[A Study of Surreal Devotion and Lynchian Reality]
The story of the collective known as “The Shining of Little Stars” began in Ivanovo, where their amazing traveling circus first took the stage. The hall remained packed all day—audiences who saw the first performance were so moved they returned for every single show that followed. The artists worked with relentless precision, rehearsing until the deepest hours of the night and stepping into costume a full day before the curtain rose.
The hotels where we stayed were frozen in the spirit of the USSR—heavy wardrobes decorated with posters torn from old teenage magazines. This drab environment stood in stark contrast to the performers’ bold, brilliant presence. With their impeccable artistic makeup and original handmade costumes, they proved to be true stars—capable of shining in any setting, no matter how bleak.
The entire team functioned as a single living organism, a family that understood one another without words. I spent my days submerged in their world—a reality so surreal it felt like a dreamscape even David Lynch could only imagine. I witnessed the incredible strength of their spirit: from the intense rehearsals to the room of cat trainer Olga Suslova. A fragile, beautiful girl, Olga handled a large knife with artful speed, slicing through kilograms of raw meat for her pets while speaking of her craft as her entire life. It was a beautiful, self-contained world where these individuals found their true calling—happy little stars, finally given the chance to shine for others.
