Circus show by Leonid and Daria Kostyuk "Thirteen Months". Daria Kostyuk - circus princess

Difficult to pick New Year's performance, equally interesting for children of different ages and adults. But New Year - family celebration, so every year in December our whole family goes to the circus. Unfortunately, modern bright and aggressive numbers, which delight the eldest twelve-year-old daughter, frighten the younger six-year-old. I increasingly notice that acts in leading Moscow circuses are repeated. This year we opened a new circus for us - Leonid and Daria Kostyuk's New Year's show "13 months". Both the children and I really enjoyed it! A fabulous production with unique circus acts that have no analogues in Moscow!

IN in this case the new is the forgotten old. After all, Leonid Kostyuk is a former CEO Great Moscow Circus. The performance "13 months" is a good, classic circus of our childhood! Moreover, this is not just a circus performance with changing numbers, but a real performance with guest actors, ballet, music and bright costumes.

The plot is simple and understandable for children over 6 years old. Details can be read in the large colorful program, which is given free of charge at the entrance. The girl Nastya, who loves to dream and draw, accidentally breaks the clock of the Kingdom of Time. The villain KarM (Darkness) takes advantage of this, beginning to sow anger, envy and fear in the world. Even 12 months quarreled among themselves and only Nastya, together with the Thirteenth Month, can bring happiness, love, mutual understanding and the New Year back into the world!
The main characters experience many adventures - they travel around different countries, encounter different seasons and are even captured by KarMa's comrades.

But good conquers evil, the New Year comes, and Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden, together with their brothers-months, light up the New Year tree!

It was a very bright and colorful performance! Moreover, I saw all the artists for the first time in this show. Although almost all the acts are prize-winners and laureates of various circus competitions.

Youngest daughter delighted with unicorns, Pegasus and adorable dogs.

The eldest daughter is shocked by the scenes with the almost real Dark Lord KarM.

She also really enjoyed the cheetahs, bears and trampolining.

I'm very impressed by trapeze artists protruding above the fountain.

The unique number with a hula hoop on a mirror ball is also very beautiful.

The jugglers delighted us with their artistry.

The performance takes place at the USC CSKA, a 5-minute walk from the Dynamo metro station. I have only been to a similar hall with two arenas in Luzhniki. I liked the CSKA hall more. It is more compact, the seats are more comfortable and there is more lift between the rows. The performance is complemented by video decorations on the screen. The sound is not very loud, it seemed to me that the actors speak and sing “live”, so sometimes it is difficult to hear them.

In the lobby you can take pictures with the dogs participating in the show, play paid games, do face painting and buy glowing toys. Prices are tolerable. The cafe is expensive. There is a small labyrinth for kids.

CSKA fans can take pictures with the symbols of their favorite club and explore the display cases with cups.

The show lasts about 2.5 hours, with one intermission. Gifts are given out (and sold for 600 rubles) on the first floor of sector A. The box is very beautiful, inside there are candies and a circus-themed walking game. After the performance, you can ride a horse outside and take a photo with a deer.

My kids and I are considering this show to visit at next year. After all, before the New Year you really want a fairy tale!

Who among us doesn’t love the modern circus with its colorfully staged acts, dangerous stunts, and performances by funny clowns? Special attention the viewer is attracted by trainers who amazingly manage to educate our smaller brothers, brought from different corners planets. Moreover, these are not only playful monkeys and cute dogs, but also dangerous wild animals, which only a trainer can pacify.

This article will talk about the famous and popular trainer Daria Kostyuk, a girl who chose a rather difficult path in the circus business.

Brief biographical information

A young but very talented and successful artist was born in 1986 in Moscow. Her parents are also famous artists. Mom Tatyana Petrovna - choreographer, honored artist Russian Federation. Papa Leonid Leonidovich - National artist RSFSR, outstanding figure circus art, who at one time received the prestigious Golden Clown award in Monte Carlo.

Our heroine successfully graduated from the production department of RATI in 2009. And she began her circus career back in 1997, performing in the most complex genre called "dzhigitovka". In 1998, she was enrolled in the "Trained Monkeys" act. In 2002, she published the issue “Trained Bears and Dogs.”

The year 2003 turned out to be significant in some respects for Dasha, because she was the first in Russia to create the number " Aerialist on canvases"/

In 2005, a young girl becomes the leader of a dance and acrobatic ensemble. And two years later she showed herself as the creator of her own circus, which received a simple and memorable name - “Daria Kostyuk Circus”.

The year 2011 was marked by very active work by Dasha and her husband in the direction of training cheetahs. The attraction was called “Big Cat Constellation”.

