REVOLUTION17
CAFÉS - 2016

Kolyada and Karachun: A Russian Winter Solstice Party
21 December 2016 | Rich Mix, London

This cafe fell on the Winter solstice, hosted by the Slavic gods of Karachun and Koliada. Founding Joint Artistic Director hosted an evening of food, conversation with chef Katrina Kollegaeva, storyteller Emily Hennessy with Russian fairytales and live music from the fabulous Mazaika Duo, packed with talk of bears, snow on birch trees, mysterious Slavic rituals and steaming mugs of soup.

Platonov - in words, film, performance and conversation
30 November 2016 | Rich Mix, London

This event looked at the life and extraordinary works of Soviet novelist and playwright Andrei Platonov through conversation with poet and his translator Robert Chandler, composer Gerard Mc Burney and actress Vladislava Lemesevska, live readings, recordings and live music from the wonderful Iryna Muha. 

Mugam Central Asia - Live Music and Conversation
Part of the Open Central Asia International Festival 2016
19 October 2016 | Rich Mix, London

This Dash Café presented Mugam Central Asia & ÖH3, a group who brought the most celebrated Central Asian musical tradition, Mugam, to East London as part of London’s first ever International Open Central Asia Cultural Festival. A discussion around contemporary Central Asian theatre and arts with visiting playwright and theatre Director Sultan Raev (Kyrgyzstan), Theatre Director Ovlyakuli Khodjakuli (Turkmenistan), actor and winner of People's artists Award Nasira Mambetova (Kyrgyzstan) and actor, Director and founder of Orzu Arts Yuldosh Juraboev (London, UK) hosted by Dash Arts Artistic Director Josephine Burton followed the gig.

Putsch Yourself - 25 Years on from the August Putsch
21 September 2016 | Rich Mix, London

25 years ago, as the world watched on enthralled, hardline members of the Soviet Union’s communist party wrestled control from President Mikhail Gorbachev in a coup d'état attempt known now as the August Putsch. Putsch Yourself brought witnesses Russian journalist Artem Troitsky, British journalist Lucy Ash, the then British Ambassador to the Soviet Union Sir Rodric Braithwaite and Putsch Yourself Creators together for an evening to explore the experiences of ordinary people at an extraordinary time, featuring Putsch Yourself’s interactive documentary project constructed from video interviews with individuals who witnessed and participated in the Soviet coup d'état of August 1991. Dash Artistic Director Josephine Burton hosted the event which featured film, discussion, and the notorious tunes of DJ Troitsky. 

Tsyganie – Russka Roma Culture in the Post-Soviet Spaces
20 July 2016 | Rich Mix, London

At this Cafe Dash Arts hosted an evening of Russka Roma culture - featuring Saeeda Kasym and Yagury Fire, live music by the Cafe's co-curator Elena Dana, a filmic retrospective of gypsies on screen by Obskura Cinema Club, and a conversation with Roma poet Valdemar Kalinin and anthropologist Michael Stewart. The Cafe explored romance, nostalgia and stereotypes through the film, music, dance, poetry and experiences of Romany people across the Soviet and Post-Soviet space.

A Beautiful Game? Footie and the Post-Soviet countries
22 June 2016 | Rich Mix, London

On the eve of the EU referendum and in the heat of the Euro-cup, our Dash Cafe tackled Europe, Eurasia, Russia, Brexit, Brexin and football with an audio-visual mash-up of goals and football highlights from both sides of the Iron Curtain with our fearless filmic friends Obskura and the fabulous tunes of DJ Sasha. Plus we showed a couple of live free matches interspersed throughout the evening on the big-screen.

The Bear Next Door: Living WIth Russia As Your Neigbour
20 April 2016 | Rich Mix, London

25 years after the end of the Soviet Union, how does Russia look from over the garden fence? Another probing Dash Cafe asked the hard and human questions about post Soviet regional politics. Artists from Ukraine, Belarus, the Caucusus and Central Asia discussed the good, the bad and the ugly in their homeland's relationship with Russia.  The evening began with a set by London-based Belarusian troubadour Sasha Ilyukevich followed by a discussion hosted by Founding Joint Artistic Director Tim Supple.

Our guests included, alongside Sasha, Romany dancer Saeeda Kasym from Kyrgyzstan, actor/director David Papava from Georgia, and Lubov Mikhailova, founder of the Ukrainian arts space IZOLYATSIA in Donetsk. We enjoyed a lively conversation accompanied by the usual Dash Cafe cocktail of live music, a good drink, a late dance, and some tunes from across the region by DJ Sepina.

Ali & Nino in Baku
16 March 2016 | Rich Mix, London

An evening inspired by Kurban Said’s novel set at the crossroads between Europe and Asia in Baku, at the start of the twentieth century. The love story of Ali Khan, a Muslim prince, with Nino Kipiani, a Georgian princess, was the subject of the feature film we screened, adapted from the novel by Christopher Hampton and directed by oscar-nominated director Asif Kapadia. 

Teresa Cherfas’s film ‘Baku: the city of Ali and Nino’, made as a companion piece to the feature, tells the story of the real-life historical events that form the backdrop to the novel; the oil boom years followed by war and revolution that toppled dynasties and changed the whole world order. This screening of the documentary was followed by a discussion with Teresa Cherfas and Caucasus expert Thomas de Waal, hosted by Dash Artistic Director Josephine Burton.

'There is no sex in the Soviet Union...'
17 February 2016 | Rich Mix, London

This unintentionally intriguing comment by a Russian guest on a live US TV link provided a playful starting point for a real question. Founding Joint Artistic Director Tim Supple hosted a conversation about how sex was viewed and what kind of role it played in Soviet times and continues to play today. The result was a revealing film presentation by Obskura Cinema Club, a rousing debate with Olga Andreyeskikh, Irina Brown, Susan Larsen, and Peter Pomerantsev, followed by a steamy set by DJ Mourrka - the perfect alternative Valentine's event.

Londongrad
20 January 2016 | Rich Mix, London

An exploration of Russians in London with writer Owen Matthews, writer and journalist Michael Idov, novelist Vesna Goldsworthy and Dash Artistic Director Josephine Burton. We screened the first episode of new Russian drama Londongrad (with English subtitles) and discussed the making and conceiving of the show and explored the wider theme of storytelling and the different perceptions of London as seen through the eyes of migrant tellers.