Text: Anton Adasinsky
Photo: Elena Yarovaya

And so it goes.

Either due to lack of sleep or due to some general weariness but tears came right away when I’ve read „Boris Strugatsky is dead“.

I never knew it would entrain me so much.

He wasn’t a „writer“ or „sci-fi author“. It was just the easiest way to define Strugatsky brothers.

But it’s more complicated.

They were like a transmitter on a wave which is not hitting those who’s „harmless“.

Remember this? We all hear just one voice in each one’s telephone receiver, though we do hear different things. („Disquiet“ / „Snail on the Slope“)

Maybe sometime we’ll find out what their warnings, their discoveries, their predictions were about.

I’ve been pushing the „Snail…“ among all my friends, stoned admirers of Berdyaev, Crowley and Castaneda. But it wasn’t in fashion then.

Please read them now.

Boris Strugatsky didn’t die.

Aliens do not die. It must be some other word. We don’t know it yet.

Text: Anton Adasinsky
Photo: Sergey Aksenov (Anton Adasinsky as Don Rumata. Film auditions from 1999 for Hard to be a God by Alexey German, based on A. and B. Strugatsky’s novel)

According to the long-year December tradition DEREVO performs a series of new works and brings back some older shows at the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden.

20 - 22 December 2012, 20:00

“Fifth Sun”

new performance by Anton Adasinsky & DEREVO. Stage design by Pavel Semchenko (AKHE)

An abstract tales or myths make children and scientists happy. Common people rather passionately discuss those concerning the End of the World. Like The Flood, The Fire from the Sky, The Mad Asteroid and of course The Maya Calender. The End Of the Fifth Sun is on 21.12.2012. But the premiere is on 20th of December, don’t worry.

Anton

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28 December, 20:00

“Sake, the Moon and a Horse”

Solo performance by Anton Adasinsky with unique improvisations.

„Unique, ‘cos I positively couldn’t repeat them again.“
Anton

During final applause it becomes clear that Sake is the name of a Girl.

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29 - 30 December, 20:00

HARLEKIN

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One more prize for DEREVO – the Broadway Baby’s Bobby „goes to Mephisto Waltz at Assembly Roxy for their high production values and stunning design“.

Thank you to all who contributed to the perfection of the show!

Lena Yarovaya – stage design
Daniel Williams – sound
Igor Fomin – light
Anna Frumson – costumes
Andrey Bobylev – sunflowers
Max Isaev – chalk stripes which turned to footprints leading up to the sky

Dancers on stage: Nastya, Pavel, Makhina, Anna, Anton

And thank you to all who came to see MEPHISTO WALTZ in Edinburgh!

Nach dem Fringe ist vor dem Fringe!

Anton

From left to right/top to bottom: Pavel, Makhina, Anna, Nastya, Igor, Daniel, Anna, Anton. Photo Credit: Larry Bartfleet

So this is the news:

The Herald follows DEREVO’s work at the Fringe from our very first visit here with RED ZONE. Newspaper’s critics always come to the shows and always write something about us.

We have been honoured with an „Angel“ for ONCE… and an „Archangel“ for KETZAL.

But yesterday something remarkable happened.

A manager – Anna Bogodist has been awarded with the Herald’s Angel!

It’s her who organised the Russian Season in Edinburgh this year and who brought us, crazy us, all here: DEREVO and DoTheatre and AKHE and La Pushkin and Lidia Kopina and HandMade Theatre…

Hundreds of Emails, phone calls, visas, tickets, adverts, accomodation.

One year of hard labour.

Well done, Anya! Congratulations!

And another rather sad message:

Our good friend Nigel Charnok of DV8 has passed away.

I was hoping to write a couple of words about him but nothing comes out really.

