Point
Cuire
Annual Contemporary Arts Festival
An annual festival in the heart of an industrial city
AELITA PRODUCTION — a production company “where the theatre of the future is born”. We bring our entire repertoire to Stary Oskol — contemporary dance, physical theatre, sound drama and postmodernist readings of classics — and unfold it on one stage over four days.
“TOCHKA CUIRE” is conceived as an annual event at CSI “Byl”, bringing together a contemporary arts audience in Stary Oskol year after year. 2026 is the first edition, where we set the tradition.
01 · TRANSITION
Transition
Art as a point of no return — the audience, the space and the city are never quite the same afterwards.
02 · ENERGY
Energy
Heat, movement, performativity. The festival's formats are charged with physical and theatrical energy.
03 · ATTRACTION
Attraction
The magnetic nature of the point: the festival brings together the diverse — genres, generations, classics and the contemporary — into one.
The Curie point of iron — the temperature at which metal loses and regains its magnetic properties. Discovered by Pierre Cuire in 1895.
The name speaks directly to the city's identity: Stary Oskol sits on the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly — the world's largest deposit of magnetic iron ore. The Curie point is the moment when a substance changes state. This is what the festival does.
The full spectrum of contemporary art on one stage
Fifteen productions over 4 days: from the flagship mystery to physical theatre, performances and a promenade show. Part of the festival programme is still being finalised and will be announced as we go.
IOV: Material
A contemporary mystery play
AELITA's flagship mystery: the human being as material that art reforges into a new form.
Prophecies of Migratory Birds
Site-specific performance · company “OMUT”
Eight performers in animal-inspired costumes and a choreographic score about birds that return to Alexandria Park every summer. Audiences are handed theatre binoculars.
Mayday
Physical theatre performance · OMYT
A distress signal is sent — but the disaster never comes. A performance-reflection on getting lost inside time without losing touch with your real self. Standing tickets — 1,500 ₽.
The Rashomon Effect
A physical theatre piece by Nadezhda Kokhanova
Several truths about one event — through the imagery of Akutagawa and Kurosawa. A reflection on the nature of vice and where it grows from.
The Scent of Rose Oil
Physical theatre sketch · OMYT residents
Power or peace — and the price paid for the choice. A reflective sketch on the biblical thread of “The Master and Margarita”.
Do You Have a Brain?
Interactive mono-performance · dir. Dmitry Turkov
The hall becomes now a laboratory, now a jury room: real research, rebel scientists, and a test of how easily a person can be made to believe the impossible.
Porfiry
A meditative detective mono-performance
A solo performance with interactive elements — for those who love to look closely and draw connections. Only 50 seats.
Four days of festival
Conversations about how it all works
Talks and open meetings for people who make culture and products: how contemporary dance survives in the real economy, and what artificial intelligence is changing in the profession. Free entry.
How dance is born and lives in the real world
In three years, the “New Dance” programme has produced more than 150 projects — among them the show “A Place That Didn't Exist Yet”, a Golden Mask laureate, and the Saint Petersburg premiere of Ohad Naharin's “Choir”.
Behind the artistic instinct is a rare technical background: as technical director of the imarussia agency he builds hybrid conferences and ceremonies for major corporations — SGK, “Vkusno — i tochka”, IBS — and as producer of the ODYSSEY festival he runs four stages for 10,000 spectators.
Artificial intelligence: what it can already do, and where it gets it wrong
Machines have learned to write, draw and talk — their own Curie point has already happened here too. No hype: what neural networks do today, where they get it wrong, and how they're already used in theatre, design and production.
With live examples and audience Q&A — from how AI assistants work to what changes in a profession once a machine takes over part of the job.
How to sound like someone people want to trust
Her career began at REN TV and has continued at Russia-1 for more than 17 years. A born moderator and dialogue producer: she hosts “Open Studio” radio broadcasts, moderates the “Berega” media forum and spoken-word competitions, and her author interviews range from politics to culture.
How to remove the metal and tension from your speech. Where to find the calm, low notes that put a listener at ease. How simple pauses bring you closer to an audience than the loudest words ever could. And why perfect diction can sometimes sound less honest than a little roughness.
The business programme's speaker line-up is still growing.
“Cinema” section
The festival's film programme — curated by screenwriter and showrunner Galina Mosalova. Programme details to be announced.
“Molodo-Zeleno” runway show
The festival programme includes a runway show by the Kozelsk brand “Molodo-Zeleno” (House of Pavlov) — tradition and modernity, hand embroidery and pearl ornaments in the Russian style. Founder of the brand — Tatiana Pavlova; collection designer — her daughter, Maria Pavlova.
The brand has already collaborated with AELITA PRODUCTION — “Molodo-Zeleno” created the costumes for the show “Stories. Of the Earthly and the Heavenly”.
Art quest “Kids Aren't Spectators”
The contemporary art festival has been taken over by “Grey Screens” — entities that steal colour and emotion. Kids aren't spectators here, but a squad of superheroes ready for a rescue mission: they have just 60 minutes to reboot the art objects and bring back the joy.
It's a quest story where the child becomes a co-author of the art objects. Collect clues, get paint on your hands, use your imagination, and take control of the exhibition — the quest turns passive contemplation into active creation. The child is the programme's lead artist.
Tired of art being “quiet and proper”? At a contemporary art festival, we allow noise. Take a breather for yourself and give your child a celebration — we'll keep the kids busy with art while you soak up the culture.
More than just performances
Lecture series
“Artificial Intelligence” — led by Alexey Tsymlov, CEO of “Syntropic”: what neural networks can do today and how they're already used in theatre. Plus 3–5 talks in plain language: “The Theatre of the Future”, “How to Watch Contemporary Dance”, “The Classics Differently”, “Making a Festival in the Regions”.
Free admissionWorkshops
Contemporary dance and physical movement, jazz vocals and stage movement, acting and choreographic composition.
Free admissionArt Maze Quest
The festival has been taken over by “Grey Screens” that steal colour and emotion. Kids have 60 minutes to reboot the art objects and bring back the joy. Kids' workshops are held alongside. 0+/6+.
Free admissionPhoto lab
“Point of Origin: an Archaeology of the Self” — shame, duty, guilt and fear, brought into the light. Opening 22 October, through 4 November.
Free admissionBody and Metal
8 October – 4 November · Prologue
TOCHKA CUIRE. Prologue
A dialogue between the human body and the material of the future. The body in motion meets metal, fire and the industrial texture of Stary Oskol.
Free admission
22 October – 4 November · Photo lab
Point of Origin: an Archaeology of the Self
SHAME, DUTY, GUILT and FEAR, brought into the light: frozen form under coarse fabric and tools for reflection on the 1st floor of CSI “Byl”. Opening — 22 October.
Free admission
CSI “Byl” — festival home
The first contemporary arts centre in the Belgorod region, opened in 2023 in a restored former factory building.
Stary Oskol, Zhukova district, 38
+7 951 148-50-36 · вт–вс, 11:00–20:00
One ticket — one performance
- Seating chart, seat selection and payment by card or SBP. An e-ticket with a QR code arrives by email right after payment.
- Physical theatre shows — 1,000–2,500 ₽, drama shows — 1,000–3,500 ₽, the gallery performance — 1,500 ₽ standing
- The “IOV: Material” show on October 22 is closed — no public tickets
- Exhibitions, lectures, workshops and a children's happening — free entry
- Purchase and refund terms — in the public offer
Stay up to date with the festival programme
Tickets for the October 23–25 shows are already on sale — pick your seats on the official festival website. Leave your contact if you'd like the full programme and updates on new shows and events.
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