Sergei Ostrenko
Founder and Artistic Director of NIPAI • Theatre Director • Choreographer • Teacher of Acting and Theatre Directing
Sergei Ostrenko is a theatre director, choreographer and teacher of acting and theatre directing, and the founder and Artistic Director of the New International Performing Arts Institute (NIPAI). He founded the Institute in Riga in 2000 as the International University “Global Theatre Experience” (IUGTE) and has directed its artistic programme ever since. [6][116]
Over 26 years NIPAI has organised more than 100 international educational and artistic projects and has trained more than 3,000 performing arts professionals from over 60 countries. [110][130] With his brother, movement director Gennadiy Ostrenko, he developed the Ostrenko Method, the psychophysical approach on which NIPAI’s training is built. [130][131]
Leadership of NIPAI
Ostrenko has led the Institute since its foundation. A 2004 festival brochure names him artistic director of IUGTE from 2000, and listings from 2005 and 2006 give his title as President of IUGTE. [6][113][114] From 2009 he also headed IUGTE’s Russian Theatre Department. [2][41][132] Today he is Chair of the Board and Artistic Director of NIPAI, the name under which IUGTE has operated since 2017. [4]
The Institute is based in Berlin, with a second permanent location at Laubegg Castle in Styria, Austria, and has worked across six continents. [130] Under Ostrenko’s artistic direction it combines international laboratories with long-form professional education: 18-month advanced programmes in theatre directing and movement directing, a 12-month Theatre Directing Certificate, 12-week distance programmes and three-week courses, all taught in English. [137] With Gennadiy Ostrenko he developed the distance programmes Ensemble Building, Choreography and Blocking in Performance, and Back Row to Close-Up, a screen acting course for stage actors. [137][138][139]
NIPAI’s teaching rests on what the Institute calls the Knowledge Applicability Concept: “knowledge that cannot be applied is not yet knowledge.” [130] In its distance programmes the same principle takes the form of Learning by Doing: each week, participants apply one tool to their own play and receive individual written feedback. [137]
The Institute’s annual international conference, Performing Arts Between Tradition and Contemporaneity, reached its 22nd edition in December 2025 at Laubegg Castle. [140] Its flagship International Physical Theatre Laboratory, which NIPAI has organised since 2000, marked its 25th anniversary the same month. [99]
Background and Early Career
Sergei Ostrenko’s professional career in the performing arts spans more than four decades. He began in 1979 as a stage designer and continued his education as an actor and then as a director. [4][5][6] He trained at the Vladikavkaz Art College and the Rostov Theatre College. [7]
In 1986 he made his directing debut with Gogol’s The Government Inspector at a professional repertory theatre in Russia. [4][5] The same year he moved to Latvia, which became the base of his teaching and research for the following years. [7]
His formative training is rooted in the methods of Konstantin Stanislavsky, Vsevolod Meyerhold and Mikhail Chekhov, the foundation that still underpins his creative and pedagogical work. [4][5][6] His background in the visual arts has shaped his directing, and his productions are noted for their visual and spatial composition. [4]
Artistic Approach and the Ostrenko Method
Ostrenko’s work joins the tradition of the Russian theatre school with contemporary experiment in the performing arts. [4][5] Since the late 1990s he has travelled widely to study traditional and modern performance techniques, among them Chinese Opera, Mak Yong, Butoh, the Alexander Technique, Laban movement analysis, Pilates, the Suzuki method, Contact and Structural Improvisation, Kinetic Environment, Viewpoints, the working method of Eugenio Barba and Meyerhold’s Biomechanics. [4][6]
Together with his brother, movement director Gennadiy Ostrenko, he developed the systematic methodology known as the Ostrenko Method, also referred to as the Ostrenko Brothers’ Method. It combines Meyerhold’s Biomechanics, Mikhail Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture and Stanislavsky’s Physical Action with contemporary improvisation and physical dramaturgy. [5][6] The method centres on the performer’s physicality: through physical action, actors discover form, emotional expression and depth of feeling, while their relationship with space and their freedom in improvisation drive the creative process. [5][6]
The method was built for international ensembles that work under short rehearsal periods. [4] Its foundation was laid in Minsk, where Ostrenko built the nine-month rehearsal process of Three Knives from Wei (premiere 1992) on a system of physical exercises. It remains in development: at NIPAI’s Berlin workshop in August 2026, the brothers taught their technique for building a monologue through concrete physical action rather than forced emotion. [110]
Since 1986 Ostrenko has practised Chen-style Tai Chi Chuan as part of his daily training, and he uses its principles as a supplementary training method for dancers, choreographers and actors. [4][6]
Directing Career
Ostrenko has directed more than 40 productions across genres, with international casts and creative teams in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, among other countries. [4][5][111] Collaborators describe his approach as effective for building ensemble cohesion and creating productions within short rehearsal periods. [4] Selected productions:
Daugavpils Theatre, Latvia, 1988–1990. The theatre reopened in 1988 after 25 years of closure. [142] There Ostrenko staged three large-scale productions with student actors: Waltz for a Frog (Вальс для лягушки, 1988), built on the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch, with Latvian students; The Myth of Fallen Natashka (Миф о падшей Наташке, 1989), with the Russian-language course; and Jerusalem Delivered (Освобождённый Иерусалим, 1990), after Torquato Tasso’s poem and the paintings of Nicolas Poussin.
