Russya Connor had her first stage appearance as the smallest dwarf in the ballet Snow
Award-winning German/Australian performer Russya Connor has a diverse background as an international performer, dancer and theatre maker and lives happily in Fremantle.
Russya had her first stage appearance as the smallest dwarf in the ballet Snow White at the tender age of seven, and since then she has had a diverse performance history as a performance artist and theatre maker, both here in Australia and throughout Europe. Russya’s career began in her native Germany, where she worked as an actress, both in theatre and in film, and toured as a dancer/choreographer with ‘orientobsession’. Since moving to Australia several years ago Russya has been involved in a range of short films, theatre and dance performances.
Her show The Existentialist’s Survival Guide for Australia blends story-telling, comedy and philosophical reflections and toured Australia and New Zealand.
She acted as Abby in the Neil LaBute’s The Mercy Seat for Fringe World’s Summer Nights program at The Blue Room Theatre (2015) and in Ross Mueller’s play Concussion as Katarina (2014) and loves performing more casually for Barefaced Stories.
In 2013 her sell-out season of the ecologically inspired solo work Sea Inside at The Blue Room Theatre set critics raving.
In 2012 she directed the all-female Euthalia Ensemble, who have taken Penthesilea through sell-out seasons at the Black Box Theatre for Fremantle Festival and also for Fringe World 2013.
Russya performed vertically in Public Space and took home Best WA Performance Award for her efforts. She played with fire for Les Commandos Percu, BPM, at the Perth International Arts Festival opening show, and told suspended stories in How close do you want me? for the 2012 Spirit of Fringe awarded program Proximity, the first micro-art-festival in Australia.
Russya received her PhD in contemporary performance at WAAPA, which has taken her from the depths of the ocean to the heights of the mountains, as well as into close proximity with her audiences in her explorations of the poetics of gravity.
In her visual work she captures the multiple, multi-temporal, and evocative qualities of place, and our conceptual relationship to the natural world. The perception of a world endlessly and continually coming-into-being. She presented her work at a group exhibition in the Moores Building Gallery in 2016.
Selected Artistic Experience
A full list of artistic work can be provided upon request
Directing/Choreographing
Show Venue/Company
2016 The Existentialist’s Guide Fringe Perth, New Zealand
2014 RedHeads Euthalia Ensemble
2013 Sea Inside The Blue Room Theatre
Penthesilea Fringe festival Perth
Falling (for 600seconds) The Blue Room Theatre
2012 Penthesilea Black Box, Freo Festival
Alchemy: Sea In Me WAMED, Subiaco Arts Centre
How close do you want me? Proximity festival
2011 Blau, Independent Link Dance Company, WAAPA
2009 Celebration SCA, Theatre 16
2005 Putting On An Act Pica, Jury selection
Orientobsession Touring Germany
Soul Of Orient Frauenfestival, Karlruhe
2004 Electro Belly Minimal 2 Eigenarten Festival, Hamburg
2003 EBM2 Eigenarten festival,
2002 Elektro Belly Minimal Kampnagel
Theatre/Performance (performing)
2016 Signifying Nothing Hammond Fleet Prod
2016 The Existentialist’s Guide Fringe Perth, New Zealand
2015 Anemalia Bareface stories
2015 Bareface story battle Bareface stories
2015 The Mercy Seat Summer Nights Festival
2014 Velse e Ventes; Xarxas Perth International Arts Festival
Concussion The Blue Room Theatre
Public Space 2 Moxy Collective
2013 Sea Inside The Blue Room Theatre
Public Space Little y Theatre/Moxy Collective
BPM, Les Commandos Percu Perth International Arts Festival
2012 How close do you want me? Proximity festival
PROJEKTET Ola Johansson, FAC
On the couch with the Freudian Dreamgirls Fringe festival
2011 Les Girafes Company off, PIAF
2010 Sommertraum RS. Otto
2007 Journey of the happy Buddah Ralf Rauker, UNIMA
2006 Vagina Monologues Sally Lattin, Fly by Night
Check Out! Jane Raitt, Perth
Film
2013 Factory293 Roderick MacKay
2006 Coffee? Jo Hiller FTI
2005 withheld Sarah Brown for FTI
counting numbered day BrendanBriggs, Curtin
Anam (feature film) Buket Alakus
2001 Der Einzelne in der Gesellschaft Micha Würfel, dffb
1999 Delay LaurenceTootey, HdK
Die Meinung des Dorfes Stefanie Ressin
Television (all Germany)
2005 Loves rules SAT1
SAR ZDF
Judge at three ZDF
2004 Judge at three ZDF
Castle Einstein KiKa/ ARD
Kiss me, Tiger NDR
Die Affäre Semmeling ZDF
Motorcycle-Cops RTL
Wollfs Revier Sat1
Video installations
2015 Bogong Centrefor Sound Culture Supported Residency
Silent Underwater Movie festival, Belgrade
2014 Topos, logos, Music Video
2013 Silent Underwater Movie festival, Belgrade
Dance week Australia
2012 Sculptures on the Street, Fremantle Art Festival
Oriental Dance
2013 Ozgen: One night in Istanbul, Elyrean Theatre
2012 alchemy, Subiaco Arts Center
2011 WAMED festival, Perth
2010 winternights schmidts tivoli, Hamburg
2009 WAMED festival, Perth
2008 solo in the spotlight, Middle Eastern Dance Festival Perth
2007 WAMED festival
2005 Orientobsession, Tour 6 major Cities, Germany
Kaleidoscope, tv program.
2004 AIDA Cara, Cruise Ship, performance.
Bellies Under the Stars, Perth amphitheatre.
Bellies for Breasts, benefit performance, Perth, Octagon Theatre
Orientobsession, Hamburg, Bremen, Karlsruhe /
Gala Bazar Oriental, Berlin.
2003 Finnland Oriental Dance Festival, Turku, Finnland
Soul Of Orient Womanperspective Festival, Karlruhe
Spring Festival, Frankfurt, Summer Dance Week, Münich.
Presenter Orient Dance, Kaifu &Orient Dance Show, Hamburg
2002 Singapore Orient Night, Singapore
Sydney Middle Eastern Dance Festival, Sydney
Football World Cup Semifinal NDR-Stage Hamburg
Khan-el-Khalili Show, Hamburg /Orient-Magazine Festival, Augsburg
Congress Bv f. Ot, Altleiningen & Orienta, Frankfurt
Lelya Jouvanas 10th.Orientalisches Festival Europe, Duisburg
Finnland Oriental Dance Festival, Turku.
2001 Show in Thessaloniki, with Sayed Balaha, Greece
World of Orient, Hannover/One Night From 1000 Nights, Gala, Hamburg
Oriental Dance Festival Gladbeck Up To Dance.
Variety in Goldbeckhaus, Hamburg, Rampenfieber, Hamburg