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.
…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…
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
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
What an exceptional human being is living among us!
Never gives any master classes; never goes to the theatre but still when she does see something, she always offers praise; never starts serious talks about art.
And if they talk about Butoh or dance or theatre, she would just run away.
More likely sitting in a corner, busy with costumes. Respectful but indifferent toward Music, although she made her own CD “The man kissing the bottom of a boat”.
However, no any single DEREVO show would exist without her.
And two years long editing of the film, ‘Süd. Grenze’, it’s hers.
And Fanchulya in The Rider.
And Donna Flora in Once… and Zhizha and the Jester in La Divina Commedia, along with many other inimitable characters and figures.
There were times she was ill or busy and someone had to replace her but it was never quite the same.
Not enough DEREVO…
Though she does no somersaults and breathes no fire,
It’s impossible to avert your eyes when she’s on stage.
And now after one and a half year break (the cause is known) Elena Yarovaya comes back on boards in HARLEKIN: on March the 1st in St Petersburg! And in Mephisto Waltz on March 23d in Warsaw and in La Divina Commedia on March 29th to 31st in Hellerau in Dresden.
Ring me. ring and speak, flatter, wish happiness and good health!
Voice is a Sound!
Sound is Music!
Music will never change, never become stained, and it always will make us get up from our knees and it will dry our tears!
„Hello, do you hear me?“
„Yes“
„That’s great!“
„Happy New Year!“
In 2012 DEREVO has managed to produce three new shows: „Noah’s Ark“, „5th Sun“ and „Sake, Moon and Horse“. The CD „Doppio“ has been produced as well and the new book „DEREVO in Dresden“. Both out sons, Arthud and David are already rushing to the stage… they should better become interested in chess.
Yes, we do know about all the hype. As about Maya Codex, as their calendar, as about everybody’s endeavours to disappear altogether.
Though we don’t want to disappear. After all we don’t speak Spanish and we’ve got mixed up with all those gods and faithes long ago.
But what’s just came to my mind…
Some bad guy, probably from the South, wouldn’t allow a kid to see the outer world from a birth until the age of fifteen. Just to see the lad’s reaction to the Sun and a sunset. And so the Big Moment comes, the sun comes down and the boy says; „Don’t worry, it will come back again!“.
Well, that is what we’re working on now joyfully.
Here are some images of the work in progress.
Design and ideas: Pavel Semchennko (AKHE), Anton Adasinsky and Elena Yarovaya (DEREVO).
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)
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
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.
No, not quite so. Robert Wyatt saw MEPHISTO WALTZ in Edinburgh, with his wife Alfie («I knew, I knew there will be Sunflowers!»).
I don’t know how my life would be different if there was no Rock Bottom album.
Would I go to Tartu then, visiting that hippie convention? Would I hitch-hike across half of Russia? Would I write short stories, would I fall in love, would I leave Leningrad for Prague?
Would I meet Sasha Davydov (our first «joint» and the world burst open).
Probably not…
Recently at the Film Festival in Venice I passed by a huge building as they took me through the canals. Something jolted inside of me. I remembered: Robert Wyatt. It must be the place where he started to work on that album.
Then I bought the LP again. The salesman in the record shop also commented on this: „Best Ever!“
A long time has passed but THIS hasn’t changed. From the very first sound I lost the sense of human ambitions. Just as easily as it happened 30 years ago, right then I left everythingbehind and flew along the Path of the Heart….
But now in Edinburgh I was ashamed to speak out and tell that I myself and my Mephisto are like that because of Rock Bottom. My English was rather insufficient to describe the main point. Neither should I try and reproduce his words now. They will remain on that small street, caught in the soot from the Zippo lighter.
He said: «I used to believe that I only could be moved to parallel worlds by my own force. I wouldn’t trust the mission to somebody else. But it happened now. If they ask „what IS Mephisto Waltz“? Is it a life-form? Well, yes… Is it a forgettable form? No. Who’s there to forget? I’m not an accuser here… Unreal life-form. Yes, right… an unreal form of life.»
Text: Anton Adasinsky
English text editor: Daniel Williams
The Scarecrow stood on the edge of the field. Replacement for his rusty tin-cans was well overdue.
The Wind stole his hat and his coat was ragged.
But joy was always coming in December .
Village children used to make a Snowman right next to the Scarecrow. Right like Snowmen should be: with a tin bucket on his head and a carrot as his nose. The sleeve of the Scarecrow’s coat was then tied to the Snowman’s twig paw and with a happy squeals children were aiming their snowballs at the pair of figures. Maybe children wanted to separate them again.
The Scarecrow was smiling though. Yes, truly. He was smiling.
And then April came on tiptoes and took the Snowman away. Just a twig remained tied to the Scarecrow’s sleeve.
But it’s alright. December will come again. Not quite soon but it will. I can wait.
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.
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.
.jpg "Elena Yarovaya in MEPHISTO WALTZ. Photo - Anna Bogodist")
.jpg "Elena Yarovaya in MEPHISTO WALTZ. Photo - Anna Bogodist")
.jpg "Elena Yarovaya in Jester Empire. Photo - Isolde Matkey")
.jpg "Elena Yarovaya in ROBERT'S DREAM. Photo - Carola Fritzsche")
.jpg "Arthur & David Adasinsky")
