FIVE MINUTES IN THE RING, A FEW YEARS BEHIND IT

The circus has a surprisingly specific ambience. It can be controversial at times, but it's hard to find someone who is completely indifferent to it. But it is the same for all the children. For them, the circus is a guaranteed holiday. A meeting with the strong and the fearless, the merry and the enthusiastic. They vote with their hearts when they try to catch the clown's spontaneous attention, they follow the animal performances with vivid interest. But the circus is also about adults. And not only in the auditorium. Zulfiyya Alieva is a representative of a famous circus dynasty. Once a brilliant horsewoman, she then decided to try her luck outside the circus. But it did not take long...

"Is it possible to leave the circus?"

"Impossible. Even if that happens due to some circumstances, the circus pulls you in. And no matter where you are, it's almost impossible to find yourself outside of it. I've been down that road myself – you know what I mean, quitting the circus. I can tell you from personal experience. When I was working in other fields, on a subconscious level I felt out of place. I was beginning to feel that every day it was gnawing at me a lot. It was as if I was suffocating. An inner yearning to see the light of the ramp again, to be under the beam of lights, to hear the familiar sound of the orchestra..."

"And you came back..."

"It was unbearable, like a lump in my throat, which was natural. My father and my older brother used to walk in the corridors of this building. They are no longer in this world, but these walls carry their memories. Perhaps my words sound too loud, but returning to my home circus is also my personal responsibility to them. I think it happened for a reason. Perhaps it's time to carry on what they did, their name. Dynasty is about being concerned about the circus wholeheartedly. Deeply and consciously. It literally gets into your body."

"Especially in your case..."

"As a child, I spent more time in the circus than anywhere else. I used to sneak out of lessons, despite the guaranteed possibility of getting punished. But I always felt my dad's joy. He didn't hide it actually, when he saw my unstoppable insistence on my priorities. He would occasionally take me out of class for rehearsals when a substitute was needed. After a while, I realised that the teachers had turned a blind eye to my absences, getting a chance to be invited to our performances. Also perhaps my teachers realised that I will unlikely need chemistry and physics as a future circus performer."

"The first step and today..."

"The first steps are different, of course. We have a special term in the circus – grafting. That's how I did my first steps. Back then, as a first-grader, I measured my strength with a clown by lifting a prop barbell. It is a classic trick still in use today. It was fun for children, but even then we were growing up with a sense of responsibility. And at the same time we were at home! We had no fear of the stage, the audience or the light. Acting gave us a certain sense of being chosen. I wanted to show my best skills to the audience. To feel like an important part of the circus world. Now, of course, I take it more professionally due to my experience. Unwittingly you start to notice the nuances. My genre is doing stunts on horseback. Our performances always attract attention: how legs are set, how one should hold the saddle, how to make elements, etc. I admit that I admire horses. Last season I was overwhelmed with emotions when I could spend some time with the Karabakh horses. I did not fail and had an opportunity to be in the saddle again, even backstage! Even for a short while! But it was like returning to horseback rides."

"Still good on your skills?"

"Our school was different from the present one. This is neither good nor bad. It was different, Soviet. In my view, it was thorough, as many things of that time were. Perhaps it is worth taking the best of to apply today. Once in the saddle, I immediately noticed how my body instinctively "remembered" the posture we were taught back in the school. Instructions of my teachers suddenly flashed through my mind. For example, Sabir Samadov, he was a very strong trainer, who did not just create an attraction. He is the one who founded the local school of stunts on horseback. Yes, the lessons were tough. But the basics were injected into our subconsciousness: how to sit in the saddle, how to hold, how to move, how to work with hands. Sometimes I was even scared, trying to follow instructions precisely."

"Responsibility..."

"Responsibility and circus art are inseparable concepts. You should be aware of this axiom from the first moment you step on the stage. That is why the experienced artists do not neglect the young ones. There is always a mentoring relationship in the circus. Even stunts and tricks can sometimes be passed down from one artist to his successors so that they could add their own personal touches to them. But above all we study all the nuances of safety, which is part of that responsibility. First and foremost, responsibility in front of oneself. Circus is a labour-intensive art. It is a combination of theatre, sport and music. The more spectacular it is, the more effort is put into it. Five minutes in the arena means several years of intensive training behind the scenes."

"But circus also has elements of danger."

"I believe discussions about the dangers of circus art began with the first circus performance. Whether it's a tightrope walker, a gymnast, an animal trainer... Circus acts are all about stunts. And that means attention to detail and taking caution for granted. But circus performances are also spectacular. It's just hard to imagine them without this component. Circus is a concentration of these components. It is clear that the circus has made safety issues a priority after it has recently become stationary."

"But performers complicate the acts themselves!"

"We go into the arena fully aware that risk is part of our profession. That is why, unlike other forms of art, circus is a daily practice that does not tolerate the slightest weakness on the part of the performer. Anyone who knows a bit about circus knows that it is all about professionalism. Body techniques and working with props are practiced step by step."

"And don't forget the adrenaline!"

"What can you do without it?! The thrill of the arena is incomparable! We can't live without it in the circus, no matter the genre of the performance. It's not a secret that we sometimes wish to try ourselves in "adjacent" genres. The current programme includes an act with wild cats. When they were brought into the circus, there was a smell in the atmosphere which I have adored since my childhood. Specific, but still! Before my eyes there were images from the past: an elephant lifting me on his trunk, a bear, tigers and lions. By the way, we in the circus can detect sniffing the air which animals are placed in enclosures and which ones are just settling in. I really missed that smell of the circus backstage when I was away from it..."

"Even your voice is throng with emotions..."

