able to go out for a minute and not miss anything. As already noted, the scenes are indeed very diverse. And what is worth the fact that the viewer can see all genres of circus art in one performance. Many also like the fact that Gia Eradze himself performs in the arena. He communicates with the audience and shows his skills. Despite such tremendous success, he remains open and continues to do what he loves with joy, and not solely for the sake of profit.
Some visitors also note that the numbers can move you to tears. Yes this is true! And all thanks to a professional, thorough approach. The audience also likes the actors' acting. These are not just circus performers, but real masters of their craft.
Negative reviews
There are negative reviews, but they are very few. They relate only to the cost of tickets to attend the performance. However, it is not appropriate to talk about cost in our case. The Gia Eradze Circus is a grandiose world-class show. Of course, a ticket to such a performance cannot cost a penny. People all over the world want to visit this show; all circus organizations recognize the uniqueness of the circus. Rest assured: you will not regret the money spent.
Summing up the article, I would like to say that Gia Eradze’s “Royal Circus” is an incredibly vibrant performance. If you have the opportunity to visit it, you should definitely do so. Remember that art is eternal. Moreover, in this case we are not just talking about an interesting cultural institution that once stood out for something. Circus G. Eradze is a world-class circus. This is confirmed by the grateful reviews of hundreds of people. The performances will not leave anyone indifferent - both children and adults will be delighted!
The parents did not share their son's passion. My father, the director of the Tbilisi market, and my grandfather, a professor of neuropathology, were especially against it. They dreamed that Gia would become a great dentist. And here?! The heir to the Eradze-Manjigaldze family disappears in the arena, works there as a groom, trains birds and, without the consent of his loved ones, goes on tour with the circus to Yerevan. Unheard of!
The boy was returned back with a scandal. And how many ups and downs Gia had to endure, his father came to terms with his circus present only when in 2006 the entire Georgian capital came to congratulate his 27-year-old son on being awarded the title of Honored Artist. July 2015, Tsvetnoy Boulevard. I am with the winner of the recent circus festival in Sochi, Italian clown David Larible, and children Soso Pavliashvili I beat palms at the show “Royal Circus” by Gia Eradze. The amount of beauty (suffice it to say that the dancers change their breathtaking costumes 11 times during the performance) and risky stunts per square meter of the arena is off the charts. Snakes, camels, donkeys, llamas, ponies, ostriches, horses, kangaroos, porcupines, peacocks, roosters, geese, parrots, leopard. And also storks, cranes, dogs, pelicans, lions, African horned raven. The largest representative of the cat family, the liger (the cub of a white tigress and a lion), who was recently born in the Eradze circus, will soon enter the arena. And in the center of this huge artistic and animal-bird family is Gia - in a crown (he also has several of them) and on a white horse. As befits a king, he is handsome and successful (the largest contributions to the Russian State Circus). After the performance, the king gives me a tour behind the scenes and introduces me to the star of the troupe, 12-year-old chimpanzee Richik, allows me to tickle the soft belly of the lemur Dylan and tells me that at the international festival in Sochi his show was recognized as the best. He is happy to say that tickets for the performance of the “Royal Circus” (the show is also running in Voronezh) are selling like hot cakes. “But, in an unprecedented case in history, our contract was extended until September 3, so everyone can get in.” And then he admits that he is very worried about the heart of his mother Marina. “She there, in Tbilisi, feels every time I enter the arena and always prays. He can’t forget how one day I turned away and the lion “petted” me. And when we meet, Andrey always sadly recalls the times when I started training harmless pigeons, bought with money saved from school lunches.”
// Photo: From the personal archive of Gia Eradze
// Photo: From the personal archive of Gia Eradze
// Photo: From the personal archive of Gia Eradze
// Photo: From the personal archive of Gia Eradze
// Photo: From the personal archive of Gia Eradze
// Photo: From the personal archive of Gia Eradze
Viewers have already been able to appreciate such programs of the Gia Eradze production center as “Five Continents”, “Baronets” and “Hippopotamus”, so there is no doubt that it will be of “Soviet” quality and at the same time royally chic. had to.
In the program, which is a synthesis of circus and pop art, Voronezh residents saw aerial gymnasts in crystal chandeliers, numbers with a black and white pegasus, an illusionary number “Gladiators”, during which the girl suddenly disappeared, and a lion appeared in her place... The spectators were literally breathtaking as they watched the acrobats on the counter swings under the direction of Mikhail Filinov. By the way, this act with the most complex tricks recently won a gold award at an international circus competition in China. The imagination of the ladies was shocked by the handsome tightrope walker, who performed intricate tricks on the piano from which a fountain gushes, and the men, secretly from their women, gazed at the graceful ballerina with angel wings soaring in the air.
Spectators also saw amazing attractions with animals - “Lions and Tigers”, led by the winner of the international award “Circus Princess” Lyudmila Surkova, and the incendiary “Africa”, where a great variety of exotic animals were collected.
