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Center of Contemporary Art "DAKH", Ukraine

Sylwia Śmigiel
Contact
Telephone: 
(+38 044) 529 40 62, (+38 067) 235 94 06, fax (+38 044) 529 40 62
Videos

Gogolfest 2010

Description
Information about institution: 

Center of Contemporary Art "DAKH" is one of the first independent non-commercial theatres in Ukraine. It is cultural and educational centre and organizes the biggest International multidisciplinary Festival of Contemporary Art in Ukraine - “GOGOLFEST”.

The most important personnel:

General and Artistic Director, producer - Vlad Troitskyi
Project coordinator "DAKH" Centre, Art-manager  of DakhaBrakha band – Iryna Gorban
Set designer – Vlad Troitskyi, Dmytry Kostiumynskyi
Technical Manager – Mariya Volkova
DakhaBrakha – band members: Marko Halanevych, Iryna Kovalenko, Olena Tsibulska, Nina Garenetska

Short history: 

The Center of Contemporary Art “DAKH” is founded by director and producer Vlad Troitskyi in 1994. Troitskyi – a physicist by education and successful businessman, debuted as director in the theatre studio of Anatholyi Cherkov – the leader of Ukrainian 70-80s vanguard.  In 2001 Vlad Troitskyi graduated from the Russian Academy for Theatre Art’s Acting and Director’s Faculty, course led by Boris Yukhananov. A snail creeping up the Fujiyama mountain “slowly, to its very top” became the symbol and peculiar image of DAKH’s founding principles.

In 1994-1995 DAKH functioned as an „Art Hotel” – an open stage for independent theatre and music projects, there was also spaces dedicated for exhibitions. In 1995 Troitskyi held the international festival „School” and opened an independent international experimental theatre school-laboratory which served as an alternative to the governmental system of theatre education. Leaders of Russian theatre vanguard, the followers of Anatholyi Efros and Anatholyi Vasiliev – Boris Yukhananov, Igor Lysov, Valeryi Bilchenko were teaching at DAKH with their own methods in 1996-1999.

At the same time – in 1995-2005 – Vladimir Ogloblin (1915-2005) – the legend of Ukrainian realistic theatre and laureate of the governmental prize of USSR, prominent Ukrainian director and pedagogue, authored plays and taught at DAKH. In 1999-2010 DAKH cooperated with the Russian director, playwright and pedagogue Klim who is still working for the theatre as a playwright.  

In 2004 DAKH was formed as the author’s theatre of Vlad Troitskyi whose style can be put as the experience of searching for a “dynamic synthesis” of different methods of acting and director’s arts as well as artistic forms of embodiment of creative intensions. One of the sources of creative energy and deep inspiration is found in Ukrainian music tradition, an attempt to give a new life to a theatricality so characteristic of it” (N. Shevchenko).

The most important projects: 

The most important projects:

  • Independent School for Actors and Directors (1995 – 1999) Master-pedagogues -   Boris Yukhananov, Valeryi Bilchenko, Vladimir Ogloblin
  • International Festival  “School” (1996)
  • International Festival of Contemporary Art “GOGOLFEST” – Multi discipline festival of contemporary art founded in Kiev in 2006.  Its founder and president – Vlad Troitskyi
  • Ethno chaos music band “DakhaBrakha” was founded at CCA DAKH in 1994. Creator, producer and pedagogue – Vlad Troitskyi
  • Cycle of plays “Mystic Ukraine” (2002-2011) Director – Vlad Troitskyi
  • Cycle of plays “…seven days with an Idiot…” based on Klim’s plays “8 of number of 7 or non existing chapters of novel “The Idiot” by F.Dostoevskyi (2002- 2004) Director – Vlad Troitskyi
  • Play “…The fourth is one too many…” (1998) based on Victor Pelevin’s novel “Chapaev and emptiness” and “Crime and punishment” by Fedor Dostoevskyi, as well as F. Nitzshe and T. Maodzemon’s texts. It is one of the first productions based on Victor Pelevin texts about the  former USSR
  • Cycle of plays in tradition of “psychological realism”.  Director Vladimir Ogloblin  (1996-2006)
  • "New Drama" project . Director Vlad Troitskyi  (2007-2011)
Objectives: 

The strategic goal of DAKH is to pursue active interaction with both governmental and independent creative and educational structures in order to divert the direction of Ukraine’s present cultural situation towards a more open creative environment, and experiment, as well as develop new forms of organization that will create multi-functional open spheres of contemporary art and innovative systems of theatre education.

DAKH is the only Ukrainian theatre that has received the honor to perform at the “Barbican Centre” (London). During the last 10 years the theatre took part in more than 70 prestigious international festivals, among them are the "Wiener Festwochen" (Austria), "Internationale Schiller Tage" (Manhaim, Germany), New European Theatre Festival “NET” (Moscow), “Passages” Festival (France), “Golden Mask” (Moscow) and others.

International cooperations: 

International cooperation:

  • Theatre project “Time of Troubles” based on Klim’s play “DIMETRII-material. Dark days”. (2003) Director – V. Troitskyi. In co-production with the theatre festival "Internationale Schiller Tage"  (Manhaim, Germany),
  • Theatre project “Dreams about Death or King’s games” (2004) Director – V. Troitskyi. In co-production with the International festival "Zsámbéki Színházi Bázis" (Jambek, Hungary) and Zakarpattya Hungarian D. Iesha Theater, Berehove,
  • International review of young Ukrainian theatre productions (2011) In corporation with International Confederation of Theatre Unions, The Chekhov International Theatre Festival (Moscow) and The Les’ Kurbas National Centre of Theatre Art,
  • Laboratory of Contemporary Drama (2010-2011). In cooperation with Festival of young Drama “Lyubimovka” and Theatre “doc” (Moscow, Russia).
The most important awards: 

DAKH won the grandprix of The Sergei Kurekhin Prize of contemporary art. Ethno-chaos band “DakhaBrakha”  (2010).

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