In 2012, the circus performer created an entire performance called “Island of Dreams.” In it she not only took upon herself the performance leading role, but also performed extensive functions as director, screenwriter and producer.

Family status

Daria Kostyuk is married to Vyacheslav Kurkov, who is also directly related to circus art. The couple has been married since 2010. The prima's husband is the leading artist of the Bolshoi Moscow Theater, located on Vernadsky Avenue. The young family has a son named Plato.

The only one in the world

Let us immediately note that Daria Kostyuk’s show is an unforgettable spectacle that will definitely never leave anyone indifferent. The girl herself is a unique artist, since she is the only woman on the entire planet who manages to train cheetahs.

According to the trainer, her animals arrived at the circus from Kenya when they were about a year old. As Dasha assures, at this age cheetahs are more difficult to train, but there is less risk that they will get sick, since they have eaten plenty of their mother’s milk.

Animal training

At first, when the cheetahs were placed in the enclosure, Daria Kostyuk and her husband were forced to literally this word is to spend the night near the cage. While small lion or tiger cubs can be taken home for the first time to be raised, this did not work out with cheetahs, because they ended up in Moscow already in adolescence(by animal standards) and would not allow themselves to be driven into an apartment or house. Therefore, the circus couple was forced to tame the predators by spending a long time with them near the cages.

About fear

According to the artist, a person working with animals must have a keen sense of self-preservation. At the same time, panic fear is simply not acceptable, because it is a sign of professional unsuitability. Daria Kostyuk recalls that sometimes fear can arise due to the fact that a cheetah does something abruptly and unexpectedly; its intentions cannot be predicted. However, the girl says that she was never seized by panic or hysteria.

About the difficulties of training

According to Dasha, she plans her day so that initially her rehearsals take place with cheetahs, and only after that with dogs and other animals. Although, as the artist herself recalls, much depends solely on the character of the four-legged artist, and sometimes it can be more difficult with dogs than with representatives of the feline family.

As for the main principles of training, the artist believes that the “carrot” approach is more important than the “stick” approach. Dasha believes that cruelty will not achieve anything, and as a punishment for the animal, you can use moving it to a separate enclosure, where it will be deprived of the opportunity to play with its brothers. But you cannot beat or otherwise physically influence animals. As a reward, Kostyuk gives his charges boiled meat. I tried to treat them with cookies, but after that the animals started having problems with their eyes.

About the villainy of competitors

Daria Kostyuk, whose reviews of her activities are extremely positive, has repeatedly said that there were cases when competitors literally poisoned animals. One such episode occurred during tour in China, where two cheetahs died after being poisoned with freon. Although, in principle, Dasha believes that such crimes are exceptions rather than the rule.

Future plans

The Daria Kostyuk Circus in Vegas (the name of a multi-format venue located in Moscow) first presented its program in the fall of 2016. The show, called “Kaleidoscope of Fantasy,” includes many interesting numbers and delights even the youngest viewers. In addition to performances with animals, the program includes many acrobatic stunts, performances with the participation of funny clowns, illusionists and representatives of other circus professions.

IN Lately Dasha, her husband and son live in a dacha built by her parents. Essentially this Vacation home can safely be called a real estate, because the building is located on 24 acres of land, where there are also two ponds with fish and a beautiful well-kept garden. According to the young owner, the second floor of the house has turned into a real warehouse for circus equipment, and the garage is used exclusively for storing large props.

We went to Daria Kostyuk's circus for the first time. I really, really wanted to see this, Yasya was intrigued by the title “Thirteen Months,” which promised an unusual plot - and a circus, of course!
So, this morning we hurried to the Christmas tree :)

First, about the show itself. It really turned out to be perfect new fairy tale, although the plot is traditionally twisted around saving the New Year :) Formally, this is like a continuation of the fairy tale of 12 months, but there are not many references to it. Some heroes moved “from there” - months, the Princess, her teacher (keeper of the Book?), and even a ring is mentioned. The point is that main character, the girl Nastya, in anticipation of the arrival of the new year, draws in her room the heroes of her favorite fairy tale “Twelve Months”, imagining herself in the role of Nastya. But then mom calls Nastya to the table, and the girl, folding the drawing into an airplane, throws it out the window. And then the most interesting thing begins: the New Year cannot come, time stands still, and Nastya boldly steps into a fairy tale. It turns out that her airplane got into the magic clock, broke it and everything got so confused...)) I won’t retell it further - story line a little complicated, but good will win, of course!

I would like to note the unusually thoughtful images of the characters. They are like that... The character is there, the image is there, the story is there, you can feel it.

The watchmaker is unusually nice.

