The Great Sashenka has been captivating audiences and stealing hearts (no really, just hearts, I swear!) since 2003. Now based in the DC-Metro area she has performed at Colonial Williamsburg, Old Salem, North Carolina, Historic Sandusky, and the Virginia and Maryland Renaissance Faires (among others). Specializing in historical circus styles, her routines combine feats of balance upon the very skinny, very slack rope, tying herself into knots and pretzels, and some rather unorthodox skills with a sword, all while regaling the audience with thrilling tales of her globe trotting life.
Her show can be tailored to fit a variety of historic time periods and physical venues. (She's flexible in more ways than one!) She is available as a stage act or a street performer.
Sashenka is available for living history, corporate events, and children's parties. Sorry, no bachelor parties. She is also available for school programs for elementary through high schools; storytelling, movement, and variety performance workshops can be attached to these or booked separately.
Aleksandra Borisovna Byezkostya was raised in the land you call Russia on the Black Sea by a family of benevolent yak herders who may or may not have been her family. As a medium sized child (aged 10) she was kidnapped by the Dreadful Turks and held prisoner for eleven years. Eventually, she decided she was quite bored with the Ottomans and escaped by walking out of her room on a rope used for hanging laundry and traitors and then hiding herself in a barrel of luxurious cloth. She spent several years traveling the Mediterranean, first in the company of Dutch missionaries and then of Spanish pirates. As life at sea placed severe limitations on her career as performer, she finally decided to return to dry land for the sake of her admirers. Will she be coming to your town anytime soon? Check her schedule on this page.
Sashenka's twenty-first century alter ego began studying dance at the age of six. She studied ballet, jazz, tap, and lyrical on and off for twelve years before attending the College of William and Mary where she received a BA in Latin American Studies with a minor in Dance. Having worked at Colonial Williamsburg since high school she first began performing there shortly after graduating from William and Mary. She has since received her MAIS in Folklore from George Mason University and teaches for Northern Virginia Community College. A lover of history, she takes care to make sure that no matter what century Sashenka's in, she has some historical grounding.
Top photo by Blair Cook
Middle and bottom photos by Perrin Cottage Studios