Nikolay Gusev
is eternal
is strong
is clever
Nikolay Gusev is a musician.

I saw him puzzled just once, on April the 8th,
When I told him that the dancers rehearse night & day.
They know the duration of each track (4 min 26 sec, for example)
And the tempo (metronome at 120 or 86)
But no one listened to the songs. I forbade them.

“They know you, Kolya, they know the AVIA and they trust me. They will hear your music for the first time during the show.”
And so they did, and performed wonderfully!
My experiment was a success.
Danke,
Anton

Text: Anton Adasinsky
English text editor: David Kemp
Photos: Igor Anosov, Elena Yarovaya

Text: Anton Adassinsky
Foto: Elena Yarovaya

Hello to you, Gods!
I’m writing with a big “G”, hoping that you’re not snorting offended and that you’ll read it to the end.
Greetings to all of you!
To the sly and bearded, to the bald and invisible, to the painted and gilded, to those of clay or wood, to the unspeakable.
Did I forget someone?
Oh.. there was another one of Sun Ra descendants, born in a joint.

As I can see you’re working hard and diligently.
Wars and more wars, deaths, hunger…
And those are not wars because of princesses or fields or land.  Rather because of yourselves, my dears.

But you’ll have no success after all…
You’d better meet somewhere up in your clouds to measure your strengths or the lengths of your tongues..

And we shall keep making people happy. You cannot stop us!

I’ll outlive you!
And don’t you dare to lay the blame for the miseries of humankind on the Devil!

“The devil’s role has been greatly exaggerated”, Alexander Sokurov

I’ll outlive you, you cardboard figures…

Happy New Year, people!
Go on, do your business!
You were born to be happy!
So be happy!

Anton Adasinsky
DEREVO group

post scriptum

I’ve been asked about it many times…
But didn’t want to answer.
Now I’ll say:
While working on the Faust filmset I’ve been through many things.
Every day some “signs”, “encounters”, “visions”…

I thought I couldn’t cope with it.
However, the Old Pulteney and Morton Feldman were of great help.

Some time later the sensations subsided. But mirrors and the sound of the wind still can get on my nerves…

Therefore I’m writing in the first person.
Though in the meantime I’m not quite sure of it.

“ONCE…” final bows have been filmed on 28 Dec. 2013 at the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden

Camera: Makhina Dzhuraeva
On stage: Anton Adasinsky, Elena Yarovaya, Tatyana Khabarova, Oleg Zhukovsky, Pavel Alekhin
Sound: Daniel Williams
Light: Falk Dittrich
Management: Isolde Matkey

Text: Anton Adasinsky
English text editors: Daniel Williams, David Kemp
Video: Makhina Dzhuraeva

At once both the Bermuda islands and flying Dutchmen came to mind…

A village where the pavements are covered in marble, the seafront is paved with something uncommon…
Each shack is of an original design…
Fountains and wonder-yards.
But then something must have happened,
And now everything and everywhere – is for sale.
The people have driven, walked, flown away
There are no more night cafés and parties
A few hotels are still working, but things aren’t easy there either
Lonely and cheerless nudists gather there…
Solitude there is justified – the wind makes speaking impossible.
It has always roared and always will…
And the waves.

Now – listen.
In any place I always find a local pub
Found one there too. Perhaps, too local, since from six in the evening everyone there lies plastered.
One of the “horizontal heroes” – Steve from Amsterdam, told me that on that terrible day he had been drunk since morning, so he remembers nothing besides his heartbeat and the desire to crawl under the bed…
And it was on that day the WAVE came.
Everyone who stayed on in the village says roughly the same.
There had been no wind all morning.
A miracle in itself!
People poured out into the streets to discuss this, and then a strange thing happened: everyone’s ears became blocked and the people ran from the coast into the mountains
Only the children failed to react, but they were also hauled away.
In the evening everyone returned home, but no one was able to sleep.
The next morning, the same thing happened…
They blamed the spirits, African winds or other evils.
Fish were not caught for a week, and folk began leaving…
But Steve stayed on – “Your coffee, Anton, 50 cents!..”
When he found out what I do, he dragged me off to see the theatre!
The “theatre” was to my liking, as was everything else that remained in that village.
The wind is still roaring in my ears, and Arthur and David are convinced that that was how the Ocean spoke to them.

Text: Anton Adasinsky
Translation: Ruth O’Dowd, Pavel Glebov
Photos: Elena Yarovaya, Anton Adasinsky

Hello all,

the rehearsals in Voronezh are finished!

Tonight, on 27th November 2013 the ONCE… show by DEREVO has been revived on stage in Voronezh with:

Andrey Merkulov
Ekaterina Khmelevskaya
Makhina Dzhuraeva
Mikhail Bagramyan
Dmitry Krivochurov
Alexander Gromyko

and

Yana Kuzina
Elizaveta Polyanskaya

All the best, guys!
Merda!!

and on November 29th in Voronezh concert hall ONCE… is going to be presented by the classic cast:
Anton Adasinsky
Elena Yarovaya
Tatyana Khabarova
Oleg Zhukovsky
+ Pavel Alekhin

Anton Adasinsky

Something happened in Voronezh, something happened in Moscow
I, after a long interval, held some serious master classes. Once more saw young faces, was asked complicated questions, again my faith returned…
And no one wished to part, and we strolled, and slept not, and worked again until bruised and in tears
And now I am afraid of asking – have you forgotten?
Not given up yet?
Are you still working?
Will you continue??
Or give a deep sigh and go back to the habitual?

