Arlekino Troupe's Carnevale!

Mira Stroika

Sunday night I went to a performance fundraiser for the Arlekino Theater Troupe, a non-profit theater, art, music and dance program for children ages 2 through 7 from families from the Former Soviet Union. 

The show was advertised and marketed as a grand Carnevale!, featuring circus and sideshow-like performances at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. It raised money through ticket sales and with the help of volunteer performers, caterers, and artists. The Galapagos Art Space also donated their venue for the evening.

I attended the event for free as a reviewer for Socially Superlative, but if I had paid the $20 ticket fee I think I would have been disappointed. The show had some good acts and a friendly crew, but there were several problems that left it a little underwhelming.

The Galapagos Art Space is located on Main Street in Brooklyn. I had never been to this neighborhood before, and after getting a little lost I rushed to the venue in order to make the 7 p.m. starting time. 

All the ads said the show started at 7. It did not start until 7:45. After 50 minutes of performance, there was another 40-minute break. Fifty minutes after that, there was still a third 20-minute break before the final stretch of the performance reached the stage.

Needless to say all these “breaks” made the audience very restless, including myself. Sitting alone in a dark Russian-style lounge bar with red lights and jazz music, waiting aimlessly for the show to continue, is not very fun. Especially when the "waiting" comprises half of the whole show. It would have all been better if there was only one break, 20 to 30 min. tops. 

The other major hiccup was difficulty with audio and video. The show began with a video montage of the theater troupe’s program and work with children. Unfortunately the video had difficulty running, and it got the (already behind-schedule) show off to a faulty start. 

These issues could have been improved and would have made the show much better. That said however, there were some performances throughout the evening that made it more enjoyable.  

Valeria Entertainment- photo by Marina Vykhodtseva

The most notable acts were the Valeria Entertainment belly dancing, the Jazz Kompot band, and cabaret singer Mira Stroika.

Valeria Entertainment

Representing Valeria Entertainment was a performance of three belly dancers dancing beautifully to Arabic music. The performance was colorful, energetic, and fun. The women proved to be great belly dancers with a strong sense of rhythm and knowledge of performing for a large audience. Their flexibility and hip-moving skills are envious. 

Jazz Kompot is a skilled jazz band with strong vocals and instrumentals. They put you in a great 1940s-lounge mood.

Jazz Kompot- photo by Alex Torres

Cabaret singer Mira Stroika was the best performance of the evening. No one captured the audience’s energy and attention like she did with both her enthusiasm and talent. Her loud, powerful voice has such a soul that it filled the whole venue, and everyone was pulled into her songs.

Mira Stroika cabaret- photo by Alex Torres

Unfortunately Stroika was one of the last performers of the evening, and many in the audience had left by the time she came on stage (they were probably tired of all the waiting too). The rainy evening did not help the situation, but I wonder if Stroika’s performance earlier would have enticed people to stay for the whole show.

According to Arlekino’s co-founder Jane Tuv, the show had great ticket sales, for which I’m sure they are very thankful. The evening had some big setbacks, but at least it raised money for a good cause and ended up introducing me to some new and talented performers. And for that, I am thankful.

Some Further Carnevale! Information:

Co-producers: Jane Tuv, Founder of Arlekino Theater Troupe, and Maksim Brenner, founder of Brenner Media Labs

Caterer: Elena Tedeschi Catering

Videography: Brenner Media Labs

 * Note: some of this article also appeared in my Socially Superlative article.