Difference between revisions of "Oleg Izossimov"

Revision as of 07:24, 14 February 2009

Hand Balancer

By Dominique Jando

Considered the greatest classic hand balancer of his generation, Oleg Izossimov was born in Chelyabinsk (a Russian city located east of the Ural Mountains) on August 24, 1965. His family had nothing to do with the circus, but when Oleg was twelve years old, he saw the Russian hand balancer Nikolai Kasse in a circus performance, and he was so impressed that he decided then and there that this was what he would do.

He joined a local amateur circus (the Russian equivalent of a youth circus, but at a much higher level than in Western Europe or America), and started studying circus disciplines, especially hand balancing. After finishing high schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école), Oleg decided to apply to the State College for Circus and Variety Arts in Moscow—the famous Moscow Circus School. He was refused three years in a row, before being finally accepted in 1986&mdashjust in time, since 21 was the age limit.

There, Oleg studied all circus disciplines, and then specialized in hand balancing. He was trained in this demanding specialty by two remarkable teachers, Vladimir Alekseev and Valentina Mandich. (Valentina was the widow of one of the school’s most prolific and successful teachers, the legendary Yury Mandich.) The creation of Oleg’s act took three years of intensive practice; it was ready, in its first version, for his graduationin in 1990.

In 1989, however, Oleg Izossimov had already participated in his first circus festival, La Piste aux Espoirs, in Tournai, Belgium—a festival famous for featuring high-quality new acts produced by circus schools. He received the first of the many awards he would gather over the years, the Courrier de l’Escault prize. He received his second award upon his graduation: the prestigious Rumyantsev-Karandash award, given to the best new act of the year.

Oleg’s true professional debut was in 1991, when he was invited to join a company of the Moscow Circus that was then touring the U.S. with The Flying Cranes. But the version of his act that made him a circus star, Caruso, was created in 1993 at Circus Nikulin in Moscow. The following year, Oleg Izossimov was the sensation of the short-lived (1992-1994), albeit well-remembered International Circus Festival of Verona (Italy), where he won the Gold Star.

His brilliant international career was launched in Verona, and Oleg has been since featured in some of the best varietés, circuses, and nightclubs of Europe, including TigerPalatz in Frankfurt, WinterGarten in Berlin, the Lido of Paris, Palazzo in Hanover, Circus Conelli in Switzerland, the Sporting Club of Monte Carlo, GOP Varieté in Germany, and Teatro ZinZanni in the U.S., to name but a few.

In 1996, Oleg Izossimov won a Silver Clown at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo, and the First Prize at the International Circus Festival of Enschede, Holland, the following year. He was also a special guest at the International Circus Festival of Budapest, Hungary, in 1994. One of the highlights of his career was in 2006, when he was invited bu the International Circus festival of Monte-Carlo to participate in the all-star circus tribute to the late Prince Rainier III of Monaco, in a show that will probably be remembered as the greatest circus performance of all times.

Oleg Izossimov has also directed several circus and variety shows, including Anagramma (2005) for Rolf Knie’s Salto Natale in Zürich, Switzerland, and Voom (2006) and Ballon (2009) at the Apollo Varieté of Düsseldorf, Germany, in 2006.

External Links

www.izossimov.com