The 5th GITIS Summer School has concluded on the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, continuing a tradition that has become one of GITIS’ key international educational projects in Central Asia.
This year’s program brought together faculty members and students from GITIS alongside theatre professionals and students from the Uchur Youth Theatre (Kyrgyzstan), the Tursunzade Tajik State Institute of Culture and Arts (Tajikistan), and the Temirbek Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts (Kazakhstan).
Over ten days, participants took part in an intensive training led by GITIS teachers. Aidar Zakirov, Head of the Department of Stage Movement, taught stage movement, biomechanics and stage combat. Tatiana Vasilyeva, Senior Lecturer, led daily classes in stage speech, while Ivan Derendyaev introduced participants to acting and the principles of sound drama.
Working across Russian, Kyrgyz, Kazakh and Tajik, participants explored different acting techniques while creating a shared theatrical language. Music also became an essential part of the programme: during Ivan Derendyaev’s workshops, participants sang traditional songs from across Central Asia, rehearsed songs for the final production, and experimented with rhythm, voice and ensemble performance inspired by the region’s rich musical traditions.
Beyond the rehearsal studio, the Summer School encouraged participants to immerse themselves in the history and culture of Kyrgyzstan. They visited landscapes surrounding Issyk-Kul, travelled into the mountains of the Northern Tien Shan, explored local traditions and folklore, and met members of local communities, drawing inspiration for their creative work from the region itself.
The program culminated in a multilingual staging of Chingiz Aitmatov’s “The White Ship”, one of the most celebrated works of Kyrgyz literature. Performed in four languages — Russian, Kyrgyz, Kazakh and Tajik, the sketch became the collective creative achievement of everyone involved in the Summer School.
The performance was created by GITIS faculty together with students from the Acting Faculty, the Faculty of New Stage Arts, the Musical Theatre Faculty, the Set Design Faculty, the Choreography Faculty, the Theatre Studies Faculty, and the Producing Faculty.
Following the performance, Asan Akhmatov, nephew of Chingiz Aitmatov and representative of the Chingiz Aitmatov International Foundation “Dialogue Without Borders”, presented GITIS Rector Grigory Zaslavsky with the Foundation’s medal for outstanding contribution to culture and the arts. Participants also received editions of Aitmatov’s works in Russian, Kyrgyz and Kazakh.
The GITIS Summer School in Kyrgyzstan was organised as part of the “Creative Projects of the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts — GITIS” program with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture, Information and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic.