Odyssey of Captain Blood - Semipalatinsk (now Semey), Kazakhstan, 1990. Stage combat choreography. [4]
Russian Drama Theatre of Belarus, Minsk (now the National Academic Drama Theatre named after Maxim Gorky), 1990–1991. Choreographer (balletmaster) for Christ and Antichrist (Христос и Антихрист), after Dmitry Merezhkovsky’s trilogy; Tsarevich Alexei (Царевич Алексей); and Simpletons of Unexpected Islands (Простачки нежданных островов), after Bernard Shaw. [9][10]
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Three Knives from Wei (Три ножа из страны Вэй) by Harry Martinson - Russian Drama Theatre of Belarus, Minsk, 1992. Ostrenko directed this play by the Swedish Nobel laureate; work on the production with composer Viktor Kopytko lasted nine months. Its rehearsals were built on a system of physical exercises that later became the foundation of the Ostrenko Brothers’ Method. [143]
Trail of the Autumn Full Moon (След осеннего полнолуния) - Riga, 1993. An original devised performance compiled and directed by Ostrenko from ancient Chinese literary sources, including the Zhuangzi parable of the fish. [4]
Pink Butterfly (Розовая бабочка) - Tyumen Drama and Comedy Theatre, 1998. An original play Ostrenko wrote during rehearsals, after a novella by the classical Chinese writer Pu Songling, with music by Viktor Kopytko. [4][143] The designer was Zinovy Margolin, a Belarus-born Golden Mask laureate whose sets have been seen at the Mariinsky, the Bolshoi and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. [144]
The Scapins’ Deceits (Les Fourberies de Scapin) by Molière - Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre, 2000. Movement director. [4]
Duet with Olga Zhitlukhina - Time to Dance festival (Время танцевать), Riga, 2001. Choreographer and dancer; the piece was later performed at a festival in Switzerland. [4]
Theatre Village (Театральная деревня) - Malpils, Latvia, 2008. An IUGTE residency for the Gogol bicentenary with participants from eight countries; a multilingual performance built on Diary of a Madman and The Government Inspector, interwoven with folk songs and lullabies from the participants’ countries. [4]
Shakespeare Transit - Donetsk Regional Russian Theatre for Young Audiences (Makeyevka), 2009. Artistic supervisor of a month-long project in which directors from the USA, Spain, France and China worked with the company; the fragments of Hamlet, Othello and Titus Andronicus played on the theatre’s Small Stage and won praise from audiences and critics at the Art-Alternative festival-laboratory in May 2009. [1][133]
Playing Richard (Играем Ричарда), after Richard III - Luhansk Academic Russian Drama Theatre, Ukraine, premiere 28–29 September 2012. Co-directed with Marie de La Guéronnière as the first international theatre project in the Luhansk region, organised by IUGTE with the ArtUniverse agency. The theatre’s artistic director credited Ostrenko’s training with letting the company “touch the living contemporary European theatre.” [11][12][13][14][134]
Passions of Romeo (working title Romeo & Juliette, Like/Unlike) - Taganrog Chekhov Drama Theatre, October–November 2012. Artistic director of an International Shakespeare Performance Project production in which Russian actors worked with a production team from Ireland, Spain, Greece, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Switzerland and the United States. [24][25][41][135]
Boris Godunov - Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania (now the Old Theatre of Vilnius), 2013. A production built on fragments of Pushkin’s Boris Godunov and Schiller’s Demetrius. [4]
Lullaby for Hamlet (Колыбельная для Гамлета) - Stavropol Academic Drama Theatre named after M. Yu. Lermontov, premiere 2–3 October 2014. Artistic director of a grant-funded music-and-theatre production created with ArtUniverse and IUGTE by an international team from Italy, Chile, Ukraine, Serbia and Turkey. The theatre’s director said the experience Ostrenko and his colleagues brought “proved very useful.” [3][7][15][16][17][18][19][72]
Love and Death in Verona (Любовь и смерть в Вероне), after Romeo and Juliet - Saratov Kiselev Youth Theatre, premiere 15 September 2015. Directed by Ostrenko as a joint project with ArtUniverse and IUGTE after two years of collaboration, with stage adaptation, scenography and choreography by Gennadiy Ostrenko, a design concept by Julia Belle (Italy) and costumes by Olga Kolesnikova. The production built its dramaturgy on dance and stage movement, combining contemporary dance with Meyerhold’s Biomechanics. [2][20][21][22]
Teaching, Research and the Laboratory of Movement and Dance
Ostrenko has taught in professional theatre education since 1988, including at the Latvian State Conservatory named after Jāzeps Vītols, the Latvian Academy of Culture, the Latvian branch of GITIS (the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts), the University of Calgary and the Rosebud School of the Arts in Canada. [4][6] He has led courses, master classes, workshops and laboratories for international groups of directors, choreographers, dancers, actors and circus performers in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Canada, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. [4][5][125]
