Review: The object of this research is ritual attributes applied in different ceremonies, associated with the spirits Ichchi and celestial deities of Aya, which possess a superior modeling and communicative function. The article describes the ritual sacred items that were not used in everyday life, such as the sacrificial spoon of the Aya-shaman, kumis ladle, fortunetelling spoon, and spatula of the potter. Interdisciplinary approach allowed applying a historical-cognitive method of research, which views an item as a narrative text and a creative tool for transforming the sacred space. The novelty consists in the fact that despite the sufficient examination of correlation between a myth and a ritual, semiotic aspects of functionality of one or another item, organization of the sacred space, etc. of the Sakha people, these ritual attributes did not become a subject of semiotic study and determination of their structural-functional role within the mythical-ritual space of the Sakha people. The conclusions is made that these ritual attributes have a mediating function that establishes a communicative link between the Aya-shaman and transcendental space; in all ritual acts they are involved in modeling a stable life environment. It is revealed that mixing of raw materials (kumis, clay) was similar to the act of creation of Man and Nature, and the Aya-shaman performed the function of a demiurge. The author believes that all these functions could underlie a single ritual attribute – the sacrificial spoon, which later became a prototype of the shamanic drum mallet.

Keywords: Ysyakh, ritual attributes, mythological and ritual space, creation myths, ethnosemiotics, traditional culture, sacred space, sacrificial spoons, semiotics of things, aiyy shaman

Review: The object of this research is the commemorative practices of cultural-historical reconstruction. The subject of this research is the inversion of temporality in festival practices of cultural-historical reconstruction. The goal lies in determination of specificity of temporal representations of historical reenactors through the prism of the concept of inversion of social time. For achieving the set goal, the author carries out a secondary analysis of interviews with the planners and participants of the historical reconstruction festival “Times and Epochs”. The materials of Russian media comprised the empirical basis for this work. Most informative source was portal “The City”, which published interviews with the representatives of historical reconstruction movement from various Russian cities, socio-demographic and professional groups. The novelty of is defined by introduction of the new theoretical and empirical material into the scientific discourse. The memorial culture and cultural-historical reconstruction are viewed as significant and effective factors of collective commemoration from the perspective of temporal approach for the first time. The conducted analysis allowed determining multivariation of the motives and intentions underlying the commemorative practices of cultural-historical reconstruction. The festival “Times and Epochs” is viewed as an example of commemorative practice, where the subject of commemorative activity is the collective past, actualized within metropolitan sociocultural space in terms of the project-network approach. The author reveals the problems of development of the festival as a memorial project, as well as prospects of its integration into the urban environment.

Keywords: town, social time, commemoration, memorial culture, memory, urban community, cultural and historical reenactment, temporality, inversion, social urbanism

Review: The subject of this research is the first stage of creation of Beijing Ballet School, while the object is the pedagogue of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography O. A. Ilyina. The author underlines her contribution to the creation of the first professional system of education in China. The role of Soviet ballet masters and pedagogues, who carefully examines the peculiarities of Chinese teaching technique is highlighted. The Russian system of choreographic education with its accumulated valuable theoretical and pedagogical experience laid the foundation for establishment of the system of preparing ballet dancers in China, creating a strong basis for the development of Chinese professional classical ballet. The novelty of this work consist in the analysis of Olga Ilyina’s impact upon the early stage of development of Chinese ballet. The author explores and assesses her versatile activity in China – initially, in creation of Beijing Ballet School, and later, as a pedagogy who made a significant contribution to preparation of national ballet dancers. The scientific novelty is substantiated by the fact that the activity of Olga Ilyina in China has not been previously a subject of a separate research, although she played a significant role, along with other pedagogues of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography under the Bolshoi Theatre, in creation of the first professional ballet school in Beijing.

Keywords: Moscow choreographic school, cultural relations, faces of the new era, cultural life in China, professional choreographic school, Chinese dance culture, The Beijing ballet school, Moscow Ballet School, Olga Il’ina, classical dance