Nastenka - well, she is textbook charming.

The keeper of the book is a bit of a clumsy scientist.

But the coolest thing, in my opinion, of course, is Main Villain- KarM! Already at home I found out that he is played by Mohamed Abdel Fattah! I kept wondering who sings like that :) He sings beautifully, and the villain is unusually charming. The photo doesn't show even a small part of it!

Where else can you see trained cheetahs? And here you can - an act with a group of circus Tanzanian cheetahs is presented by Daria Kostyuk.

What other stage will you see mini-horses on?! Already at home I read: 2 Welsh mountain mini horses and 3 American miniature horses no more than 60 cm tall (the smallest of them is about 50 cm). I had to prove to my daughter right during the performance that these were not “baby ponies”! :))) And the most touching thing, of course, is that these horses came out in the form of unicorns and even pegasus :))

There are a lot of animals in this circus. And traditional dogs... yes, but what kind! Husky
and (or?) Samoyed huskies. Ironically, it was only on the way to the circus that my daughter and I discussed that huskies are not suitable for keeping in a city apartment, among other things, because they are not very obedient. And here are trained dogs... Waiting for me new round begging for a husky as a pet :)))

And bears. What didn’t the bears do here! tumbled, jumped rope, skateboarded and scootered...

Even appeared in the arena reindeer! :) True, he just “appeared” - surprised and left)

What disgusted me was that all the animals seemed to do their tricks with ease! The bears changed - one came out, somersaulted, left, the next one came out - jumped rope, left... I don’t know how many trained bears Andrei Yarovoy has, but the complete impression is that they all come out and perform on their own initiative :)
The dogs are beautiful, but you expect miracles of training from them. The cheetahs, of course, made me a little worried: cats are not your dogs, they are always a little “on their own” and don’t like to follow commands. However, they do) They are incredibly beautiful!

The people have amazing performances too:) “Acrobats on throwing boards” and “Acrobats on a parallel Russian stick” by Rustam Asadullin are something with something. It's breathtaking, honestly.

The jugglers are great! Bravo!

An amazingly beautiful number “Hula hoops on a mirror ball” by Vladlena Ananyeva. And when the ball rose “in the fountain” - it was simply magic!

I think it's clear that we liked everything - as far as the performance itself was concerned. It was a little difficult for the lighting designers, it seemed to me - after all, the action takes place anywhere, there are a lot of artists busy at the same time, and they also move, mmm... quickly) But in general the lighting was conceived very well))

I would also like to adjust the sound a little. But here, in the sports arena, I’m not sure that it’s even possible to achieve the perfect sound. In general, you could hear everything and this was already wonderful. Special thanks for the selection of music - very fiery and danceable - I wanted to move :)

At the end there was a real Santa Claus, a Christmas tree and even a volley of confetti :)

My personal girl was completely delighted. Yes, and I must admit, too. This, in my opinion, is a real circus - for children and adults, with animals that look happy, with people who professionally perform their tricks without relying on special effects (And there are special effects! It’s snowing, the fountains are gorgeous... ), with costumes that are appropriate, beautiful, but do not frighten children... In general, everything that I would like to see in the circus is here. And this is a full 10 out of 10.

Now it’s organizational.

Due to the room not being very suitable for children's Christmas trees, there are some, um... features.
- the journey from the Dynamo metro station takes about 15 minutes. If you are with a small child, I would allow more time. In the morning we went to the 11:00 session, there were no volunteers helping, but we found it quite easily - according to the scheme. Our facility USK CSKA:

On way back We have already seen on almost every corner comrades in bright vests with “13 months” badges, who helped those who were lost and in doubt find their way :)
- for security reasons, a “full search” is carried out at the entrance. This is understandable, even good, but terribly long. I highly recommend arriving early to avoid getting stuck at the entrance. It was still normal to come in half an hour before, for example.
- there is no Christmas tree or any animation in the foyer. There is face painting and paid photos.
- There is no full buffet either. You can buy popcorn, nano ice cream, water, juice, and something else like that.
- It’s a pity that there are no programs.
- the impression that the cloakroom attendants worked on the first day. They organized a complete collapse when issuing things: they mixed up all the queues and took numbers from those who came to hand, everyone was grouped in one part of the wardrobe, while in the other the crowd stood waiting for at least someone... A separate feature - Tribune A and Tribune B is practically “non-communicating vessels”, each with its own wardrobe. But on the wardrobe sections there are written numbers from 1 to 2000 in A and from 2001 to 4000 in B. And numbers are issued from 1 to 2000 both here and there. As a result, a lot of people were standing outside their wardrobe, having found required numbers at the section :) In short, inexplicable, but confusing. Be careful in your wardrobe! And be patient))))
- toilets. There are not too many of them, but there are many children. I strongly recommend moving to the toilet immediately at the beginning of the intermission, direct fire. Spend 5 minutes in line. Then this line will grow many times... There was even a line in the men's room!)
- Present. You can buy them on the spot, 600 rubles. Standing. A very cool tin box (my husband already had his eye on it for gear), edible candy and more board game- True, I haven’t looked at it yet.