In Budapest, Ostrenko took part in the creation of Recirquel, the new-circus company founded in 2012 by director and choreographer Bence Vági. [145] The company has since performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. [145][146] Vági came to Ostrenko’s work through the film director Katalin Fekete. [8] He began the company with 16- and 17-year-old acrobats from the Baross Imre circus school; in their training, he recalls, “Sergei Ostrenko came to teach the craft of acting”, while Márta Metzger and Vági himself taught ballet. [147]
In 1995 he founded the Laboratory of Movement and Dance in Riga, a long-term research project that brought together professional performers, directors, dancers, choreographers and psychologists to study improvisation, spontaneity, ensemble cohesion and the creative process. [4][26][27] Psychologist Indra Majore (later Majore-Dūšele) took part in its work, and the laboratory became a meeting point for dancers and psychologists researching contact improvisation and dance/movement therapy. [26]
Its interdisciplinary work had a lasting effect. A publication of Rīga Stradiņš University records a dance and movement therapy practitioner describing the “creative research laboratory of Indra Majore and Sergei Ostrenko” as the turning point that led her to body-based therapeutic work. [28] Ten years of the laboratory’s work were devoted to dance theatre, and practitioners trained in it went on to work in contemporary dance and in dance and movement therapy in Latvia. [4][26][27][28][69]
International Laboratories, Conferences and Residencies
Under Ostrenko’s artistic direction, IUGTE and NIPAI have organised international laboratories, festivals, residencies and conferences for more than two decades. The first IUGTE international project, The Actor’s Technique (Riga, 2001), was a three-week course for professional actors and directors from Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom and Russia, ending with a demonstration at the Riga Small Theatre. [4] By 2011 the organisation had run more than 50 international conferences, training courses and collaboration projects in over 12 countries. [117]
International Physical Theatre Laboratory (IPTL). NIPAI has organised the laboratory since 2000; its 25th anniversary edition took place at Laubegg Castle on 13–22 December 2025, led by Sergei and Gennadiy Ostrenko. [99] From 2007 to 2018 IUGTE’s laboratories met regularly at Retzhof Castle in Styria, Austria. Rice University News reported in 2011 that the laboratory there was guided by Ostrenko, and in 2009 the Slovenian Centre of the International Theatre Institute promoted it to Slovenian practitioners. [68][112][121][127][136] Editions also took place in Malta (2009) and in Carrara, Italy (2014). [122][126]
International conference. The conference Performing Arts Between Tradition and Contemporaneity was founded in 2003. Its 22nd edition, held at Laubegg Castle on 18–22 December 2025, had about 50 participants; earlier editions drew participants from over 30 countries on six continents. [140] Faculty from Cornell University (2024), Georgia State University and Binghamton University (2025) have presented there. [118][119][120]
Festivals, laboratories and residencies. Ostrenko was artistic director of the international festival-fair Theatre Methods, held in Mālpils, Latvia (2004, 2008), and in Bovec, Slovenia (2009). [6][96][114][123] He led the International Directors Laboratory in Kyiv with the municipal theatre Suziria (2005) [113], an international laboratory on the performer’s physicality in Prague (2008) [124], the Arts Oasis international residency in Italy (2015) [57][115] and a residency in Amelia, Italy, with 17 participants from 10 countries (2016). [109] Further programmes took place in Massa and Carrara, Italy [40][58][63]; as three-week intensives in Csurgó, Hungary (2021, 2025) [131][141]; and as a workshop on the dramaturgy of physical action in Brussels (2022). [125]
Berlin. With Gennadiy Ostrenko he leads NIPAI’s international workshops in Berlin: selective five-day, 28-hour intensives in Meyerhold’s Biomechanics, Chekhov’s Psychological Gesture and Stanislavsky’s Physical Action, held at the DOCK 11 EDEN studios. [111][128] The August 2026 edition brought together 26 practitioners from 14 countries. [110]
Recognition and Influence
