CPPM open class: Sasha Pepelyaev (RUS) • CPPM OPEN CLASS

Sasha Pepelyaev - director and choreographer. His first steps in theatrical arts were made while still in secondary school, where he attended drama classes. while studying chemistry at Moscow University, he started learn pantomime and spent all his free time in the studio - learning, performing, improvising and directing. after graduating from university he continued his theatrical career in the taganka theater and moscow concert agency as a mime soloist.

in 1984 he became an artistic director at the mime studio of moscow state university. the studio transformed into one of the first independent theater-studios in moscow in 1987, during the beginning of perestroika. the company was called "poor yorik". during this time sasha entered the state institute of theatrical arts, where he studied drama for four years.

in 1990, after closing down the "poor yorik", he worked successively as a director and choreographer in a circus, on tv, and in drama theaters in moscow and abroad. in that period he also visit west europe, takes different dance classes in amsterdam and participates in various theater dance projects.

in 1994 he started the project called "the kinetic theater" in moscow, which led to the creation and performance of a string of experimental works. the project eventually became an intensive search focused on the definition of russian contemporary dance. since the winter of 1995/96 the idea of combining of postmodern russian texts, contemporary dance and traditional russian dramatic style continues in the company's productions.

Workshop "Third Eye"

The workshop will be focused on building a structure of visual-physical performance and methods, which can be used. This will include initial concept, rough realisation, verification, modifications, analysis of available tools for those tasks, search for influences, affecting phases and patterns of the whole process. Creation of "sign" as key element of visual communication, and importance of "code" as a collection of homogenious "signs", which implements content and desired statement (or meaning) of the performance will be observed and, in positive scenario, realized. Objects and environments will be inspected as building elements of "code". Themes for improvisations will be suggested to participants and later stay as basis for dramatic structure ("story"). They will be mixed and transformed by choreographic patterns, including elements of dance, acrobatics, contact improvisation, etc. Core idea of the workshop is to vary scope of tools, available for creation and emphasizing visual of content  of stage production.

A model of performance will be a goal, but not necessarily.