I am a bridge.
Across me one walks from shore to shore. For everyone – the bridge has always existed. And it always will.
And suddenly – “metal fatigue” (Poncelet was a romantic!)
And the bridge is no more.
Well, man gets used to everything – we shall live on opposite shores…
But that will happen later, not soon.

But now –

Walk across me to visit one another, with bread wrapped in a linen cloth, with sweets for the children…
Pause in the middle, throw a crust of bread, the fish will splash…
You’ll smile!
And in the black roughened mirror of water you’ll hear the song of these execution days

Your humble servant (obs.)
Anton Adasinsky

Text: Anton Adasinsky
Translation: Ruth O’Dowd & Pavel Glebov
Photo: Valeria Erza

David found a bread crust. Arthur saw this and in response hurdled himself on top of David and smacked his head with a maraca. David cried out and dropped the crust. Arthur grabbed the abandoned piece of bread, ran for the bathroom, shut himself, and also started screaming. David picked up the maraca, and began to laugh demonically.

At that moment, I realized the kids are all grown up now, and I can finally return to my professional career. It was all waiting and ready a while ago.

So of course sideburns, baseball cap bill over my face, glued blonde hair, a baggy coat, one heal higher than the other, and glasses with a “+ 3” prescription — helps me see and makes eyes look bigger.

The drive was fast. I left the car at a gas station near by a café. Perfect timing! It’s Saturday, crowded, and the employees probably already want to go home.

Armed with tubes of antiseptic salve “Vishenvskogo”, I squeezed the strong smelling cream onto the welcome rug in front of an elevator. The smell spread quickly and throughout the whole store. Aware of the video surveillance, I tried not to stop or look around. I was going to a person who, just eight months ago, sold me the wrong blinds.

The person was in his spot. I quickly made an order and he left for about ten minutes. Meanwhile, this gave me time to bring up “451 F” on his computer screen, set a toy barking dog for the attention of customers, pour permanent glue over the keyboard, and get the hell out of there. From the opening of my sleeve, I spayed all the locks with liquid putty.

Time for the most important part… Thanks to the absence of cameras in the bathroom, I was able turn my coat inside out and leave a bag with a sticker “RUN!” on it. In less than ten minutes the radio echoed warning of evacuation.

Crammed in the elevator with everyone else, I leaned my back against the wall and left a large sticker reading: “God made us different – IKEA conforms us!” This slogan was chosen in advance and took some time. Other possibilities were: “Since 1997 — all the same”, “Prices match the quality!”, and others a bit more offensive ones but that would be just over doing it.

Along with the crowd, I ran out of the elevator and simply hid inside a closet. I stayed there for fifteen minutes before I put on a mask and lit up a smoke grenade.

Now, I could come out. I was invisible. There were no people. To light up everything was a matter of seconds and already, because of the smoke grenade, firemen were on their way. I put on a costume of a surgeon (taken from theater) as well as a facemask and disposable booties, which were extra but looked realistic. The basement was not as hot from the fire. There, I waited for the sound of an ambulance. (Their sirens echo the prefect fourth just like the Soviet Union anthem).

The basement filled up with clouds of smoke.

Using a couple of sticks and a piece of cloth, I put together something that resembled a stretcher and ran for the doors. Outside was flooded with cars, filled with screams, and bursting with chaotic sounds. I made my way to a wall and sat down coughing. Immediately, a fireman rushed over to me. I pointed into the depths of the store and ran off to get water from somebody by an ambulance. While I was washing my face, I was completely forgotten about. So I just changed, stuffed everything in my backpack, and joined the observing crowd.

I only forgot to take off the disposable booties (I noticed in the car), but it’s alright, they have been on since museum Hermitage…

Text: Anton Adasinsky
Translation: Nikita Pushkareva
Photos: Elena Yarovaya

I never cared about the future:
When I leave I’ll take the whole world with me.
On my way to heaven I’ll drink a cup of tea and I’ll stop the war.

But now it’s different.
Children were born and their solitude will remain when Lena and I are gone.
I never asked my Mom: ‘Why did you bring me into the world?’
And they wouldn’t ask either.
They’re great and happy like any children.

So what can I, you, we do for them?
Nothing, actually.
Just remove all the everyday trash from our lives.
Just race with them on all fours, just listen to their laughter and their crying.
And just be ready to tear to pieces anyone who would want to hurt them.
These are the fangs that I’m talking about.
Don’t wait for someone to bring help or change: that’s inside you, inside us.
Clench your fists, learn to do it, even if it never was needed before.
Fight for the happiness of your children, for our own happiness that we already fucked up.
Get into your coffin without a snotty nose full of self-pity but with a satisfied feeling of tiredness: the job has been done well!