Ostrenko is among a small number of practitioners in Europe who specialise in physical theatre through the prism of the Russian theatre school. [4] Independent sources corroborate this position. Portuguese actor and trainer Bruno Schiappa places him alongside Eugenio Barba as a continuing influence on his practice [45]; practitioner Colum Parke Morgan describes his training as “GITIS-based” [47]; and Spanish actor Pablo Lechuga, in his biography published by The Scotsman and BroadwayWorld, lists him with Philippe Gaulier among the “great masters” around Europe with whom he has worked. [76][77] On a Michigan State University event page, North Macedonian artist Bojan Lazarov names him among the “important theatre masters and directors” he has worked with, alongside Eugenio Barba and Jan Fabre. [107]
His work is documented in academic literature. In Modern Theatre in Russia: Tradition Building and Transmission Processes (Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury, 2020), the author, Stefan Aquilina, describes his own participation in Ostrenko’s 2007 workshop on the techniques of Stanislavsky, Meyerhold and Mikhail Chekhov at Retzhof Castle, Austria. [68] The peer-reviewed journal Slavic and East European Performance (SEEP) references his work. [71] Dennis Schebetta, then Head of MFA Performance Pedagogy at the University of Pittsburgh, attended Ostrenko’s 2016 residency in Amelia, Italy, with a Hewlett grant. [109] In the journal Theatre/Practice (2017), he described how the training’s emphasis on “physical attention” and imagination complemented his own teaching. [64]
Universities and arts councils have funded participation in his programmes. The University of Warwick awarded a PhD researcher a grant to attend his residency [57]; the University of Nebraska–Lincoln supported a student at his conference and laboratory in Carrara, Italy [40]; and the National Arts Council of Singapore supported a LASALLE College of the Arts graduate at his choreographers’ workshop in Massa, Italy. [63][108] His laboratories also appear in the Brooklyn College alumni magazine. [39]
Writing in in:Action - Irish Live Art Review and Performance Philosophy, Jack Beglin described the Ostrenko brothers’ training as the development of a physical culture of the performer, and concluded that they invest in the imagination and connect international performers through the moving body. [97][129] His work has also been covered by the Austrian magazine Zeitschrift Menschen and the Retzhof Magazin, and the Swedish newspaper Ystads Allehanda headlined its report on his visit “Zin-Lit gästades av världsberömd regissör” (“Zin-Lit hosted a world-famous director”). [80][81][91] Announcements of his programmes have appeared on the sites of international cultural organisations, including the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), the International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT) and Chile’s Fundación Teatro a Mil. [95][113][115]
His students carry the method into their own directing, choreography and teaching. An international acting school in Italy teaches the Ostrenko Method as its core curriculum. [67] A Latvian dance ensemble director called him “my authority” in the composition of choreography [38]; Canadian actress Grace Gordon called him a “Biomechanics master and director” [78]; Bence Vági, founder of the Hungarian new-circus company Recirquel, credits him with introducing him to Stanislavsky’s methodology [8]; and American artist Jason Ries traces his work with light and the human body to training with Ostrenko in Latvia and Ukraine. [36] A trainee of the Fabbrica, the young artists programme of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, lists Ostrenko in their training. [83] So do Catalan director Ferran Utzet, twice winner of the Premi Butaca for best theatre production [61]; choreographer Olga Kitaeva of the Mariinsky Theatre’s Primorsky Stage, who attended his IUGTE laboratory in Austria in 2014 on a scholarship [48]; and Elias Austaller, a performer and dancer in opera productions at the Theater an der Wien. [56][100]
Practitioners who cite training with him in their professional biographies come from more than 20 countries: Australia [1][30], Austria [54][56][89][100], Canada [34][78], Chile [95], the Czech Republic [94], Germany [66], Greece [35], Hungary [23], Ireland [50][97], Italy [46][62][83][86][90][98][99], Latvia [26][28][31], Mexico [59][79], North Macedonia and Slovenia [44][65][106][107], Poland [84], Portugal [45], Russia [32][42][48][101][104], Singapore [63][108], Spain [25][61][76][77][103], Switzerland [24][60][105], Turkey [87], Ukraine [52][53][55], the United Kingdom [43][51][85] and the United States [33][36][39][40][49][64][88][93][109].
His work and ideas have been the subject of press conferences [41], published interviews [74][75], festival documentation [29][70][72][73] and newspaper features in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other countries. [1][2][3][7][8][15][16][17][18][19] Video documentation of his productions and workshops is available on the Art Universe Agency channel. [102]
Participant Testimonials
Participants in programmes led by Sergei Ostrenko have described his work in published reviews and creative reports.
