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by erin thursby
scopes1925@msn.com
WHAT: Moscow Cats Theatre
WHEN: July 7th @ 1 pm & 4 pm
WHERE: The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts
Trained dogs? No big deal. Been there, seen that, got the circus t-shirt. Trained housecats? Now that’s something I’ve got to see. Thanks to Moscow Cats Theatre coming to the T-U, I’ll get the chance to see real kitties performing death-defying balancing acts and acrobatics, all for a treat from their trainer. In an EU interview I got the chance to speak with the general manager of the Moscow Cats Theatre, Yanis Gelfman.
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EU: How long has this show been around?
Gelfman: Well, here in North America, about 3 years. But cats doing tricks and things has been around for almost 30 years in Russia.
EU: Are the cats in this show from here or are they from Russia?
Gelfman: No, they’re Russian.
EU: So how did you get all the cats from Russia to here? Did they have to be quarantined?
Gelfman: Of course. I think it was something like 4 weeks quarantine, and then we flew them over here…
EU: Do all the cats get along?
Gelfman: Not really. Most of them get along, but, obviously, we get cat fights still, so we try to separate the ones that don’t get along…There are mean cats, but we just put them in a separate cage.
EU: Do they work together some in the show.
Gelfman: Yes of course…There are some tricks that they do together.
EU: I’ve heard you have one dog in the show…
Gelfman: Yes, there’s one dog. It’s a chow-chow. It’s one confused dog. It pretty much thinks it’s a cat.
EU: It doesn’t do any tricks though?
Gelfman: It does do tricks, he can jump…walks on its hind legs, does a little twirl.
EU: At what age do you start training the cats?
Gelfman: We start training them about 2 months, 3 months…We start playing with them; we expose them to toys, balls, sitting posts, see what their natural inclination is and them we base the trick around that.
EU: How long does it take to get them trained to the stage?
Gelfman: Stage ready? About 2 years.
EU: Is there a particular kitty that is the star of the show?
Gelfman: There is one, I don’t want to give too much away, but she’s a singing cat. It meows into a microphone, which is hysterical, we get a great response.
EU: Do the cats ever get stage fright?
Gelfman: Yep, they do and they get moody also. There are some divas, but usually we just move on. Once we do move on they kind of get the point and they know that the attention isn’t on them so then they start performing.
EU: Do they like being in front of an audience?
Gelfman: They don’t really notice the audiences…all they notice are trainers. They know the trainers have treats. They pretty much focus their attention on the stage…Usually, we do the routines with music on so they don’t get frightened.
EU: So it’s not all that difficult to train them?
Gelfman: I wouldn’t say it’s not difficult. I’d say it’s time-consuming…You have to stay consistent. And they love the treats. During the week we keep them on dry food and we use raw meat as treats for performances…Females are a little bit smarter and it takes them a little less time to get a routine down than the males.
EU: This show has been going on for quite a while in Russia…Are there any retired kitties?
Gelfman: Oh yeah, they stay at the Moscow Theatre in Russia. They usually can perform until 10 or 12 and then they just, I guess, go to a retirement home for kitties.
Call TicketMaster at (904) 353-3309 to see these amazing cats. Ticket cost ranges from $49.90-$54.90. Reserve your tickets today!
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