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LIT BY A SINGLE MATCH
The Way to Tsvetnoy Boulevard was Cleared by Fire
“Do you want to breathe fire?” a young fireman in a badged helmet asked a young woman in the crowd. She wanted to. The firefighter’s simple – at first glance – manipulations turned the horn in the girl’s hands into a fire-breathing volcano, which, with a whistle of pressure played bright flames in the cool evening air.
“Young man, how would you like to play with fire?” The young man agreed. As soon as he did a sparkling shower of fire danced around him like links on a chain. And it went like that more than once all along the path of this colorful carnival, from Kamergersky lane to The Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard.
Of course we don’t remember, but we can generally imagine ancient elemental festivals. It was a synthesis of these traditional performances and a modern carnival that actors from “The Fire People” Theatre of Fire put on yesterday. They showed not only an enchanting spectable on the streets and lanes of Moscow, but also the enviable energy of their spirit and the warmth of the 20-year-old hearts.
They are barely older than twenty-three, these followers of the flame. But for over five years, apparently, they have been zealously and boldly playing with fire at holidays, corporate parties and banquets, and most recently – on city streets and squares. And what’s most interesting, they can enchant any passerby, they can pull in even the most apparently indifferent pedestrian.
One of the actors gets up on stilts and like a traffic policeman directs cars. Drivers are surprisingly obedient and patiently wait for their “green” light.
Guarded from on high by “Uncle Stepan,” and surrounded by its trustworthy brass and wind orchestra, the procession marches to a gallant tune past Bolshaya Dmitrivka, Stoleshnikov, Petrovka, and past Visokopetrovsky Monastery pours out onto the open space of Trubnaya Square. Everywhere there’s music, fireworks, flames, smoke, light, mimes, colorful costumes, a fest of movement, rhythm, and melody. Jugglers, clowns, flame spitters and flame swallowers – undisputed masters of their trades, each unique for his distinctive theatrical approach. All united by the awesome power of fire.
“It’s easy to explain, after all, we’re all lit by a single match,” as one of the theatre’s leading actors, Gera Kirrilov, puts it, “We’re all used to firemen fighting fire. but for us fire isn’t disaster and anxiety, it’s a symbol of warmth, of the hearth, the heat and passion of the human heart. Today we’re welcoming the season of warmth, but we remain steadfast that the warmth of the human soul won’t ever abandon us. Fire is the means of expression for our theatre, but now it’s taking on another meaning as a symbol for everything good in people, for everything that should not disappear. And we’re working towards this by fascinating spectators with an array of experiences, by attracting them to play with us on this holiday.”
As for fascination, “The Fire People” certainly manage to create their own: by the end of the procession many of the people on the square in front of the circus wanted to dance with fire, try out for the job of fireworker, or masquerade as a fire-showman. No one was refused. Maybe this is why two of my friends told me they just didn’t want the party to end:
“First of all,” they clarified, “because when you’re with the fire, you feel not only physical warmth, but a sort of kinship with your surroundings, a rare unity of soul. Just look at how beautiful everything is!”
Indeed the festival was beautiful, even more so at its climax. Kettle drums and bongos sounded, and to classical jazz music the firemen juggled and somersaulted, walked on stilts and danced. After lighting two torches under his arms, an adroit fireman tossed and caught three more. His colleague in a tall top hat with a blazing fire on top played amazing tricks with a whole gallery of Bengali fire.
Of course, these guys have more enthusiasm than authentic, mature expertise. But they have that life which will outlast the festival, and which is the mark of true artists. “You could say that we’re all in the grips of fire,” they say more seriously than jokingly, “But it’s better not to put this fire out.”
13 October 2006
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