“I have always wanted to perform full-time, to be challenged as an artist… This program was the first experience I have ever had that showed me it is truly possible. During this week of training, I lived the life I have always wanted to live. The life of an artist.” - Sebastian Cummings, Germany, NIPAI reviews [NIPAI]
"...There’s deep philosophy and meaning behind Sergei's teaching and leadership as a director, and I really appreciated different approach in guiding the actors through physical action." - Ji Won Jeon, South Korea, Google Maps reviews [Google Maps]
"I attended a workshop with Sergei and the NIPAI conference and had a wonderful time. Sergei is an incredible teacher and I gained so much inspiration and tangible learnings. I met the most special people and had a beautiful experience." - Eli Pauley, USA, Google Maps reviews [Google Maps]
"I participated in a 5 day Physical theatre Lab with the Ostrenko brothers. I really appreciated the ‘do first, ask later’-approach, giving us the possibility to our own experience. Loved the mix of exercises and the build up to show cases. I am very much inspired by the content of the workshop itself, just as well as the method of teaching." - Nathalie Drakemyr, Switzerland, Google Maps reviews [Google Maps]
"The approach and method of the Ostrenko brothers and their incredible leadership are definitely able to combine a huge amount of techniques with the opportunity to look at our own creation and experience art in a deeper way. I believe that every artist should experience this, what they offer to the world of arts is truly something very special. The opportunity to "try it out before asking questions" also allowed me to access important places to understand what I was truly experiencing with the exercises. Regardless of the level of complexity of the exercises, from the simplest to the most complex, it is possible to take a deep dive into your art and learn every second from what you experience there." - Raisa Ratorraca, Brazil, Google Maps reviews [Google Maps]
"I really enjoy learning and working with Sergei, and his approach is something that every performer should experience." - Bojan Lazarov, North Macedonia, Google Maps reviews [Google Maps]
Magdalena Krohn (Poland) wrote in her creative report: “Participating in one of Ostrenko workshops will not only give you new skills but will also help you gain a fresh perspective on your practice. This has genuinely been one of the best experiences of my life.” [NIPAI]
Daisy Badger (United Kingdom) stated in her creative report: “If anyone has lost touch with their body - or if you’re intrigued by Biomechanics - I would nudge you towards NIPAI IUGTE & Sergei. Great week of physical lab and a top-notch conference!” [NIPAI]
Siu Hei Chung (Hong Kong) reflected: “I learnt how to give clear and brief instructions to actors through the process I was given instructions.” [NIPAI]
Sources & Citations
[1] Donetsk TYuZ (Makeyevka) theatre history page: donramt.ru/sveden/history Documents 2008–2009 collaborations with IUGTE, master classes and the Shakespeare Transit production.
[2] RIA Saratov, 18 August 2015: riasar.ru/news/item/34484 Love and Death in Verona at the Saratov TYuZ; Ostrenko as head of IUGTE’s Russian Theatre Department.
[3] SB. Belarus Today, Traditions of Experiment: sb.by/articles/traditsii-eksperimenta.html The Stavropol theatre director on Ostrenko’s work during Lullaby for Hamlet.
[4] NIPAI biography page (Russian text): nipai.org/sergei-ostrenko Career timeline, countries, techniques, philosophy.
[5] Physicality in Acting, teacher page: physicalityinacting.com/about/teachers/sergei-ostrenko Career start 1979, directing debut 1986, IUGTE founded 2000.
[6] THEATRE METHODS 04 festival brochure, 2004: theatre.lv … TEATRA METODIKAS 04.pdf Ostrenko artistic director of IUGTE and of the festival from 2000; Creative Laboratory from 1995; Tai Chi teaching from 1986.
[7] Komsomolskaya Pravda, Stavropol edition, 18 September 2014: stav.kp.ru/daily/26284.4/3161761 Lullaby for Hamlet; Ostrenko’s training at the Vladikavkaz Art College and the Rostov Theatre College; his move to Latvia in 1986.
[8] Israel Culture interview with Bence Vági: israelculture.info By Boris Yablokov; first published in the Non-Stop supplement of the Israeli newspaper Vesti, 5 January 2017. Vági came to Ostrenko’s work through film director Katalin Fekete, and Ostrenko introduced him to Stanislavsky’s methodology.
[9] Russian Drama Theatre of Belarus, 1991 record: rustheatre.by/theatre/history/1291-show.html Ostrenko as balletmaster, 1991.
[10] Russian Drama Theatre of Belarus, second record: rustheatre.by/theatre/history/751-show.html Corroborates the 1990–1991 collaboration.
[11] Znanie Rossii, Luhansk Drama Theatre: znanierussia.ru 2012: Playing Richard, directed by Sergei Ostrenko.
[12] Luhansk Drama Theatre official page: lordt.at.ua/index/0-4 Playing Richard, premiere 28–29 September, directed by Ostrenko.
[13] Wiki article, Luhansk Academic Drama Theatre: wp.wiki-wiki.ru/wp/index.php/… Corroborates the 2012 production.
[14] Essay by P. Morozov: samlib.ru/m/morozow_p/vzlet.shtml Deepened psychophysical training; Marcel Marceau connection.
[15] Stavropolskaya Pravda, Shakespeare production: stapravda.ru/20140411/… Reports on Lullaby for Hamlet.
[16] Stavropol Bezformata: stavropol.bezformata.com Full article on the Stavropol production.
[17] Stavropolskaya Pravda, premiere: stapravda.ru/20140927/… The production joins the repertoire.
[18] Minsk News: minsknews.by Stavropol grant; Ostrenko as artistic director with an international team.
[19] City Guide, Stavropol theatre season: citygu.ru/itogi-teatralnogo-sezona.html Reports on the Ostrenko production.
[20] Olga Kolesnikova portfolio: olgakolesnikova.art/theatre Love and Death in Verona, 15 September 2015, directed by Ostrenko.