Slava, this is to you:
We’ll do whatever we can to help you win the Trickster-Circus over to your side.
Just to hear the children’s voices again:
– Dad, let’s go to the circus!

Text: Anton Adasinsky
English text editor: David Kemp
Photo: Yulia Bunakova, Elena Yarovaya

A message from an artist landed in my inbox. Just like many others which I receive regularly: “I’d like to work with DEREVO”.

I skimmed through the text without paying much attention and instead turned to the attached pictures which I liked very much. Immediately some dance images came to my mind.

So I answered the message and we made an appointment to meet in Moscow. Then I went back to the original message and noticed the small addition at the end: “I’m 15 years old”.

I only had time prior to shooting at the Mosfilm studio. So we met at 7 in the morning in an empty café.
She brought her camera and took some photos.
We spoke as equals, feeling like old acquaintances. I asked her about what was going on amongst young artists.
While she spoke to me about this, we walked at a leisurely pace towards Mosfilm.
We were walking quite slowly indeed; it was a pleasure, something unusual to see in Moscow.

So now,
as far as I could understand, the young are not interested in focusing on the source of a problem. They have a way of elevating an intense experience of reality to a level from where they can project their charged thoughts onto the monotony of everyday life, painting it brightly, as if lit by a spotlight shone from a helicopter’s belly.

And apparently I was seen by this girl like an oil film on the surface of water, able to spread over any possible subject of discussion, even the risky ones.
She called it the “blubber-oil” effect: a temporary taming of the waves.

During our conversation we felt distanced from the pavements and monuments. For an hour Moscow became an unreal cardboard city. I also gained a sense that the Mystery of Art has just been discovered but not yet deciphered.

Assuming that the “helicopter” theory is correct, there’s no need for decryption. The barcode of the Art will be placed on every damp corner of the city (look at her pictures) and will be dissolved in a minute. The Theory-Hypothesis-Null by Rama Michael Tamm has been amended by the “Null-Hypothesis-Null” construction.

She, Valeria Erza, stands with a permanent invisible connection to the others of her own kind. On that morning I was introduced to and easily accepted into this circle.

There’s no name for this “circle-sensation-consciousness” phenomenon. Not yet. To enter you need a password. In my case, my morning indifference towards my own creative work has worked as a password.

And so we both got ourselves some ice-cream which neither of us finished, stopped by the risen sun.

Text: Anton Adasinsky
English text editor: David Kemp
Photos: Valeria Erza

Something very special will happen at the Exhibition opening in St. Petersburg on May 29th, 2013. Mikhail Chemiakin’s personal exhibition to be presented in the Russian Museum’s Marble Palace

Anton Adasinsky & Slava Polunin will take care of the live action part at the opening.

On June 13 & 14 DEREVO performs “HARLEKIN” in Norway at the Porsgrunn International Theatre Festival.

On July 4 & 5 the new show previews PARADOX KASPER are running in Dresden as part of the Scheune Schaubudensommer Festival.

As soon as more appearences will be confirmed they will be available in our Tour Plan.

On April the 2nd, 2013 «Faust» has won in four main categories at the Nika - Russian film academy award. One of the awards went to Anton Adasinsky for his role as Mephistopheles-Moneylender.

More details about the awards can be found at hollywoodreporter.com »

…I wasn’t quite familiar with the russian cinema elite. Now I know a little bit more. And I don’t know how to deal with this knowledge. The best would be as usually with humour…

Anton Adasinsky

I was quite full of wonder after my brief visit to Moscow to the Lumiere Gallery.

I hadn’t expected that so many people were still able to walk slowly and speak gently, to look into your eyes and even to listen to you without meddling with their iphones right in front of your face. I’m speaking of the visitors to the exhibition and to my gig there.

The exhibition Time of the Bells is a VERY GOOD one. Thank you to Nastya and all other organisers behind the scenes.

Meanwhile the DEREVO studio in Dresden has been turned into a filming location. A motion picture in progress is:

The Middle of White (working title)

Idea: Pavel Semchenko (AKHE)
Director: Pavel Semchenko
Cast: Anton Adasinsky (DEREVO)
Cameraman: Andrey Gladkikh
Assistant: Natalia Krymskaya
Producer: Pavel Semchenko

Big thanks to Elena Yarovaya and Isolde Matkey for their support with the boring administrative tasks.

We will tell nothing yet about the music. That will be a surprise.
Anton

(english text editor: Daniel Williams)

Also the heavy metal performance by DEREVO is nearing:

29 – 31 March 2013 in Festspielhaus Hellerau, Dresden

The golden classic by DEREVO to be presented by the original cast & crew.

On stage:
Oleg Zhukovsky
Elena Yarovaya
Tatyana Khabarova
Anton Adasinsky

Sound: Dmitry Abramov
Light: Falk Dittrich

Anton Adasinsky performs his song Cat on Accordion from the Album DOPPIO live at Lumiere Centre in Moscow, 9th of March 2013. On stage are Alexandra, Veronika, Anton & Nikolay

Download the album DOPPIO here »