Valentin Gneushev - Revision history

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 * Video: [[Simonov's_Hommage_a_Leotard_Video_(1993)|''Hommage à Léotard'', Flying Act]]
 * Video: [[Evgeny_Pimonenko_Video_(1997)|Evgeny Pimonenko: ''Your Pierrot'', Juggler]]
 * Video: [[Zemskov_Russian_Barre_Video_(1995)|The Zemskov Troupe, Russian Barre]]
 * Video: [[Zemskov_-_Perch_Act_Video_(1995)|The Zemskov Troupe, Perch-Pole Balancing]]
 * Video: [[Ivakhnenko_Video_(2004)|Andrey Ivakhnenko, Slack Wire]]

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 But Valentin Gneushev had a rule that some of his later would-be successors often forgot: He used only highly skilled performers, who mastered their specialty. They were all superb technicians. Valentin never tried to compensate technical weakness with unconventional, eye-catching staging; on the contrary, he used the superior skills of his students to create a work of art that was unquestionably a true circus act&mdash;and therefore, unequivocally, not a piece of dance or movement theater. He took remarkable circus performers and turned them into extraordinary circus artists. This was his true genius and will be his true legacy.
-In his twilight years, Valentin's health began to decline, both physically and, to some extent, mentally: It is hard for someone who was at a time considered a genius (and a genius indeed he was) to be socially forgotten. In his last years, his appearance became that of an old eccentric character, which made him impossible to ignore, but also sometimes difficult to recognize. Then, in the week of March 9, 2026, his daughter, who took care of him, was worried by his sudden silence. On March 11, she went to his apartment in Moscow , and found him unresponsive: He had died of heart failure, alone.
+In his twilight years, Valentin's health began to decline, both physically and, to some extent, mentally: It is hard for someone who was at a time considered a genius (and a genius indeed he was) to become socially isolated. In his last years, his appearance became that of an old eccentric character, which made him impossible to ignore, but also sometimes difficult to recognize. Then, in the week of March 9, 2026, his daughter, who took care of him, was worried by his sudden silence. On March 11, she went to his apartment in Moscow , and found him unresponsive: He had died of heart failure, alone.
-Valentin Gneushev's passing was largely reported and commented by Russian news media: He was remembered as a major figure in the Russian performing arts. He was laid to rest at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery, near Moscow. Valentin once told a friend: "I will speak someone else's words, but I like them. 'To be joyful is a necessity and a duty.' This was written by [Gabriel Marcía] Márquez. The meaning of life is in joy. And this is what I am telling you now, when I am tormented by people, the structure of the world, love. I will never give up joy. We should rejoice at everything. Rejoice at a funeral&mdash;when a person has finally died."
+Valentin Gneushev's passing was largely reported and commented by Russian news media: He was remembered as a major figure in the Russian performing arts; he was also an epoch-making figure in Circus history. He was laid to rest at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery, near Moscow. Valentin once told a friend: "I will speak someone else's words, but I like them. 'To be joyful is a necessity and a duty.' This was written by [Gabriel Marcía] Márquez. The meaning of life is in joy. And this is what I am telling you now, when I am tormented by people, the structure of the world, love. I will never give up joy. We should rejoice at everything. Rejoice at a funeral&mdash;when a person has finally died."
 == See Also ==

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 * Video: [[Ivakhnenko_Video_(2004)|Andrey Ivakhnenko, Slack Wire]]
 * Video: [[Gasser and Kreer Video 1995|Johnny Gasser & Yury Kreer, Hand-to-Hand Balancing]]
-* Video: [[Larkina_Video_(1994)|Yelena Larkina, Hula-Hoops]]
+* Video: [[Larkina_Video_(1993)|Yelena Larkina, Hula-Hoops]]
 * Video: [[Kurbanov_Video_(1994)|The Kurbanov Troupe, Risley act]]
 * Video: [[Diana_and_Yury_Video|Yury Shavro and Diana Aleshchenko, Unicycle]]

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 == See Also ==
-* Video: [[Gneushev_Video_(c.1990)|Valentin Gneushev Interview (c.1990)
+* Video: [[Gneushev_Video_(c.1990)|Valentin Gneushev Interview]] (c.1990)
 * Video: [[Pavlenko_Video_(1990)|Nikolai Pavlenko, Tiger Act]]
 * Video: [[Vladimir_Tsarkov_BAC_1992_Video|Vladimir Tsarkov: ''The Red Harlequin'', Juggler]]

