Valentin Alexandrovich Gneushev (russian: Валентин Александрович Гнеушев; born December 20, 1951) is a Russian
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
and
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
.
Biography
Gneushev was born in the city of
Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil ( rus, Нижний Тагил, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located east of the boundary between Asia and Europe. Population:
History
The prehistor ...
in the
Serdlovsk region. He studied to be a
clown
A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms.
History
The most ancient clowns have been found in ...
at the
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
State Circus School and later graduated from the
Russian Academy of Theatrical Arts as an artistic director.
The first circus act he worked on, the aerial group performance “Cranes” (1985), was an instant success. It was on tour in many countries and received various awards.
In 1986, Gneushev’s "The Red Harlequin", performed by Vladimir Tsarkov, was awarded the Gold Medal at the International Circus Festival in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
In 1989, he created an aerial act for Vladimir Kekhaial, who went on to work in
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
's ''
Nouvelle Expérience
''Nouvelle Expérience'' was Cirque du Soleil's fourth touring circus show, which premiered in 1990.
Before the show's conception, Cirque du Soleil attempted to revive one of its previous shows, ''Le Cirque Réinventé''. The attempt was abandon ...
'' show and later became a star in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
In 1991 his show ''Cirk Valentin'' was performed at the
Gershwin Theatre
The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New ...
on
Broadway. The circus show, which used no animals and was designed for a theatrical stage, consisted entirely of acts created by Gneushev. An original music score for the show was written by
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
Bobby Previte.
Many of Valentin Gneushev’s acts have been used in different circuses, including the
Moscow State Circus
The title Moscow State Circus is used for a variety of circuses. Most commonly, it refers to one of the two circus buildings in Moscow, the " Circus Nikulin" (the old circus, featuring animal acts) and the "Bolshoi Circus" (the new circus, feat ...
, which often toured the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the
Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard
Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoi Boulevard, or Nikulin's Circus, is located on Tsvetnoi Boulevard in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow. It was the only circus in the city between 1926 and 1971.
History
Salamonsky Circus
The circus was establis ...
, Cirque du Soleil, which adapted them to their style, and in Las Vegas.
His unique approach to creating circus acts has made him over the years one of the most influential directors in the
contemporary circus and a regular invited guest of the prestigious annual
International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo.
In the 1990s Gneushev worked with the famous Russian clown
Yuri Nikulin
Yuri Vladimirovich Nikulin (russian: Юрий Владимирович Никулин; 18 December 1921 – 21 August 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actor and clown who starred in many popular films. He is best known for his roles in Leonid ...
and was the artistic director of
Nikulin’s Circus in Moscow.
Valentin Gneushev worked with prominent Russian film directors, such as
Andrey Konchalovsky
Andrei Sergeyevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky (russian: link=no, Андрей Сергеевич Михалков-Кончаловский; born 20 August 1937) is a Russian filmmaker. He has worked in Soviet, Hollywood, and contemporary Russian ...
, and theatre directors such as
Roman Viktyuk
Roman Hryhorovych Viktyuk ( uk, Роман Григорович Віктюк; russian: link=no, Роман Григорьевич Виктюк, Roman Grigoryevich Viktyuk; 28 October 1936 – 17 November 2020) was a Ukrainian theatre director, act ...
and
Konstantin Raikin
Konstantin Arkadyevich Raikin (russian: Константи́н Арка́дьевич Ра́йкин; July 8, 1950, Leningrad, USSR) is a Russian Federation, Russian actor and theatre director, the head of the Satyricon (theatre), Moscow Satyrico ...
.
Валентину Гнеушеву — 70!
/ref>
He appeared in the 1977 Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
children's fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
'' The Scarlet Flower'' (Alenkiy Tsvetochek).
References
External links
“Cirk Valentin” on Broadway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gneushev, Valentin
Living people
1951 births
Russian male artists
Russian circus performers
People from Nizhny Tagil