Some years the records were kept more carefully...some less so...this is what remains in memory and documents
1985 Leningrad.
Studied at the Terra Mobile pantomime studio, studying the most progressive trends in movement theater and dance (plastic drama, breakdance, modern ballet, classical and associative pantomime, clowning, martial arts, butoh, philosophy of movement).
Performed at venues throughout Leningrad.
1986
"Terra Mobile" entered the "Lenconcert School." They learned to become pop and original artists.
Worked for the Lenconcert organization. A joint program with the rock band "Piknik." Toured throughout the USSR (approximately 20 concerts per month).
1987
The group staged its show program, "Mime-Break Show," which combined breakdancing and rap, associative and classical pantomime. This marked the first time Stanislav Varkki staged routines and choreographic developments.
The program toured the USSR.
USSR Days in Armenia
Governmental Certificate and Medal of Armenia
Participation in film productions at Lenfilm and Moldovafilm studios.
Regular appearances on the television shows "The Fifth Wheel" and "Muz. Ring" (Leningrad).
1988
Participation in symposiums:
Dedicated to Meyerhold
"Stanislavsky in the Past and Present," Moscow. First introduction to Mikhail Chekhov's system. Master classes with the master's last student.
Premiere of the play "Рrivate Life"
a series of performances at venues in Leningrad.
Performances at pantomime festivals, of which there were more than 20 a year, throughout the USSR
...with the ease of a well-oiled machine, "TerraMobile" wins first prizes at festivals and competitions...
Elena Markova, Smena newspaper, 1988
At its venue in the Zheleznodorozhnikov Palace of Culture, the "TerraMobile" group regularly presents shows for an international audience of foreign tourists in the intimate format of underground theater.
Larisa Lebedeva (Naumova) is a laureate of the All-Union Competition of Ballet Dancers and Choreographers in Moscow (the number "Orpheus," choreography by E. Smirnov).
A young dancer at the time, her background ranged from breakdance to postmodern.
"...It was the golden age of classical ballet, which represented the imperial ambitions of Soviet art on the world stage. Many schools were active, the strongest of which were in Leningrad, Moscow, and Perm. The central arena for creative competitions was the All-Union Ballet Competition in Moscow..."
Presentation of the Russian Chamber Ballet "Moscow." Larisa performed "Orpheus and Eurydice" with one of the ballet soloists and the role of a nun in the number "Forgive-Farewell!"
Going international:
First international tour. Sweden. Stockholm. Academy of Culture. Performance "Рrivate Life" and Show
1989
Street Path Project
Stanislav, having begun studying the history of street theater and techniques for direct audience engagement, initiated a bold experiment.
The impetus for the project was the "Caravan of Peace." The world's best street theaters came to Leningrad, and leading practitioners of the genre gave master classes.
A group of actors traveled from city to city, performing on the streets and squares, following the route
St. Petersburg – Tallinn – Riga – Stockholm – Berlin – Paris – Copenhagen – Helsinki – St. Petersburg.
According to the terms of the game, the group subsisted on funds earned through the ancient craft of street theater.
S. Varkki received the prize for Best Actor. L. Lebedeva received the prize for Best Actress.
All-Union Festival of Plastic Theaters (Penza).
Victory at the "All-Union Festival of Contemporary Dance Art" Leningrad.
1990
Planned tour of the USSR with the program "Mime Break Show"
and the play «Pr… Life" at festivals.
1991
The TerraMobile group officially represents Soviet art in Europe. Mime Festival Deutschland (Germany)
Performance "Personal Life"
Leipzig - Opera
Berlin - Babylon Theater
Staging of the play "The Overcoat" and performances at venues in St. Petersburg.
Stanislav Varkki and Larisa Lebedeva leave the TerraMobile group and form the theater duo "Perekatipole."
First Prize at the International Mime Festival of Soloists and Small Groups for their performance of "Return," choreographed by E. Smirnov.
Choreography for the "Street Ballet" group (Estonia).
Stanislav's attempt as a choreographer brought the "Street Ballet" rapid popularity in Estonia.
1992
Kazan International Mime Festival, S. Varkki, First Place in the Improvisation Category.
Project – Laboratory "Street Path," a four-month tour of Italian cities with the performance "Anima" in the format of street theater (with a hat).
