ST.PETERSBURG THE SHORTEST WAY TO THE ARCTIC

"Northern Lights"

"Northern Lights" founded on the banks of the River Neva. Its creative credo is as follows: "Art rather than exotics"

Igor Nabok,
Doctor of Philosophy, Professor,
Director of the theatre school

       The modern scenic realization of the authentic folk-lore of the local people of both the Far North and the Far East is able to stimulate not only ethnographic interest but the spontaneous emotional and aesthetic feelings of spectators - this is the creative credo of the unique St.Petersburg group, namely the student folk-lore theatre school "Northern Lights".
      More than 40 years ago it was created by Tatyana Petrova-Bytova, the impassioned propagandist of northern people's art. Since that time more than one generation has been changed but love and tactful attitude towards wonderful, rich and organic world of northern culture embodying the idea of harmony between a human being and Nature remained invariable.
      The theatre school "Northern Lights" exists and develops on the base of the unique, ethnolinguistic and ethnocultural, scientific and educational centre which has no Russian or world analogues - the Faculty of peoples of the Far North of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia. For more than 70 years representatives of over 20 native, small peoples of the Far North and the Far East of Russia have been studying here. Most famous writers, poets, scientists studying the North, specialists in the field of culture and education from the Urals to Chukotka, Kamchatka, the island Sakhalin came out of the Faculty. Projects of the chair of ethnoculturology of this educational and scientific centre became the basis for the "Northern Lights"' concept. It includes art creative work, professional development of the students of the Far North, propagation of achievements of northern culture. The new period of the school's life began in 1994 when Irina Davydova, chukchi by nationality and graduate of the department of opera producers of St.Petersburg State Academy of Music, became its art leader. The ensemble (now the folk-lore theatre school) found its new style, other aesthetics whose basis was the organic synthesis of authentic folk-lore of peoples of the Far North, Siberia and the Far East with St.Petersburg scenic tradition, professionalization of creative search for theatre and show realization of folklore material.
      As a result a new genre - folk-lore concert- performance - was developed and implemented. It is built on vocal, instrumental, play, dance and rhythmical miniatures united with emotional and rich, rhythmical intonations rather than with subjects. Live aesthetic phenomenon stimulating spontaneous emotional reaction of spectators rather than exotics - this is the essence of concerts-performances of the folk-lore theatre school "Northern Lights". These concerts-performances are based on folk-lore material of Chukchi, Koryaki, Eskimo, Evenki , Nivkhi, Nanayski, Lapp, Khanty, Yakut peoples. Russian folk-lore is naturally included there. Different genres of miniatures, forming concerts-performances, expressiveness of throaty singing, original sounds of the homus, elegance of playing miniatures imbued with true people's humour, the use of traditional ways of vocal intonations, the charming expressiveness of ritual dances, the cosmic sounds of tambourines known as "yarars", the wonderful gracefulness of plastic picture of dances - all add to create a generalized scenic image of the North, an expressive and harmonic image.
      Performances of this ensemble in St.Petersburg, Moscow, Voronezh, Surgut have always been successful. More than once the theatre school "Northern Lights" has presented its performances in other countries - Italy, France, the USA, Hungary, Finland, revealing a new, bright, extremely rich page of very varied Russian culture to foreign spectators.
      Not accidentally "nearly mystic gracefulness" of northern dances and the wonderful integrity of scenic images of the performance "Yarar's Sound" were noted in the Italian newspaper "Nuova"' review of the "Northern Lights"' performances at Turin's Royal Theatre. The name itself of this review was very characteristic - " From Russia ... with Love". At the same time the other Italian newspaper "Reppublica" wrote that "Northern Lights"' performances in the famous Turin's square San Carlo at the Festival "Similarity and Distinction" "absolutely charmed the spectators".