Because of organizational issues the impression may be slightly spoiled if you are not prepared in advance for all these minor troubles and peculiarities. So get ready))

Tamara Sukhova reviews: 26 ratings: 27 rating: 4

Circus acts mesmerizing with their beauty and originality, bright costumes, magnificent live vocals - all this in Daria Kostyuk’s incredible circus show “Thirteen Months”. We discovered this circus completely by accident, and now we hope to become its regular spectators!

Maria Martynova reviews: 27 ratings: 27 rating: 0

It is difficult to choose a New Year's performance that is equally interesting to children of different ages and adults. But New Year is a family holiday, so every year in December our whole family goes to the circus. Unfortunately, modern bright and aggressive numbers, which delight the eldest twelve-year-old daughter, frighten the younger six-year-old. I increasingly notice that acts in leading Moscow circuses are repeated. This year we opened a new circus for us - New Year's show Leonid and Daria Kostyuk "13 months". Both the children and I really enjoyed it! A fabulous production with unique circus acts that have no analogues in Moscow!

In this case, the new is the forgotten old. After all, Leonid Kostyuk is the former general director of the Great Moscow Circus. The performance "13 months" is a good, classic circus of our childhood! Moreover, this is not just a circus performance with changing numbers, but a real performance with guest actors, ballet, music and bright costumes.

The plot is simple and understandable for children over 6 years old. Details can be read in the large colorful program, which is given free of charge at the entrance. The girl Nastya, who loves to dream and draw, accidentally breaks the clock of the Kingdom of Time. The villain KarM (Darkness) takes advantage of this, beginning to sow anger, envy and fear in the world. Even 12 months quarreled among themselves and only Nastya, together with the Thirteenth Month, can bring happiness, love, mutual understanding and the New Year back into the world!
The main characters experience many adventures - they travel to different countries, encounter different seasons and are even captured by KarMa's comrades. But good conquers evil, the New Year comes, and Grandfather Frost and Snow Maiden, together with their brothers-months, light up the New Year tree!

It was a very bright and colorful performance! Moreover, I saw all the artists for the first time in this show. Although almost all the acts are prize-winners and laureates of various circus competitions.

The youngest daughter is delighted with unicorns, Pegasus and adorable dogs.
The eldest daughter is shocked by the scenes with the almost real Dark Lord KarM.
She also really enjoyed the cheetahs, bears and trampolining.
I am very impressed by the trapeze artists performing above the fountain.
The unique number with a hula hoop on a mirror ball is also very beautiful.
The jugglers delighted us with their artistry.

The performance takes place at the USC CSKA, a 5-minute walk from the Dynamo metro station. I have only been to a similar hall with two arenas in Luzhniki. I liked the CSKA hall more. It is more compact, the seats are more comfortable and there is more lift between the rows. The performance is complemented by video decorations on the screen. The sound is not very loud, it seemed to me that the actors speak and sing “live”, so sometimes it is difficult to hear them.

In the lobby you can take pictures with the dogs participating in the show, play paid games, do face painting and buy glowing toys. Prices are tolerable. The cafe is expensive. There is a small labyrinth for kids. CSKA fans can take pictures with the symbols of their favorite club and explore the display cases with cups.

The show lasts about 2.5 hours, with one intermission. Gifts are given out (and sold for 600 rubles) on the first floor of sector A. The box is very beautiful, inside there are candies and a circus-themed walking game. After the performance, you can ride a horse outside and take a photo with a deer.

My kids and I are considering this circus show to attend next year. After all, before the New Year you really want a fairy tale!

Alexander Kazantsev reviews: 10 ratings: 10 rating: 0

What happened to the Moscow weather? The seasons alternate as they wish - in the summer it snows, in the autumn - the sun is hot, like in July, and in the winter... autumn rain which day is it. Yesterday we clarified the reasons for this cataclysm in all details. Or not at all... In the end, the only thing we can blame for the organizers of the New Year's circus show "Thirteen Months", which we got to thanks to the same mosblog community, is the choice of venue. Well, the CSKA basketball court was not built with a musical performance in mind: the acoustics here are designed exclusively for the screams of the commentators, and no matter how much the sound engineer suffers, it is not always possible to make out the words against the backdrop of loud melodies and special effects.

