Polina Tuganova
Tuganov Dynasty
Polina was born in Russia in the city of Moscow. In a family of hereditary artists.
Polina is the fifth generation of circus artists. Polina's dynasty started with her grand grandfather Mihail Tuganov, which creates his world-famous horse ride attraction.
Mikhail Tuganov was born on August 2, 1900, in Vladikavkaz.
In 1925 he recruited his troupe of equestrians. Creator and participant of the Horse attraction and the Don Cossack ensemble.
During the Great Patriotic War, the ensemble headed by Tuganov voluntarily went to the war. Mikhail Tuganov and his troupe went through the whole war and met the Victory in Berlin. The first performance of Russian artists in Berlin took place on May 2, 1945, at the walls of the Reichstag. The Mikhail Tuganov Ensemble performed together with the famous singer Lidia Ruslanova. The troupe of Mikhail Tuganov was awarded military orders and honors.
In the post-war years, Tuganov was actively involved in staging numbers. He staged an equestrian pantomime "What Blades Ring About", an equestrian suite "On the Don", an attraction "Dzhigits of North Ossetia".
In 1963 he left the arena and switched to directing.
In 1965, he staged the thematic program "Equestrian Circus", which combined his most famous equestrian numbers. Repeatedly represented the USSR abroad, and received prizes. He brought up a large group of students, including his daughter, a rider and trainer, People's Artist of the RSFSR Dzerassa Tuganova, who since 1962 has been the head of the Iriston riders troupe.
Later the act was inherited by my grandmother Dzerassa Tuganova - National artist of RSFSR, National artist of North Ossetia. With this act, she glorified the name of Tuganov to the whole world.
The grandfather of Polina, Valery Sergeevich Denisov - Soviet and Russian circus performer, equestrian, dancer, and Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.
Denisov Valery Sergeevich was born on February 22, 1926. In 1944 he was demobilized from the army. From 1945-1949 he studied at the acting department of VGIK (course of Vasily Vasilyevich Vanin). From 1949-1951 he was an actor in the Moscow theater studio of a film actor, worked in a dance ensemble under the direction of Moiseev, and on television.
In 1951 he began to work in the circus. In 1951-1956, he performed in the equestrian ensemble under the direction of M. Tuganov in the pantomime "On the Don" as a hero rider and dancer. In the same year, he married Dzerassa Tuganova. In 1956, he began a solo career in the circus. In 1961 he headed the Tuganov equestrian ensemble.
In 1962 he created the equestrian folklore program "Iriston". In the same year, Eldar Ryazanov invited Denisov to play the role of Davyd Vasilyev in the comedy The Hussar Ballad. The prototype of the leader of the partisan detachment was the famous participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, Denis Davydov. Dzhigits from his Iriston program were also filmed in the film, which brought the group immense popularity and public love.
In 1966, he released a solo number, "Higher School", where he appeared in the arena, leading a dancing horse on the reins.
Polina's grand-uncle - Elena Amrosyeva, was performing in her comic-musical circus act as an old Jewish violinist, and her male partner, in a woman's dress and hairstyle, played Monty's Czardas trombone, which, by the way, no one before him laid out for a part for brass.
They played musical instruments and joked, and at the end of the performance, they changed clothes and images. Elena found herself in a beautiful feminine dress with flowing hair, which caused general delight among the public.
Nina Tuganova - Polina's mother was a talented ballet dancer from the Bolshoi theater. After her career in ballet, she starts working in a circus with Alexandr Parshin - Polina's father.
Nina graced the strong aerial act of a group of gymnasts with her beauty and graceful dance movements.
All Polina's relatives were engaged in different circus genres, but Polina chose the path of her father.
An aerialist, laureate, and winner of multiple circus competitions and a talented athlete in the past, creator of unique circus apparatus Three Tiered Horizontal bars, Alexander Parshin.
Alexander's signature trick was a somersault and a free fall from the height without any insurance to the circus arena ground, which caused loud applause from the audience.
Polina trained and worked in the circus from early childhood. Behind her shoulders are many countries and cities she traveled to with her parents and her alone.
Polina learned ballet early on and circus disciplines like contortion, aerial gymnastics, and hula hoops. Polina and her father trained professional athletes and performed tricks for circus performers, staged circus acts, and helped physically teach circus children.
She matured and created the aerial duo Air Life, which conquered the audience in countries such as Germany, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Turkey, etc.
Polina still works in her duo, with the new name Diamond Ladies, created in January 2019. With strong tricks and elegant style, this is the calling card of this duo.
