Show.   Ice show in Tashkent

Sergey Rijkov - director of this troupe - said that the total amount of participants of the tour (including artists, technicians and musicians) numbers 55 people. The troupe was created in 1991, but officially started its activity in 1993. The company is considered prosperous because it works independently unlike the other Russian ice groups that depend on State subsidies. It is the sole private structure of its type, not only in Russia, but also in the vast expanses of CIS. Sergey Rijikov considers the Tashkent circus perfectly adapted for the work of his wards, which are real professionals in their field. All the artists have passed the school of circus art and have recently become professional sportsmen. The Tashkent audience has already had a chance to see with their own eyes the shows of these unique artists.

The Ice show arrived to Tashkent from Paris, France where they gave a number of shows as well. When comparing the Tashkent and Parisian audience Rijkov remarked that they have received a warmer welcome in Tashkent owing, in many respects, to the newness of the given show. Now the troupe is faced with the choice of venue of future concerts. SHANGRI-LA company will head either to Madrid or to Shanghai; the troupe received an invitation to the Chinese city after the Tashkent performances. The show lasts for about two hours.

"This is an artiste's life - to travel around the world", - Rijkov continues. "Today we are in Tashkent, tomorrow we will be in another part of the world. Our show is a certain step forward. They have been trying to give up animal training for a long time in Europe, I also do not like this activity at all. I have never applied such practice in my work and I am sure that I will never do this in the future. My colleagues and I will continue to do what we do despite the fact that our show is expensive.

When we performed in Canada, at hockey rinks the audiences were very large, which does not always happen at hockey matches or ice-skaters' performances and these are the national kinds of sports in Canada. However, we can also perform on small areas. For instance, we had shows on theatrical stages in Monte-Carlo. We performed on a ground, which is similar to the Tashkent rink, in Brussels. We have been to Brazil where there was also a very warm welcome. There we had to perform at a concert hall "Maracazinjo" in Rio de Janeiro. Now I know from my own experience that the hotter the country, the warmer the welcome.

Also, the show took part in large rock-concerts in Japan with the participation of the world famous rock star Yuming Matsutoy. SHANGRI-LA company participated in the organization of two united projects of four countries - Great Britain, Russia, USA and Japan with a large programme. In addition to ice-circus activity SHANGRI-LA company also organizes shows on roller skates and even on water which demonstrates the versatile fantasy of our performers.

- We will definitely return to Uzbekistan - the country of warmth, kindness and amazing people. Our entire troupe would like to experience again the hospitality and kindliness with which we have been met here, to thank the audience with our performance once more in such a way as to keep this unforgettable meeting in the hearts of people as a symbol of friendliness of people and nations of our countries, which will have many joint victories in the future, - the director of the troupe said in conclusion.