Aniskin Troupe

From Circopedia

Flying Trapeze, Trampoline

By Dominique Jando

The Aniskin Troupe's flying actAny aerial act in which an acrobat is propelled in the air from one point to another. was created in 1996 by Oleg Aniskin at Circus Nikulin—“The Old Circus on Tsvetnoi Boulevard”—in Moscow. A 1988 graduate of Moscow's world-renowned circus school (the State College for Circus and Variety Arts), Oleg Aniskin has worked with Vilen Golovko (The Flying Cranes) on the creation of The Firebirds, a spectacular flying actAny aerial act in which an acrobat is propelled in the air from one point to another. that was featured in the United States with Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey in 2003-2004. Oleg's wife, Yana, also a graduate of Moscow's State Circus and Variety College, appeared with The Firebirds.

The Aniskin Troupe has performed in various incarnations of the Moscow Circus on tours of Japan, Holland, and Belgium, as well as in Germany in a production whose featured star was the famous Russian clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team., Oleg Popov. They have also appeared in China and in Ankara, Turkey. In 2002, when they were featured with the Big Apple Circus in the United States, the troupe included Oleg Aniskin (principal catcherIn an acrobatic or a flying act, the person whose role is to catch acrobats that have been propelled in the air.), Yana Aniskina, Vladimir Skrinichenko, Valery Larin, Artur Ishkulov and Oleg Kasatkin (flyers), and Aleksey Voytenko (second catcherIn an acrobatic or a flying act, the person whose role is to catch acrobats that have been propelled in the air.).

In 2009, the Aniskin Troupe was composed of Oleg Aniskin (principal catcherIn an acrobatic or a flying act, the person whose role is to catch acrobats that have been propelled in the air.), Yana Aniskina, Artiom Goryachev (second catcherIn an acrobatic or a flying act, the person whose role is to catch acrobats that have been propelled in the air.), Aleksandr Sotov, Vladimir Cheplev, Alexei Maksimov, and Aleksey Voitenko. In 2014, the composition of the troupe was Oleg Aniskin, Aleksey Voitenko, Aleksey Maksimov, Artiom Goryachev, Denis Ulgin, Elena Utkina, Radislav Bakhtagareev, and Vitaly Rudnitskyi. The Aniskins also perform a trampoline act that was created as a “second act” for the troupe, and which has known various incarnations over the years. Oleg Aniskin has has received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.