Teatr Na Vode History
The birth of a team

The history of Teatr na vode essentially began in 1980, when the new Moscow Circus on the Lenin Hills (now the Great Moscow Circus) decided to produce its first water performance, timed to coincide with the Olympic Games in Moscow, and invited the country's strongest synchronized swimming team - SKIF-Burevestnik (Sport Club of the Phisical Culture and Sport University Team)

Participation in the circus program of a sports team leading in the national standings was the first and unique experience in the history of circus water performances, which has no analogues in the world. The team's performance was a phenomenal success with the public, however, after two weeks of participation in the "Stars of the Olympic Arena" program, the athletes had to "return to sports" - prepare for calendar competitions.

It was necessary to create a group in a very short time that could replace the SKIF-Burevestnik team for the entire annual season of demonstrating the program. The task seemed overwhelming, especially considering that at that time there were catastrophically few synchronized swimmers in the country, not even at the highest level: domestic synchronized swimming was taking its first steps, and there were only a few teams in the Soviet Union. Despite all the difficulties, Vladimir Maximov was able to recruit a new group and, in an extremely short period of time, prepare it for an annual participation in the program of the country's leading circus!

So, a difficult, suddenly arisen situation unwittingly contributed to the creation of a team that is now the only team of water artists and directors in the world with almost 45 years of activity in the field of water performances.

How the name of the group was born

The idea to call the created group of synchronized girls Teatr na Vode first arose from its founder Vladimir Maximov in the early 1980s, when, after participating in the circus program, a group of water performers began to be increasingly invited to various performances outside the circus. At that moment, the group's repertoire began formed from the talented and spectacular productions of Maria Maximova, already the leading coach and choregraphe of the country at that time.

Due to the diversity of projects in which Teatr na Vode has participated since its creation, the group performed under various names:

- Artistic swimming group led by Nikolai Nikitin (the joint pseudonym of Vladimir and Maria Maximovs, taken for performances in the circus),

- Water Dance Theater from Moscow under the direction of Maria and Vladimir Maximov (under this name the group sometimes performed in France).

- Synchronized Swimming Group of the Swimming department of the Russian State University of Physical Culture and Sport.

However, since 2011, the group has returned to the name that was once, more than a quarter of a century ago, coined by its creator Vladimir Maximov: Teatr na Vode

Teatr na vode. History of development

After successful participation in the Stars of the Olympic Arena program, the collaboration of the team under the leadership of the Maximovs with the circus on the Lenin Hills did not stop. It was continued in 1985/1986 and in 1989/1990 in the programs "Salute, Festival!" and "The word is given!..", in each of which the team participated for 11 months, 6 days a week.

In addition to participating in circus performances, the Teatr na Vode has repeatedly performed his water acts at various city and All-Union events. Among the most striking performances of the theater are water holidays on the day of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper in Luzhniki (Moscow, 1990-1991), Navy Day in the Sevastopol port (Sevastopol, 1991), "Christmas Trees on the Water" in the Riga Daugava pool (Riga, Latvia, 1991-1995), performances at the opening and closing ceremonies of synchronized swimming competitions within the framework of the First World Youth Games (Moscow, 1998) and the Youth Games of the CIS and Baltic countries. and the regions of Russia (Moscow, 2002). You can read more about the performances of the Teat na vode at events here

Swan Lake on the water

The constantly expanding repertoire and the search for new means of artistic expression led the theater to the creation of large thematic performances. This is how Swan Lake on the water was born.

The long history of productions of Swan Lake by the Teatr na Vode began in 1995 with the showing of the first water-circus version of the play in the Olympic swimming pool of the French city of La Rochelle. The low-budget production on the water was, despite the "technical poverty," a great audience success. It is equally important that the experiment of the water production of Swan Lake, carried out for the first time in world practice, showed the rich possibilities of synchronized swimming, dance and circus to create a narrative and at the same time artistic spectacle on the water.

In the 29 years since the premiere of the water performance Swan Lake, the Teatr na Vode directors have created and shown several different versions of this great musical work. You can read more about this on the project page.

In addition to the play Swan Lake, the Teatr na vode performed several more water-themed productions: "The Love for Three Oranges" (shown in the swimming pool of La Rochelle, France, in 1997) and the series "Christmas Trees on the Water" shown in the pool of the Russian State Sport University in Moscow.

Despite the constant activity of the theater, until 2002 its performances were non-commercial. The theater, literally, did everything on its own - from staging and performing numbers to editing music and creating scenography, without having either sponsors or a permanent rehearsal base.

Crocus City Mall - 20 years of performances.

November 2002 changed the history of the theater.
The team, already well-known in professional circles, was invited to perform at the opening of a new unique commercial complex - the Crocus City Mall boutique park. The beautiful classical architecture of this complex included a small-sized swimming pool, which the theater was to decorate with its performance. The beautiful classical architecture of this complex included a small-sized swimming pool, which the theater was to decorate with its performance. Thus, since 2002, the Teatr na vode has found its permanent water platform, and visitors to the Crocus City Mall complex are treated to a unique artistic show.

Over the 20-year period of performances at Crocus City Mall the theater's repertoire was replenished with a significant number of water acts staged specifically for small-sized water spaces. Today, the team's repertoire includes more than 130 numbers created by Honored Trainers of Russia in synchronized swimming Maria, Vladimir and Gana Maximovs.

Patent for the trademark Teatr na Vode

Due to the fact that another group of aquatic artists in 2017 began to borrow the name Teatr Na Vode, using it for their performances, in 2018, in order to preserve the intellectual heritage of her family, Gana Maximova patented the right to own the trademark

Creation of a school.

In 2014, the Gana Maximova School and Studio was created, whose tasks include creating water shows and training highly professional specialists in this field.
For the same purpose, a long-term scientific research was also carried out on the topic of the world history of water spectacles, presented in a dissertation work, a number of scientific publications and a book that is being prepared for publication. We can say that the dream of the founder of the Theater on Water, Vladimir Maximov, to create a school of water choreographic arts, providing training for a new generation of highly professional specialists for theater on the water, as a particulary direction of entertainment art, has begun to be realized.