"I was trying to sneak in wherever I could get to from the age of three or four. I was a curious child. And circus encourages self-expansion, at the same time producing adrenaline in artists. The main thing is that it must be healthy adrenaline, if I may say so. And to be ready to share it with the audience so that they focus their attention on the arena only. So that the audience freezes in anticipation of a wow! moment when the stunt is performed."

"Training?"

"We had to work it out, of course!.. The lower arena was probably more familiar to us than the upper one. And different in terms of tricks we had to do with rings, trapeze, trampolines. We did dancing and choreography. A circus performer has to have as many skills as a carpet clown. We were taught to be ready for anything. Personally, I was not allowed to get on a horse without a rehearsal in the lower arena. We were not allowed to be lazy, were loaded with tasks as much as possible. Above all, circus means rigidity. It's like in ballet - if you want to get into the first line, don't move away from the barre. I won't get tired of saying that our art form is a fusion of sport and theatre. A drive stimulated by carrot and stick."

"For what? "

"It is an art that gives joy and fireworks and has evolved along with civilisation. And one has to devote oneself to it completely, without 'strategic residue'. Even a vocalist, an artist or an entertainer has to sacrifice something in order to be able to give beauty to others. And every bruise, every callus, even a fall is the cost you pay to make the audience happy. No need to show them what's going on inside, as the art will die then... It's our choice, our life..."

"What is the spirit of circus for you...?"

"First and foremost, it is my father, Ramiz Aliyev, an Honoured Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR, who was the chief director of our circus for more than forty years. He graduated from the Higher Institute of Cinematography, acted in films. Was a close friend of Yuri Nikulin. Studied with Lyudmila Gurchenko, starred with Vladimir Vysotsky, Alexander Demyanenko. He was the first director of the Perm Circus. He worked with Karandash. I have seen personally how various acts were born and how the band "Lights of Azerbaijan" was created. My brother Fuad Aliyev worked there. His record - lifting half a ton of live weight – still remains unbroken."

"What's it like to be the daughter of a famous father?"

"Huge responsibility! You have to control every aspect of your life. It is morally difficult, I must say... After all, the people were acknowledging me as the granddaughter of one of Azerbaijan's first architects, Mikayil Huseynov, who brought me up. He insisted that I study sculpting, which was a very different kind of art for me, with its own atmosphere. I grew up surrounded by the famous people. I am also known as the daughter of the first canon performer Asya Taghiyeva. On her side, it was the world of music and the prominent opera and ballet performers, including Sara Gadimova, Shovket Alakbarova and Rashid Behbudov with whom she was invited to the reception where she met Raj Kapoor. Incidentally, my parents met in Moscow. So I somehow managed to not offend anyone: I first graduated as a pianist from the Conservatoire, then studied foreign languages and directing. I have tried my best to remain faithful to the memory of my prominent relatives..."

"The arena is a place where the artist is always in full view."

"Circus does not understand your illness. Well, to certain extent, of course! But no matter what the circumstances are, you should straighten your back, take your position and... leave everything behind. The arena is a magical place. No matter what state of mind and body you are in, as soon as you see the lights flashing, the band playing and the curtain opening, you automatically forget everything and take a step towards the arena! Inexplicable magic! Has anyone been able to decode this magic? Do I ever think about it? No. I know that it is the audience that fuels me. It is the audience that our art appeals to. The circus performers pay compliments to the audience. And the ingredients are your hand gestures, your facial expressions, your smile. Those in the audience must not see what's inside of you. And when an artist hears applause he or she feel reborn. Magic..."

"But when the lights go off, you walk out the gate..."

"Life outside the arena is different. And no less beloved. It is said that a talented person must be talented in everything. This also applies to home affairs. By the way, I really love cooking, it's my hobby... That's my comfort zone I adore, a calmness that gives me strength, other laws of building communication. When I am outside the circus, I am a spectator like anybody else. I think about my relatives and loved ones at home. I love taking care of them with no less passion. I am a wife and a mother there. It's a whole other side of life..."

"Where do you feel more comfortable: at the circus or at home?"

"I have two homes. In the circus is my self. Home is my support. I can become a child in the first place. I can fool around there. To be a performer. Forget everything. In the second one, there is a completely different background, where I provide care for my children, where I have to think about my home. Like any woman who has to give warmth to her family."

"But a day will come and you will have to leave the circus..."

"For sure. But the love for this art that lives inside me will remain. It is the specificity of circus education in movements, in conversation, in my outlook. In those people who prove the diversity of the circus art, represent the circus itself as a common home without blowing the trumpet, where the only criteria are talent, professionalism and loyalty. Circus performers perceive the world differently. I have already mentioned that the circus is like a home for me. In fact, I was always in the circus. I remember, when my father used to take me to his work, I would sing the lines from Yury Nikulin's song: "I'm happy since the morning, As if I'm waiting for something. Hooray-hooray! It's the circus to which I'm going!" I remember when I got sick my dad didn't take me with him. It was the saddest day of my life: I would cry desperately... It was a tragedy for me. Missing one day! It's still very painful for me. I feel myself in the circus. I don't have to hide from something, I don't have to be ashamed of something. Being myself is the great happiness that circus gives me!"

"Any plans for tomorrow?"

"No one knows the future. I hope that thanks to my education and knowledge of the circus from the inside, plus the experience I have received and preserved from my father, I will not part with the circus for a long time to come. It will give me an chance to fulfil myself in other fields. After all, Allahverdi Israfilov, who also continues a dynasty of artists, is taking care of our circus well. A man I've known since childhood. A man who lives for the circus, breathes with it, gives his all to it. Most importantly, he offers the best of acts and artists to the local audience, thus continuing our best circus traditions. It was he who gave me a chance to be back in my home town and plunge into the atmosphere of the circus magic. One can do anything when one's away from the circus. But you feel love for circus in everything. Even at home, among your family members."