Which of us does not like the modern circus with its colorfully staged numbers, dangerous tricks, performances of funny clowns? Special attention of the viewer is attracted by trainers, who in a striking way manage to educate our smaller brothers, brought from different parts of the world. And this is not only playful monkeys and cute dogs, but also dangerous wild animals, which can only be pacified by a trainer.
This article will discuss the well-known and popular trainer Daria Kostyuk - a girl who has chosen a rather difficult path in the circus business.
Brief curriculum vitae
A young, but very talented and successful artist was born in 1986 in Moscow. Her parents are also famous artists. Mom Tatyana Petrovna - choreographer, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. Papa Leonid Leonidovich - People's Artist of the RSFSR, an outstanding circus artist, who at one time received the prestigious Golden Clown award in Monte Carlo.
In 2009, our heroine successfully graduated from the faculty of production of the RATI. And she began her circus career back in 1997, performing in a very complicated genre called “horse riding”. In 1998, she was enrolled in Trained Monkeys. In 2002, she released the number "Trained bears and dogs."
2003 turned out to be significant in some respects for Dasha, because she was the first in Russia to create the issue "The Air Gymnast on Canvases" /
In 2005, a young girl became the head of the dance and acrobatic ensemble. And two years later she proved herself as the creator of her own circus, which received a simple and memorable name - "Daria Kostyuk Circus".
The year 2011 was marked by the very active work of Dasha and her husband in the direction of the training of cheetahs. The attraction was called the "Big Cat Constellation".
In 2012, the circus created a whole performance called "The Island of Dreams." In it, she not only took on the lead role, but also performed the voluminous functions of a director, screenwriter and producer.
Family status
Daria Kostyuk is married to Vyacheslav Kurkov, also directly related to circus art. The couple has been married since 2010. Prim's husband is a leading artist of the Bolshoi Moscow Theater, located on Vernadsky Avenue. The young family has a son named Plato.
The only one in the world
Immediately, we note that the Daria Kostyuk show is an unforgettable sight that will definitely never leave anyone indifferent. The girl herself is a unique artist, because she is the only woman on the planet who manages to train cheetahs.
According to the trainer, her animals arrived at the circus from Kenya when they were about a year old. According to Dasha, at this age, cheetahs are already more difficult to train, but there is less risk that they will fall ill, as mother’s milk is full.
Animal training
At first, when the cheetahs were settled in the aviary, Daria Kostyuk and her husband were literally forced to spend the night near the cage. If little cubs or cubs can be taken home for the first time for upbringing, then it didn’t work with cheetahs because they were in Moscow already in their teens (by the standards of animals) and would not be allowed to drive themselves into an apartment or house. Therefore, the circus couple was forced to tame predators by prolonged stay with them near the cells.
About fear
According to the artist, the sense of self-preservation in a person working with animals should be aggravated. At the same time, panic fear is simply not permissible, because this is a sign of professional unsuitability. Daria Kostyuk recalls that sometimes fear can arise due to the fact that the cheetah is doing something abruptly and unexpectedly, his intentions cannot be predicted. However, the girl says that she never had panic or hysteria.
About the difficulties of training
According to Dasha, she plans her day so that her rehearsals were initially held with cheetahs, and after that with dogs and other animals. Although, as the artist herself recalls, a lot depends solely on the nature of the four-legged artist and sometimes it is more difficult with dogs than with representatives of the cat family.
As for the main principles of the training, the artist believes that the approach of the “carrot” rather than the “stick” is more important. Dasha believes that cruelty will not achieve anything, and as a punishment for the animal, you can use moving it to a separate aviary, where it will be deprived of the opportunity to play with its brothers. But to beat and somehow physically affect the animals in a different way is impossible. As a reward to his charges, Kostyuk gives boiled meat. I also tried to treat with cookies, but after it the animals started having eye problems.
About the villains of competitors
Daria Kostyuk, reviews of whose activities are exclusively positive, has repeatedly said that there were times when competitors literally poisoned animals. One of these episodes occurred during a tour of China, where two cheetahs died after Freon poisoning. Although, in principle, Dasha believes that such crimes are the exception rather than the rule.
Future plans
The Daria Kostyuk Circus in Vegas (the name of the multi-format venue located in Moscow) first presented its program in the fall of 2016. The show called "Fantasy Kaleidoscope" includes many interesting numbers and delights even the smallest viewers. In addition to performances with animals, the program has many acrobatic stunts, performances with the participation of funny clowns, illusionists and representatives of other circus professions.