“Because of the dishonesty of producers, people stop going to the circus”
When I was a child, you could go to the circus on weekdays, and on weekends there were always several performances. Now it is unprofitable to give many performances, because people do not actively go to the circus. What do you think is the reason for this? Maybe because sometimes they bring not very high-quality shows and people are disappointed?
And with this too. Often people are simply deceived. It happens that unknown groups come to provincial cities and put up posters with a loud name. I remember I talked with one distributor who carried the “Stars of Monte Carlo” program. He assured that the winners of the gold awards of the international circus competition in Monte Carlo were performing there, although I did not see a single star in the program. It turned out that this person does not even know that Monte Carlo is located in the kingdom of Monaco, located in France. He assured me that it was in Germany. What can we talk about here? Because of such unscrupulous producers, people stop going to the circus.
And the time is different now! When I joined the circus, we went on tour in mail cars. Then, as I do now, each program employed 120–130 people, a large number of animals... And it didn’t scare anyone. And today this is already perceived as know-how! I am a Soviet child, and I still have the energy of that generation, the mentality. I remember very well my teachers with whom I once went to the arena - Oleg Popov, Zapashnykh... And I don’t want to deviate from those circus traditions that I absorbed when I joined the circus in deep childhood. I want the circus to always remain as big as it was before. But, to my deep regret, it is now customary to do tiny solo numbers, as they say, “on the knee.” With a minimum of props. And if it’s a group number, then it’s with a small number of people.
- Why, there are also large teams. Acrobats on throwing boards Chernievsky are frequent guests in our city...
Of course I have. And it’s good when such teams are at financial support company "Rosgostsirk", because there are few producers, like me, who do not spare money on this in the name of the quality of the program. It’s simply not profitable for rental companies to transport them; it’s too much of an expense. The number of the same Chernievsky is very expensive, which significantly increases the cost of the program. Imagine - 15 acrobats, 15 wives, and some also have children... That is, up to 40 people need to be accommodated in a hotel, fed, and all travel expenses paid. And the number lasts only 10 minutes. Yes, their attraction is amazing, the stunts are crazy, but from a financial point of view, it is not profitable. For me, quality has always come first, which is why I have five big attractions in my program. For example, in the “Counter Swing” attraction there are 9 people, in “Africa”, where a huge number of exotic animals are involved, there are 24.
Your ideas, of course, are royal and cost crazy money. Now you already have the opportunity to bring them to life by investing money from fees into the program. When you first started, where did you get your initial capital?
I was 11 years old when I ran away from home to the circus, and, of course, I had no money. And in every interview I never cease to thank the legendary producer Gennady Gordienko, who believed in me and helped me. We met in Moscow, where I left Georgia. He took me under his wing, and together with him, on January 20, 2000, we released the “Five Continents” show in Vladivostok. It’s a pity that Gennady Georgievich is no longer here, but I will always remember him with warmth.
“When I ran away from home to the circus, it was a shock for my parents.”
Your mother told me that when you ran away from home, you never asked your father for money and ate only crackers to buy your first horse.
Well, that's my mom! She won't tell you anything! In fact, my parents were initially against me becoming a circus performer. I am not a dynasty artist, I was not born in the sawdust. My father was the director of the Tbilisi Central Market, my mother taught political economics at the institute. And you can imagine their “delight” when I came home every day, all smelling of the stable - I became interested in horses and went there to clean them. It was a shock for the parents! My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps, my mother “saw” me as a doctor. At first they thought that the circus was my childhood hobby that would soon pass. And I took it and ran away from home! Only after a while my parents realized that my escapes to the circus were not childish whims, this was my life.
As for money, it really wasn’t always there. I had a pony, Odysseus, now deceased, who worked with me for 18 years! And during periods of lack of money, I took the kids for rides on it. I invested what I earned in new rooms, leaving a little for food. Sometimes there was nowhere to live, and we lived in circus dressing rooms. I went through all this, and that’s why it’s easier for me to create numbers today, the artists trust me. I don’t need to explain anything - I know what muzzle a bear should wear, what stall a camel should be placed in, and what kind of enclosure a tiger needs. I understand all the problems of artists, so I don’t skimp on fees.
But you probably also have some requirements for artists? In addition to professionalism, you probably expect them to look good?
Certainly! Is it invisible? I have this thing - all artists should be beautiful! There is a certain format of people who can join my team. There will never be another format, because I have - best show countries. This status must be maintained. For my show, I am not ashamed to look people in the eyes.
- What if suddenly the artist is good, with a strong act, but his appearance doesn’t work out...
If he is a very talented artist, then I adapt him to our show. This is already my task as a production director. In our team we have our own stylists, our own make-up artists who do makeup for the artists. I understand that it is impossible to find all unrealistically beautiful people so that they are also masters of their craft. Therefore, it is important to create an image based on the nature of the show.
You were deputy general director of the Russian State Circus company for artistic affairs. Why did you leave this high position?
I lasted a year and realized that this was not for me. All these office-paper stories are not my play at all. I’d rather create, stage new programs and bring the next awards to the Rosgostsirk company... This will be much more useful!