The day before yesterday, during my first dance on stage, I suddenly remembered his moves and just had to smile…

Anton Adasinsky

Click to open it as PDF »

Thank you Donald Hutera & The Times

Some further reviews of MEPHISTO WALTZ in Edinburgh:

• From Total Theatre by Dorothy Max Prior »
• “A Mephisto-fying Waltz” by Emma-Jane Denly from Broadway Baby »
• “Russian Winter in August” by Tramway Yount Critics »
• Fantastically detailed review ““Live with a rainbow in your heart” by Chloe Henderson at ishotamandapalmer blog »

Thanks to all authors for seeing and reviewing MEPHISTO WALTZ.

The Scarecrow stood on the edge of the field. Replacement for his rusty tin-cans was well overdue.

I can wait.

Hello everybody!

In just one week DEREVO starts the new series of shows, where?
Yes, of course in Edinburgh. For the eighth time.

Probably there’s no need anymore. We’ve got all the main prizes. Everyone knows us here, except maybe the first wife of the Mayor, ‘cos she lives on Malta.

But the year without the Fringe seems to be incomplete. The Fringe is a running track in time. Backwards. Back to the honest days.

The show’s temper can be hardened by this. Harden, let down, bend and forge again, cling-clang… in our aprons, merrily…

Yes, there’s a risk that the „horseshoe“ of the show breaks. It may happen. That’s why it’s the Fringe.

MEPHISTO WALTZ becomes a joyous performance. I still couldn’t write a proper description text for it. I tried. I know I can do it. But it just doesn’t need any texts.

Anton.

Excuse me for an extremely plain depiction of the complicated theory of Agoraphobia. The subject is definitely worth a deeper contemplation. Maybe I’ll come back to it soon at some of our workshops.

From a very young age a human requires some physical limit of the world.

Something that reminds us of the prenatal closeness. Such space can be a cave, a tree hollow, a city appartment, a sleeping bag… even a canvas tent would be placed next to a tree if possible, not because of the rain or wind. It just seems to give some kind of protection.

Skipping all eight volumes of a detailed commentary on the subject I’d rather leap right to the conclusion: everyone is affected by Agoraphobia, at least with its minimal symptoms. And this is what DEREVO is quite interested for.

In case of the Terschelling island, measuring 20 by 4 km, there’s an opportunity to try out something what hardly fits the indoor training.

For instance that can be practices connected with an extended influence range of dancers on their audience, as well as some techniques of „wide-shot-like focusing of eyes“ or dynamically adjusting the dance according to the distance to a partner or an instant transition to the dance action in front of the audience and many more.

It is stated in DEREVO’s Manifest „the sky begins right from the ground“, well it’s easier said…

Once on a summer day at the Elbe, as merry and damp as I was, I shouted to Slava Guyvoronsky „Why don’t you bath?“. „I wasn’t invited“ he replied.

Text: Anton Adasinsky
Photo by DEREVO

DEREVO has brilliantly performed MEPHISTO WALTZ last year at the OEROL.

But I was somehow uneasy. Not quite settled. Not entirely.

This is the island of DEREVO.

Every blade of grass knows us here.

But the guys didn’t go through that all yet.

They’ve got it delivered directly, the audience, the success.

MEPHISTO WALTZ is a show. Precise and ready-made body.

So now, one year later, they have to attend some other classes: the Street and the Body.

Just as we were doing it then.

In the sunlight and with no music playing back. Same costumes, same asphalt, same wind and a sand…

It just must be.

The steps of a big staircase should not be skipped.

This is a way of learning. I think about it rather often lately.

Anton

Meanwhile DEREVO School on Wheels has finished their performances at the ROBODOCK 2012 (you may remember the name from the huge project in Mannheim)…

On June 15th there’s a ten days long performances marathon on Terschelling island begins, at the OEROL festival.

A lot of things was started for DEREVO there some time ago. And a lot of things for the OEROL.

We’ll keep you up-to-date about the daily performances and improvisations.

You’ll see the dunes, the sea, the horses and the Moon and our guys among all these beautiful things…

Performers:

• Nastya Ponomareva (Lunis)
• Pavel Alekhin (Gleb)
• Makhina Juraeva (Marat)
• Anya Raicheva (Raja Ancheva)

We wish you and us were there…