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 == See Also ==
 * Video: [[Pavlenko_Video_(1990)|Nikolai Pavlenko, Tiger Act]]
 * Video: [[Vladimir_Tsarkov_BAC_1992_Video|Vladimir Tsarkov: ''The Red Harlequin'', Juggler]]

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 * Video: [[Kurbanov_Video_(1994)|The Kurbanov Troupe, Risley act]]
 * Video: [[Diana_and_Yury_Video|Yury Shavro and Diana Aleshchenko, Unicycle]]
 * Video: [[Elena_Borodina_Video_2001|Elena Borodina, Hand Balancer]]
 * Video: [[Perezvony_Video_(c_2005)|''Perezvony'' Flying Act]]

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 In his twilight years, Valentin's health began to decline, both physically and, to some extent, mentally: It is hard for someone who was at a time considered a genius (and a genius indeed he was) to be socially forgotten. In his last years, his appearance became that of an old eccentric character, which made him impossible to ignore, but also sometimes difficult to recognize. Then, in the week of March 9, 2026, his daughter, who took care of him, was worried by his sudden silence. On March 11, she went to his apartment in Moscow , and found him unresponsive: He had died of heart failure, alone.
-Valentin Gneushev is buried at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery, near Moscow. He once told a friend: "I will speak someone else's words, but I like them. 'To be joyful is a necessity and a duty.' This was written by [Gabriel Marcía] Márquez. The meaning of life is in joy. And this is what I am telling you now, when I am tormented by people, the structure of the world, love. I will never give up joy. We should rejoice at everything. Rejoice at a funeral&mdash;when a person has finally died."
+Valentin Gneushev's passing was largely reported and commented by Russian news media: He was remembered as a major figure in the performing arts. He was laid to rest at the Troyekurovskoye cemetery, near Moscow. Valentin once told a friend: "I will speak someone else's words, but I like them. 'To be joyful is a necessity and a duty.' This was written by [Gabriel Marcía] Márquez. The meaning of life is in joy. And this is what I am telling you now, when I am tormented by people, the structure of the world, love. I will never give up joy. We should rejoice at everything. Rejoice at a funeral&mdash;when a person has finally died."
 == See Also ==

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 During the early 1990s, while Valentin’s acts were beginning to invade the best circuses and variety theaters of the planet, his base remained the Circus Studio in Moscow. But in spite of his numerous international awards and his obvious success, his artistic vision still contrasted with the politics of SoyuzGosTsirk (which, after the fall of the Soviet regime would be renamed RosGosTsirk). Still reveling on memories of its past glory, the old central circus organization seemed unable to truly appreciate the changes that their own Valentin Gneushev was bringing to the international circus scene.
-[[File:Borodina.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Elena Borodina]]Not surprisingly, in 1993, Gneushev decided to become an independent producer and began to attract young performers away from the State circus company, and to create acts for them that could be offered individually to the western market. [[Maxim Nikulin]], son of the legendary clown and actor [[Yury Nikulin]] (1921-1997), who had succeeded his father at the helm of the "Old Circus" on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow (today [[Circus Nikulin]]) and had become one of the first Russian independent circus directors, offered Valentin a space in his circus to house the new Gneushev Studio.
+[[File:Borodina.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Elena Borodina]]Not surprisingly, in 1993, Gneushev decided to become an independent producer and began to attract young performers away from the State circus company, and to create acts for them that could be offered individually to the western market. [[Maxim Nikulin]], son of the legendary clown and actor [[Yury Nikulin]] (1921-1997), who had succeeded his father at the helm of the "Old Circus" on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow (today [[Circus Nikulin]]) and had become one of the first Russian independent circus directors, offered Valentin a space in his circus to house the new Gneushev Studio.
 Not only did the Gneushev Studio become the main crucible of the post-Soviet circus experimentation, but Maxim Nikulin also expanded his association with Valentin, and asked him to stage two of his Circus’s productions, ''Sweet!... Love'' (1996) and ''The Fair of Miracles'' (1997)&mdash;highly innovative and creative shows, as could be expected, which gave to the "Old Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard" a definitely new look.