12/10/2012
Interview with Taras Pozdnyakov, the founder and creative director of the project [Raw Art] – one of the most interesting alternative projects in the world of circus.

 

I was born in Ukraine, in Kiev, into the family of professional circus actors Juriy and Natalia Pozdnyakov. My parents never tried to make me take up the circus, and I am very grateful to them for it. Instead, I played the violin and the guitar, as well as football, I read books and listened to various music. When I was 15, it was my own decision to go in for the art of circus. It’s difficult to say what exactly made me do it. Probably, it was fate.

 

I entered Kiev Circus school and specialized in juggling. My father was delighted at my choice, and he became my first and only teacher. It took him 4 years to teach me the most important and useful skill in my life – to put myself unattainable goals and reach them through hard work. Apart from that, during those 4 years I did the trick of throwing 9 big rings and took part in the fest  Cirque de Demain.

 

After my graduation, I worked in Anatoliy Zalevskiy’s theatre Rizoma. It was when I felt that juggling wasn’t enough for me. I took my grades in circus direction, and the first act I directed was that by Iroshnikov brothers. This act won Gold medal ant the fest Cirque de Demain `04 in Paris and Silver Clown at the fest in Monte-Carlo in 2005. In 2008 and 2009 the acts [Question] by Sergey Timofeev and [Sea Story] by Alexander Koblikov also won Gold medals at Cirque de Demain.

 

In 2009 and 2010 I directed 6 new acts, two of which will take part in Cirque de Demain. I presently teach and direct at Kiev Circus academy and develop the project [Raw Art].

 

I think this project started the moment I first took juggling things in my hands. It was like a birth of a child – it had no name, it was not clear what it was going to be, what character or destiny it would have… The one thing was certain – I got one of my main life goals, and sole juggling won’t be enough for it.

 

I deliberately call [Raw Art] a project, because sometimes I have difficulty to answer what exactly it is. It is not a theatre or a show, it is not a company with the definite number of people and a list of performances or parts. And it is certainly not a commercial group. I don’t set myself any boundaries. It’s more interesting like that.

 

The name of  [Raw Art] came from my interest in photography. You know, there are such new cameras that take photos almost all by themselves. You just press the button. No worries about exposure, white balance or definition. But it’s not all. The camera chooses the moment when to take a picture for you! Are the eyes closed? The camera will wait till they open. The person in the scene is not smiling? No problem, we’ll take time. But what should you do if you want to take a picture of tears, not smiles? What should you do if the way you see the world differs from that of the camera-maker or even from the one which is set by social stereotypes? Then you should choose the manual mode and ‘raw’ format – and you’ll get control over the picture and will be able to show the spectator the world as you see it.

 

The situation in circus is almost the same: you are supposed to laugh, have fun and not think much. But I am sure that the art of circus, along with cinema, theatre and ballet, is capable of making people think, sympathize, cry…

There is one more meaning of the word ‘raw’, but I will not reveal it for the time being…

 

I often call our art ‘alternative circus’… If you go out in the street and conduct a survey ‘what you know about circus’, many will answer that they know  Cirque du Soleil, some will tell you about clowns, dogs and horses, but most people know nothing. I would like to change this situation. If we make parallels with cinema, Cirque du Soleil is a high quality blockbuster  with million budgets and huge box office, special effects, scenery, make-up, costumes, but without attention to the inner world or feelings of individual personages. On the other hand, this clowns-and-dogs thing resembles not very clever comedies such as ‘American pie’. And that is all. There is no alternative. No Requiem for a Dream, no art-house or non-commercial cinema. I hope you understand me: I do want my acts to work and make money. But money is only our instruments, not goals.

 

Since I am always very careful at choosing actors I want to work with, and the actors choose me as carefully,  [Raw Art] is a group of confederates who are united by common goals, principles and conception. The main goal now is to share our art with the whole world. In future we would like to join all our acts in one performance.

 

In my art, I collaborate much with my parents, who teach at Kiev circus school. My mother Natalya Pozdnyakova is a teacher of hand balancing and contortion, my father Juriy Pozdnyakov teaches juggling. They are both among the leading world specialists, they have taught such well-known actors as Sergey Timofeev, Alexander Koblikov, Grigoriy Lovygin and Dima Bulkin (winner of the Russian show Minute of Fame, the version of England Has Talent). My parents train the actors and I create acts – it is a kind of our family business.

 

The latest 6 acts were created in collaboration with a gifted Ukrainian designer Valerya Kovalskaya. I am very glad to know her and work with her.

 

[Raw Art] nowadays is a completely DIY-project. Everything, starting from hall renting and up to video editing is done by my family and our actors. We have no state support, and the spectators in the Ukraine are too keen on commercial projects like Ukraine Has Talent, The X-factor and so on. Hence the paradox: we are quite well-known all over the world and not needed in Ukraine. I hope the situation will change someday…

 

Unfortunately, the art of modern circus has always upset me rather than inspire. The only people, except my parents, who have given me inspiration were the great Russian director Valentin Gneushev and my friend and colleague  Anatoliy Zalevskiy. My main sources of inspiration have always been other forms of art: literature (Strugatsky brothers, Mikhail Bulgakov), cinema (the works of Quentin Tarantino and Darren Aronofsky). My unlimited source of energy is the music by Muse, Korn, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Prodigy, Rammstein, Nirvana, Limp Bizkit and others.

 

I do hope this interview will help many people meet [Raw Art]. We are always open for collaboration and are constantly searching for like-minded people.

 

The original article.