Working on the street expanded the scope, intensifying the ritual origins of theater as a mystery.
Participation in the development of a system of rhythmic training for dancers. Golubev Laboratory (Leningrad).
Drive.
Energy.
Courage.
Something without which, even with mastery, it feels like swimming in an empty pool. I was lucky; fate brought me together with people who were developing some fun exercises. Having become part of this crowd, I began to understand that drive is a component of mastery and, with a certain amount of diligence, it becomes a deeply ingrained part of our lives. The man's name was Golubev. He ran a school in St. Petersburg where professional musicians would come and perform seemingly strange movements and draw some graphs.
The system is based on the body's perception of rhythm. Not with the ear, then the brain, then the body.
It all turned out to be simple. A redistribution of energy expenditure. A rhythmic swing. Some psychic energy is released. What to do with it is up to each person.
A reset of rhythmic perception occurs.
And as a result, a re-evaluation of musical perception.
1993
The first performances of "The Robber's Wife" (music by Gavrilin "Perezvony")
and "Dancing in the Rain" (later renamed "Love") were released.
Stanislav acted as director, choreographer, and actor in these productions.
These performances were awarded
First Prize at the Kazan Mime Festival for Soloists and Small Groups.
Grand Prix at the International Movement Festival in Nizhny Novgorod.
Invitation to the "Limburg Street Theater Festival" (a month-long tour of cities in the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium).
1994
St. Petersburg. A joint project of the Licedei, Derevo, and Perekatipole theaters, the play "Fata Morgana."
European tour (Holland, France, Germany, Austria).
Stanislav Varkki's production and choreography.
What passes for theater is not theater.
You realize this when you enter THEATER.
When you are made a spectator.
When goosebumps run through your body.
When you don't know whether you exist or not.
I first saw the Licedei in 1985. They immediately captured my heart. I was enchanted, delighted, obsessed with this phenomenon. And I wasn't alone. They blew up the Soviet notion of spectacle. Everyone loved them. And for good reason. They were a wonderful team of clowns. Nothing like this had happened in the world of clowning for about twenty years... and then, lo and behold!!! The most powerful Redheads, the charming Whites...
I was fortunate to work with them. The play "Fata Morgana." We're on tour in Paris.
I'm a dancer who passionately wants to be a clown.
We perform at the Théâtre Ranlag, a theater with its own history. This theater was the first theater in France where the "Licedei" (Licedei) performed... and they weren't the only ones... More than one clowning star has begun their stardom on this stage. And once upon a time, this was the cinema where the film " Les Enfants du paradis" premiered. A cult film for the French and for all those who know the history of clowning and pantomime.
The theater's owner was Madonna Bouglione (daughter of Alexandre Bouglione, founder of the Cirque Bouglione, which still stands in the center of Paris. The White Clown of the old tradition).
And so our performance ended, we were sitting in the dressing room, catching our breath... silence... And suddenly a woman with black, gypsy-like eyes bursts in and starts saying something to me in French... It was Madonna Buglione, and she was talking about finally finding the White Clown, about how it was, like, I...
I didn't attach much importance to it... (continued in 1996)
Working with Dmitry Pokrovsky's Russian Folk Music Ensemble. Joint research into Russian folklore, developing a dance framework for the project "Stravinsky's Wedding."
1995
Stanislav: the role of Peter the Great in a city square festival (St. Petersburg).
His first role in a major public production.
Filming for Alexey Yuryevich German's film "Khrustalev the Machine."
The seven-minute scene on screen took two months to film and a month to dub. Working closely with a great master of cinema.
European tour with the "Derevo" Theatre (roles in the plays "Once Upon a Time," "Wish-Fulfilling Attraction," and "The Horseman").
Larisa: maternity leave.
1996
Paris. Stanislav Varkki was invited to the RANLAG Theatre for the role of the White Clown in the play "On the Road to Siena."
(continued...beginning in 1994)
...it was Madonna Bouglione, and she was talking about finally finding the White Clown, and that it was me...
I didn't pay it much attention, but a year later, an invitation came from Paris to play the White Clown. I arrived, and Madonna began teaching me the art of the White Clown. We looked at old photographs, I listened to stories, and gradually came to terms with the idea, the fact, of being White.