[21] Saratov Bezformata: saratov.bezformata.com Confirms the 2015 premiere of Love and Death in Verona.
[22] Liza Gubernii, Saratov TYuZ project: lizagubernii.ru/news/34905 Reports on the international collaboration.
[23] Israel Culture interview with Bence Vági (Hungary): israelculture.info Vági credits Ostrenko with introducing him to Stanislavsky’s methodology.
[24] Eva Mann portfolio: evamann.ch/spiel Productions in Taganrog under Ostrenko’s artistic direction.
[25] Pablo Lechuga biography: pablolechuga.com Learned physical theatre and Meyerhold’s Biomechanics with Ostrenko in Russia.
[26] Vytautas Magnus University repository: portalcris.vdu.lt Founding of the Laboratory (1995), Indra Majore, dance/movement therapy research.
[27] Text archive, laboratory record: textarchive.ru/c-2532656-pall.html S. Ostrenko’s experimental laboratory, 1995–1997.
[28] Rīga Stradiņš University publication: dspace.rsu.lv A practitioner’s account of the creative research laboratory of Indra Majore and Sergei Ostrenko.
[29] Yalta theatre festival: muzteatr.net Rehearsing Chekhov master class with Accademia Armata Brancaleone and Ostrenko.
[30] Kim Parkhill CV (Australia): nowactors.com.au IUGTE programmes with Ostrenko in Latvia, 2007–2008.
[31] Sanita Duka (Latvia): theater-school.com/279-sanita-duka-latvia Trained with Ostrenko (IUGTE).
[32] Anton Gopko: msotlt.ru Ostrenko student.
[33] David Radamés Toro: dtorodirects.com/about-1 IPTL with Ostrenko, IUGTE, Malpils, Latvia, 2009.
[34] Kim (Halifax, Canada): dapopoberlinproject.blogspot.com Trained with Ostrenko at the IUGTE Performers Village, Latvia.
[35] Mayra Stergiou (Greece): mayrastergiou.com/about-1 2008 directing training with Ostrenko, Latvia.
[36] Jason Ries (USA): monkeyhouselovesme.com/jason-ries.html Trained in Latvia and Ukraine with director Sergei Ostrenko.
[37] Russian Bazaar interview: russian-bazaar.com/ru/content/931.htm A singer on studying movement with choreographer Sergei Ostrenko.
[38] Latvian dance magazine: dom.lndb.lv/data/obj/file/321064.pdf A choreographer credits Ostrenko with teaching composition principles.
[39] Brooklyn College magazine: brooklyn.edu … MAG-S2008.pdf Martin A. David at Ostrenko’s Physical Theatre Laboratory.
[40] University of Nebraska–Lincoln newsroom: newsroom.unl.edu/announce/artsatunl/3968/22519 A student trains with Ostrenko at the conference and laboratory in Carrara, Italy.
[41] Taganrog press release, 24 October 2012: taganrogcity.com/pr_iugte_taganrog_october_2012.html Press conference with Ostrenko, head of IUGTE’s Russian Theatre Department; international team.
[42] Kinolift profile: kinolift.com/ru/42281 Ostrenko student.
[43] Sara Bishop Jones (English Theatre Frankfurt): english-theatre.de/cast-huck-finn 2019 IUGTE conference workshop with Ostrenko.
[44] Bojan Lazarov (North Macedonia/Slovenia): bojanlazarov.wixsite.com/portfolio/about-me Workshops with Eugenio Barba, Jan Fabre, Fabio Tolledi and Sergei Ostrenko.
[45] Bruno Schiappa, CeTeatro (Portugal): ceteatro.pt Names Barba, Thomas Metler and Ostrenko as lasting influences.
[46] Luca Serra (Italy): italian-actors.filmmakers.eu/en/actors/luca-serra Ostrenko student.
[47] Colum Parke Morgan: colum.info/about-me Ostrenko’s GITIS-based training among his mentors.
[48] Olga Kitaeva, Mariinsky Theatre Primorsky Stage: prim.mariinsky.ru ArtUniversity scholarship for the IUGTE laboratory guided by Ostrenko, Austria, 2014.
[49] SAFD member profile (USA): safd.org/MemberProfile/Details/31231 Lists Ostrenko among the artists he has worked with.
[50] Sinéad Bolger (Ireland): linkedin.com/in/sinead-bolger-facilitator Ostrenko student.
[51] Erin Carr (UK): erincarr.com/theatre-artist Ostrenko student.
[52] Natalia Ladyko: natalialadyko.com/movement-artist.html Ostrenko student.
[53] Zoya Baranovska (Ukraine): aktorky-ta-aktory.org/en/actors/zoya-baranovska 2006 training in physical action with Ostrenko.
[54] Sophia Hahn (Austria): sophiahahn.com … Portfolio.pdf 2019 Physicality in Acting workshop.
[55] Xueni Yang: xueniyang.com/choreography Ostrenko student.
