Oleg Soulimenko
is a Russian performer and choreographer living and working in Vienna and Moscow. In 1985 he finished his studies and graduated in construction engineering at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and decided to become a dancer.
From 1985 until 1990 he studied dance, acting and improvisation in various theatres in Moscow (at the Theatre for Improvisation of Oleg Kiselev, at the Anatoli Vasiliev School of Dramatic Art – Department for Experimental Dance with Genadi Abramov a. o.).
He also attended a course in Butoh dance at Min Tanaka's Body Weather Farm in Japan as well as in Release Technique, Contact Improvisation and Body Mind Centering with Kirsti Simson, Vera Mantero, Ka Rastler, Anzu Furukawa a.o.
In 1990 Oleg Soulimenko founded the International Laboratory Saira Blanche Theatre. Their work has been shown throughout Eastern and Western Europe and in the United States (the 8th Annual Improvisation Festival in New York, 1999; Tanztendenzen in Greifswald, 2000; Tanz in Berlin, August 2000; 'I'll never let you go' in Stockholm, 2001). Saira Blanche Theatre has evolved a deeply sophisticated, strong and provocative performance practice of improvisation. From 1996 until 2000 Oleg was part of the collaboration between Saira Blanche Theatre & Lux Flux from Vienna. This group researched the method of making theatre without theatre and of producing presence without directing. During this collaboration he performed at various festivals: Malta Festival in Poznan/Poland'98; Impuls Tanz'98 in Vienna; Wiener Festwochen in Vienna '99; Tanz 2000 in Vienna, a collaboration between Wiener Festwochen and ImpulsTanz.
In 1999 he took part in developing the projects 'Highway 101' in 'Laboratorium' in Antwerp and participated in 'Crashlanding' with Meg Stuart & Damaged Goods in Moscow
In 2002 Oleg collaborated with Tanzquartier Wien organizing and creating the project 'East meets West', an artistic dialogue between Russian and Austrian aritsts.
In June 2002 he curated Festival 'zwei tage' in cooperation with Arge TTP, im_flieger and WUK-Theater.
Since 2005 he has also been teaching regularly at the dance department of Bruckner-University Linz.
Lately Oleg has started to compose electro-acoustic music as well as experimental videos, which have been shown at several international festivals (The Recontres Internationales Paris/Berlin; Festival Signali Luminosi, Pesaro/Italy; National Centre for Contemporary Art - Moscow; Festival PULSAR, Caracas; Festival VARIA, The Janos Gat Gallery, New York).
Oleg has always been interested in artistic collaboration, a.o. with Lidia Kavina, Steve Paxton, Lisa Nelson, Markus Schinwald, Meg Stuart & Damaged Goods, Jennifer Lacey.
His most recent performances were presented in Eastern and Western Europe, the U.S.A., in Canada and Israel like Tanzquartier Wien and brut Theater in Vienna, Performa 07 in New York, Steirischer Herbst in Graz, Tangente in Montreal, Cankarev Dom in Ljubljana, Dostoyevsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Jerusalem Gerard Bercher Center in Jerusalem, Kunstverein Hannover, MAK - Museum for Applied Arts Vienna, Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz and Kunsthalle Wien.
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Work with body, space and people in this space. Everybody is present with this momentary condition.
Feeling, taste, soul, rhythm, composition, materials and improvisation.
Oleg Soulimenko is a member of the SAIRA BLANCHE THEATRE. There is also a list of all his projects.
I met him in 1993 for the first time, but our contact deepened when we travelled to Arkhangelsk in fall 1996. I will always remember his improvisation in Vologda 1993: he entered the stage, sat down on a chair and smoked, while Heinz-Erich Gödecke was playing. This was the best what could happen to a cigarette!
Contact:
Oleg Soulimenko, oleg2soul@yahoo.com