But while waiting for the start of the session, in addition to the usual sweets, toys, and face painting in the lobby, you can admire the trophies of famous Soviet basketball players and measure yourself against the background of one of the modern giants of sports. Well, and take a photo hugging four-legged artists, of course! Northern Samoyed huskies have no competition, but sometimes, they say, polar deer join them.

After all, I don't think many people go to events like this expecting a compelling narrative with sudden surprises. plot twists and the exciting relationships between the characters. Funny little animals, fearless acrobats and hilarious clowns - that's what excites the public in the first place. And at least in the first two categories, Leonid and Daria Kostyuk are at the highest level.

And here is another caveat: when compiling the program, they were clearly guided primarily by the unusualness of the animals, and only then by their acting skills. Do you dream of seeing tame Tanzanian cheetahs and Welsh mountain minihorses? You are welcome - no one else in the whole world will show you this number. And not even because cheetahs and minihorses are so rare. They are simply difficult to train, and if the lean spotted cats can be made to at least jump over each other, and not just lie down in a row, snapping at any gesture of the brave mistress, this is already success. Horses running in circles and awkwardly bowing are a completely trivial sight, despite the breed and size, but here the authors’ imagination is at work. Not every adult can answer where Wales is, but any schoolchild will tell you about the habitat of unicorns and pegasuses.

But lovers of inventive tricks should not be upset in advance - trained bears under the direction of Andrei Yarovoy will take the rap for all their menagerie brothers on stage - they tumble on horizontal bars, jump ropes, ride a scooter and skateboard. The dogs may be smarter and fluffier, but they are more restless, and it seems that they simply ruined part of their program. In general, during the performance one gets the impression that the leash in the trainer’s hand is needed solely to comply with safety standards, and if the muzzles were removed from the clubfooted people, they would play clowns no worse than Paddington!

Actually, clowns as such do not appear in the program, despite the fact that several participants, in addition to advancing the plot, play roles that are frankly ridiculous, almost parodic. But there are plenty of acrobats and gymnasts of various variations in “The Months,” and the detailing of their costumes is not inferior to the level of skill, and the dance part of many numbers lasts no less than the stunt part.

And this is not a minus at all - Russian dancing with acrobatic elements half of our mini-group liked it almost more than everything else (toptygins, of course, are beyond competition), including the multi-story mess with spring boards that followed. Rustam Asadullin's guys, in general, were great - albeit with insurance, and not always the first time, but they performed such tricks that the whole audience took the breath away!
An important advantage of the site’s atypical configuration for a circus is that it houses two “ordinary” arenas: a dry one and a water one with dancing fountains, one of the jets at the culmination of the act with the “girl on the ball” reaches 20 meters in height!

But there is only one screen, and seats up to the 30th in stand “B” (I didn’t find out the numbering opposite) are almost invisible. However, they don’t show anything particularly valuable there - except perhaps a reminder of the time of year for those who are too lazy to leaf through the colorful brochure with the program.

For young visitors to the sports complex, an excellent playground, where our boys would happily spend the night.

There are enough dynamics, colors and new impressions for little ones to not fall asleep at the end of the evening show - tested on a 3.5-year-old. The only remark: in the stands there is an eye to eye on the little ones; concern for the safety of the spectator remains here at the Soviet level. Well, you probably remember - this is when, back in school playgrounds, multi-meter towers were built with ropes and ladders for training future paratroopers and trapeze artists. The attitude towards the health of the younger generation was completely different then - not Sparta, of course, but also not a reserve of reckless weaklings...

And the fairy tale, by the way, ends quite logically for the realities of our middle zone - pay attention to the costume of the 13th month. It will be much easier for children who visited the show to explain why winter outside our window usually begins much earlier than according to the calendar and ends later. And why is there no snow on New Year's Day? Someone threw their dream out the window again, no less...

I went with my children to the show "Thirteen Months". It's really exciting. The sons really wanted to touch the spray of the fountain or play with the dogs.
And besides, where else can you see a unicorn and a pegasus? Even if in reality they are ponies and mini-horses :)...
"Thirteen Months" is, first of all, a performance with luxurious costumes. A fairy tale about how 12 months of quarreling, and the weather “broke” (realistic, yeah :)). And all this, it turns out, is due to the fact that the thirteenth month has disappeared. This is what the main character is looking for.

The program includes a variety of gymnasts, acrobats, jugglers, show ballet, as well as animals - dogs, deer, ponies and mini-horses, bears and cheetahs.