[56] Elias Austaller (Austria): theaterinderkulturfabrik.at/elias-austaller Performer and dancer at the Theater an der Wien; Physicality in Acting with Ostrenko.
[57] University of Warwick, Eleanor Chadwick: warwick.ac.uk PhD researcher awarded a grant for the IUGTE Arts Oasis residency with Ostrenko.
[58] Jeff Directs, director training in Massa, Italy: jeffdirects.com Report on Ostrenko’s training programme.
[59] Renata Wimer and Sergio Solis (Mexico): noox.mx/rsdnart-muhlberg Both cite work with Ostrenko; 2013 international laboratory in Vilnius.
[60] Marco Cupellari (Italy/Switzerland): lespassionnesdureve.com … DP-SCROOGE-Web.pdf Workshops with Gaulier, Ostrenko and Julia Varley.
[61] Ferran Utzet (Spain), Teatre Lliure dossier: teatrelliure.com … dossier_La_nostra_ciutat_gira_cat.pdf Two Premi Butaca awards for best theatre production; workshops with Ostrenko.
[62] Erbamil company (Italy): erbamil.it/la-compagnia Vittorio Di Mauro lists Ostrenko among his training influences.
[63] Shahrin, Maya Dance Theatre (Singapore): drlib.lasalle.edu.sg IUGTE International Choreographers’ Workshop in Italy led by Ostrenko.
[64] Dennis Schebetta (University of Pittsburgh), More Than Repetition: Meisner and BA Performance Training, Theatre/Practice vol. 6, 2017: theatrepractice.us Biomechanics and Michael Chekhov intensive with Ostrenko.
[65] Tin Grabnar (Slovenia): lg-mb.si … Pirat-in-luna.pdf Workshops with Fabre, Ostrenko, Frljić and others.
[66] Tuan Dodge (Germany): crew-united.com/de/Tuan-Dodge_387207.html 2024 NIPAI workshops with Ostrenko in Berlin.
[67] Acting school in Italy: acting-school-stop.com/acting-schools-italy An international acting school teaching through the Ostrenko Method.
[68] Stefan Aquilina, Modern Theatre in Russia: Tradition Building and Transmission Processes (Methuen Drama/Bloomsbury, 2020): bloomsbury.com Describes the 2007 workshop with Ostrenko at Retzhof Castle, Austria.
[69] Business Psychology journal (Latvia): biznesapsihologija.lv … BP23.pdf Ostrenko in the context of performance practice and psychology.
[70] VOOPIiK-Don article: voopiik-don.ru Article on Ostrenko’s work.
[71] Slavic and East European Performance (SEEP), vol. 31, no. 2, Fall 2011: scribd.com References Ostrenko.
[72] Literaturnaya Gazeta, Hamlet for Everyone: lgz.ru/article/gamlet-dlya-kazhdogo On Lullaby for Hamlet.
[73] cxid.info: cxid.info/100405.html Article on an Ostrenko production.
[74] RIA Saratov interview, 15 September 2015: riasar.ru/news/item/34865 Interview with Ostrenko.
[75] Strast 10 journal, 2015: strast10.ru … 2015.178.8-178.pdf Interview with Ostrenko.
[76] The Scotsman (Edinburgh Fringe): scotsman.com Pablo Lechuga’s biography lists Ostrenko among the great masters he has worked with.
[77] BroadwayWorld (Edinburgh Fringe): broadwayworld.com The same biography.
[78] Grace Gordon (Canada): bearandcompany.ca Worked under Biomechanics master and director Sergei Ostrenko.
[79] Milenio (Mexico): milenio.com A student certified by IUGTE after a workshop with Ostrenko in Austria.
[80] Retzhof Magazin, 2019: retzhof.at … Retzhof-Magazin-2019.pdf Ostrenko’s projects at Retzhof.
[81] Zeitschrift Menschen (Austria): zeitschriftmenschen.at/content/view/full/113425 Article on Ostrenko’s work.
[82] Valentina Pakou: backstage.com/u/valentina-pakou Ostrenko student.
[83] Fabbrica, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma: fabbrica.operaroma.it/persone/3603 Training with Ostrenko.
[84] Adrianna Hanslik (Poland): batat.at.edu.pl/hanslik-adrianna Ostrenko student.
[85] Claire Jenkins CV (UK): brennanactingagency.com Ostrenko student.
[86] Giulia Manzini (Italy): giuliamanzini.it/biografia Ostrenko student.
[87] Gonça Gümüşayak (Turkey): goncagumusayak.wordpress.com/biography 2013 IUGTE scholarship; 2014 programme assistant.
[88] Amy Loui (USA): fourcolorthemovie.com/cast-crew/amy-loui Ostrenko student.
[89] Maxi Schreier: fourstringcompany.com/maxi Ostrenko student.
[90] Enrico Bergamasco (Italy): rbcasting.com/rb/web/enricobergamasco Ostrenko student.
[91] Ystads Allehanda (Sweden): ystadsallehanda.se Report on Ostrenko’s visit to Zin-Lit.