As I learned later, Madonna was not given permission to work with me. The rule was that work was given first to the French, and only then to others. So Madonna wrote to the French Ministry of Culture about needing a White Clown for a performance, and that there were no White Clowns in France, so she found one in Russia. They granted me a work permit, but only temporarily... and a few months later, some elderly man, a clowning expert, came to the performance, watched my work, and provided documentary confirmation that so-and-so was indeed the White Clown. And I was granted a work permit.
And so I became the successor to the tradition.
1997
European tour with the play "On the Road to Siena" (the play ran for 250 performances).
The lead role in the play "Terror" by the Russian underground luminary Alexei Khvostenko (Khvost).
The lead role of Ivanushka in a show on Red Square dedicated to the 850th anniversary of Moscow
(directed by A. Konchalovsky).
There was a competition for the role of Ivanushka, the symbol of Russia and hero of the Russian people. I won because I had the skills to work in a large venue. The auditorium was Red Square, the set was St. Basil's Cathedral, and the show had 1,500 participants.
Excerpts from A.S. Konchalovsky's book "The Sublime Deception":
"Every action has its own laws. There are specialists in mass spectacles; they know how many hundred people should walk on the right, how many on the left, depending on the space and how many spectators are in that space. The larger the audience, the less opportunity there is to see what's happening on stage.
To tell the story, very striking, very simple symbols, visible from afar, were needed.
The Russian Ivan was chosen as the protagonist. He was played by the very good mime Stanislav Varkki, with very expressive movements: you can see everything even from the hundred and tenth row, his entire articulation and characterization are clownish and broad. At first, we considered casting Slava Polunin, but then we realized the role wasn't for him. His entire aesthetic is built on very intimate gestures and facial expressions: you can't see anything further than the twentieth row—everything disappears.
Oddly enough, everything worked out. It worked out, I I think it was because feeling was at the core of everything.
Any clowning is the life of the human soul. In its purest form, a clown is a human being, because he is a child.
The main character of our story was Ivanushka, often called Ivanushka the Fool. Of course, he is an expression of a child's consciousness, childish reactions, childish purity. Ultimately, he always emerges victorious.
In addition to the English set designer and the English technical specialists who carried out his designs, highly professional people from Russia were involved in the production of this performance: producer David Yakovlevich Smelyansky, a highly professional theater director, Valya Gneushev, a prominent figure among circus performers, choreographers Alla Sigalova, Natalia Kasatkina, and Vladimir Vasilev; stars such as Valery Gergiev, Evgeny Kissin, Yuri Bashmet, Nikita Mikhalkov, Iosif Kobzon, and Muslim Magomayev; and the remarkable Boris Bazurov with his folkloric Ensembles, including the remnants of the Pokrovsky Ensemble.
Spectacles of this scale are rare. Fifteen hundred performers on stage or marching through the auditorium. Camels, horses—a production camp stretched six hundred meters behind the stage, almost to the Moskva River, with trailers, tents, warehouses, dining halls, and restrooms.
For me, this idea was a success.
1998
The Perekatipole Theatre won first place at one of the oldest underground theatre festivals, the Brahms Festival, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
participated in festivals in Montenegro, Germany, and Poland.
...it dawns on us that we, modern people, have atrophied our senses, which are capable of perceiving the subtle information inherent in art... From the diary.
Co-directing and filming the film "Pharaoh" with director S. Ovcharov
The 10-minute animated film "Pharaoh" thrilled the audience at the Berlin Film Festival. Even full-length films rarely receive such praise! The result was the festival's Grand Prix, the Golden Bear,
and a couple of years later, film critics (based on a survey by the magazine "Kinoprocess") named "Pharaoh" the best Russian film of the decade...
From the press.
Sergei Ovcharov: "My projects require miracles"
...choreographer Stanislav Varkki is a stunning professional, I love him very much. His name will be heard again. Even in this small project, it was clear how talented he is...
"Vremya SPb" No. 5, May 6-20, 1999
1999
Joint project with Slava Polunin, "Diabolo"
Tour of Poland and Holland.
Slava Polunin on Stanislav: "I love him very much and simply adore his acting ability, his talents. He is one of the best White Clowns, ever."
From an interview with Radio Liberty.
Sergei Ovcharov's film "The Labours of Hercules"
Development of the film's movement style, choreography, creation of images and characters.
The film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival.
Chronicle
A detailed biography of the theater
with commentary