What is the best thing that I love about my work? I work in cinema and dance. In both cases, what I love about my work is that you can focus on any subject, the question that interests me is “how do you treat the subject you are working on?”. Which approach or point of view do you choose? What’s the atmosphere you decide to create? For example Almodovar is capable of telling very dramatic stories in an atmosphere full of love, hope, colours and lights.

What is my idea of happiness? For me happiness is a balance inside of us that allows us to access all that we can offer. Ideally this balance would be available for all. In my vision of things, thanks to this equilibrium we can be truly happy with who we are, where we are and what we have. And those who find this balance can get rid of any desire, jealousy or useless comparison most of us tend to fall into. Leaving solely a complementarity and a flourishing society.

What is my greatest fear? Dying before learning who I am.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself? Fear, that creates many personality traits I despise in myself.

Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? I admire the director Sally Potter, I rewatch her films regularly. Especially The Tango Lessons. This film brings together two universes I am passionate about but I am also very touched by the way in which she tells stories.. I am a big admirer of Rocio Molina, who is unquestionably a talented dancer and performer. She has managed through a very traditional and coded dance, (that she masters perfectly) to express herself personally and widen the flamenco audience. Rosario Toldeo is another dancer for which I have a lot of admiration. She also performs Flamenco in her own way by adding humor which I find extraordinary. Musically, I listen a lot to the russian group called АукцЫон (Ayktsion). Leonid Fedorov, the singer of the band is now a soloist and his texts move me a lot. Music brings many memories from my childhood and my teenage years. The words of his songs follow quite a logic of association and sonorities and that’s how I think he manages to attain such profound and sensitive emotions. It’s incredible that he isn’t of my generation and we havn’t lived in the same kind of society and yet his text and his music speak so much to me.

What is my greatest extravagance? I say nearly everything I think.

On what occasion would I lie? I can difficultly lie. Thankfully, I’ve never had to lie for something very important. It does happen that I omit to say certain things when I consider it doesn’t concern the person I’m talking to, but it is rare and I would like to be able to do it more often. And when I was young I was taught to lie, you need a good memory which is not my case.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work? To forget or lose something. When I edit a sequence and the software stops working, I have to restart from scratch and I can’t remember exactly what I have done. When I find a choreographed step or a dance sequence, I film it on my phone and someone steals my phone. I then can’t remember exactly what the musical step was. These kinds of things are extremely hard for me to accept. I have to tell myself I’ll invent something else, even maybe something better. But it’s hard because I have the sensation of finalising an emotion that will never come back. I have to mourn that emotion.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work? In all those moments I feel like I manage to capture and integrate in me or in my group a unique emotion. When I manage to find the balance between the original idea and its creation.

If I could, what would I change about myself? I’d like to tone down my fears. I think I can do it but it will be a lot of work.

What is my greatest achievement in work? The creation of a show, a guitar danse duo called “Le Mur entre Deux Chaises” (The Wall Between Two Chairs).

Where would I most like to live? I live close to Paris and I like it there. I’m 30 minutes from the agitation of the town and I live in a relaxing place. I can’t complain. But I often want to be in a more open and natural place. Living in a town in France that would allow me to have a house, a garden and a vegetable garden feels impossible to me now because most of the cinematographic activities are centralised in Paris. That is something I regret. If I’m not being pragmatic or realistic, I would really like to live in Georgia because I find this country and the people who live in it extremely beautiful.

What is my most treasured possession? I have way more than one treasured possession 🙂 They are my past works and the lessons and the ressources that allow me to make them. I am very attached to my costumes, my drawings, my photos and the film camera that allows me to take them.

What is my most marked characteristic? A certain childish nature that allows me to stay amazed by many things in a very intense way, as well as a big emotivity that is not always easy to control.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city? The Russian restaurant Zakouski in the 14th district of Paris. What inspires me above anything else are the people who work in that restaurant, those who visit this place and the diversity of the connections that are created.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink, in my city? Currently I really enjoy Daguerre Street which is a small pedestrian street where it is nice to sit in a terrasse or brasserie.

What books influenced my life and how? Crime and Punishment by Dostoievsky that continues to develop my reflection on the ambivalence of humans and the difficulty of art to understand itself. There was also The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. When I was studying Russian in University to have a stable and useful job and that I didn’t feel at all in my place. Reading this book helped me to realise it was useless to be average in something I wasn’t passionate about by fear of being average in something I love. Jacob’s Ladder by Ludmila Oulitskaia talks about different life trajectories with highs and lows, dramas and injustice. In the book the most striking characters are those who cultivate their inner universes and stay equal to themselves. Especially the character of the grandfather that we discover through letters and who in any situation, even extreme ones like the Gulag for exemple, always makes sure he grows as a person by reading. This book and this character have developed my love for reading and the desire to be more disciplined.

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day? Without any humility, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Waltz.

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? Sally Potter that plays her own role in The Tango Lesson. The soviet version of Barron de Munchausen, amazingly played by Oleg Yankovsky. This film in two parts doesn’t really talk about the Baron’s adventures. It questions the fact that his stories are lies and place him in a social context that doesn’t allow its extravagances. He can only mary the woman he loves if he admits officially that all his stories are lies. The film makes us think that maybe everything is real and that reality is more magical than we may think. The hero then has to choose between what he believes in intimately or answering what society requests of him by love. The film asks the question of who is the craziest. The one who believes and is outside of the norms or the one that believes in conventions ?

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life? There are heroic acts that stay in me. Jacques Brel who stopped making music when he was at the height of his success. He said people admired him so much that he could do anything on stage and people would applaud him. In these conditions, he didn’t feel capable to do his best work, that’s why he stopped. All these people who in history have been able to go the opposite of their survival instinct to defend as well as possible their ideas and what seemed fair to them. My mother.

Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? This same Münchausen by Mark Zakharov.

What role play stories in my life and work? The stories that allow me to identify with characters and their stories, making me feel part of a group, close with other readers/spectators, sharing an experience with others through space and time.

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life’ to me? That my life depends on my point of view. I have to accept this subjectivity

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime? My mother

Which people or companies would I like to work with ? I would have loved to be an editor for Sally Potter and Emilio Belmonte. And I would love to dance for a Leonid Fedorov concert.

What project am I looking forward to work on? I have two projects that are very important to me. A documentary I directed and edited called A Night in the Zakousky And a show mixing danse and guitar called “Le Mur Entre Deux Chaises” For both these projects for which the construction is done, I am looking for sponsors, programmers and distributors to finish them and show them to the most people possible.

Where can you see me or my work? As a dancer, I produced myself in different groups. “Le mur entre deux chaises” is my first creation in collaboration with Sebastian Segarra. We will play it on the 31st of March 2023 in the Théâtre el Duende. I am also part of the groups Arbat and Marcela which produces Tzigane concerts and dance shows. To see my work Youtube, Viméo, IMDB

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? Passion cultivates itself, it evolves in us and with us. It’s not always there where we expect it but it is always somewhere

Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story? Vladimir Dzyackevich, Screenwriter and Director Marie-Ange Gorbanevsky, Director Christophe Chaumanet, Photographe Rebecca Gallon, Director Sebastian Segarra, Musician and Composer Marc Drobisnky, Cellist Marcela Cisarova, Singer Lilia Roos Dalskaia, Singer Matrena Yankovsjaya, Singer Marian Badoi, Accordionist

How can you contact me? In facebook, Alissa Doubrovitskaia