[92] B. V. Gjanakadas: linkedin.com/in/bvgjanakadas Ostrenko student.
[93] James Wheeler (USA): backstage.com/u/james-wheeler-1 Ostrenko student.
[94] Alisa Zichuk (Czech Republic): actorsmap.cz/herec/alisa-zichuk Ostrenko student.
[95] Fundación Teatro a Mil (Chile): teatroamil.cl Arts Oasis residency in Tuscany with Ostrenko as artistic director.
[96] Theatre Alberta eNews, December 2008: theatrealberta.com/eNews/2008/December.html IUGTE directors’ course under Ostrenko in Donetsk; THEATRE METHODS 09, Bovec, Slovenia.
[97] Jack Beglin, in:Action - Irish Live Art Review, 2 November 2017: inaction.ie The Ostrenko brothers’ IUGTE laboratory at Retzhof, August 2017.
[98] Italian actor CV (Scribd): scribd.com Workshop on Meyerhold, Chekhov and Stanislavsky at Armata Brancaleone, Massa.
[99] NIPAI, International Physical Theatre Laboratory: nipai.org/programmes/international-physical-theatre-lab IPTL organised since 2000; 25th anniversary edition, Laubegg Castle, 13–22 December 2025.
[100] Theater in der Kulturfabrik press kit (Austria): theaterinderkulturfabrik.at … Pressemappe_Helfenberg_2024-print.pdf Elias Austaller biography with Physicality in Acting.
[101] Kino-teatr.ru profile: kino-teatr.ru/kino/acter/m/post/466740/bio Ostrenko student.
[102] Art Universe Agency, YouTube channel: youtube.com/@artuniverseagency/videos Productions, workshops and interviews.
[103] Laughing Horse, Edinburgh: laughinghorsecomedy.co.uk Pablo Lechuga, Ostrenko student.
[104] Kinolift profile: kinolift.com/ru/10526 Ostrenko student.
[105] Eva Mann, Inszenierungen: evamann.ch/inszenierungen Romeo and Juliet in Taganrog under Ostrenko’s artistic direction.
[106] Biennial of Puppetry Artists of Slovenia, 9th edition catalogue: lg-mb.si … Catalogue.pdf Tin Grabnar: workshops with Ostrenko.
[107] Michigan State University, Macedonian Cultural Dance Workshop: arts.msu.edu Bojan Lazarov’s “important theatre masters and directors” include Barba, Fabre, Tolledi and Ostrenko.
[108] Dancescape Singapore, choreographers’ profiles: dancescapesg.weebly.com/choreographers-profile.html Shahrin: IUGTE workshop in Italy led by Ostrenko.
[109] University of Pittsburgh Global Studies Center newsletter, Fall 2016: constantcontact.com Dennis Schebetta’s Hewlett grant; residency in Amelia, Italy, led by Ostrenko; 17 participants from 10 countries.
[110] NIPAI, Acting in Physical Theatre: 26 Artists, 14 Countries, One Studio in Berlin, 31 August 2026: nipai.org/post/acting-in-physical-theatre-26-artists-14-countries-one-studio-in-berlin Workshop of 17–21 August 2026 led by Sergei and Gennadiy Ostrenko; 26 years and more than one hundred projects.
[111] NIPAI, International Physical Theatre Workshop in Berlin: nipai.org/programmes/international-physical-theatre-workshop Five days, 28 hours, selection by CV, DOCK 11 EDEN; over 40 productions directed.
[112] Rice University News, 21 April 2011: news2.rice.edu The International Physical Theatre Lab at Retzhof Castle, guided by Ostrenko.
[113] IFACCA, International Directors Laboratory, Kyiv, 22–27 August 2005: ifacca.org Ostrenko as director, teacher and president of IUGTE; with the Kyiv municipal theatre Suziria.
[114] Divadlo.cz, 21 July 2006: divadlo.cz/?p=3078 Artistic Director of the International Festival THEATRE METHODS and President of IUGTE.
[115] OISTAT, Arts Oasis residency, 15 March 2015: oistat.org Ostrenko as artistic director of the Arts Oasis residency, 1–6 June 2015.
[116] Bibliotheca Alexandrina, IUGTE record: bibalex.org/baifa/en/resources/document/449787 IUGTE founded in Riga in 2000 by the director and teacher Sergey Ostrenko.
[117] ASEF culture360, 6 July 2011: culture360.asef.org More than 50 international conferences, training courses and projects in over 12 countries.
[118] Cornell University, Performing and Media Arts, 19 July 2024: pma.cornell.edu 21st IUGTE Conference, Laubegg Castle, 18–22 July 2024.
[119] Georgia State University News, 28 January 2026: news.gsu.edu 22nd NIPAI conference at Laubegg Castle, limited to 50 participants.
[120] Binghamton University, School of the Arts newsletter, January–February 2026: binghamton.edu Faculty presentation at NIPAI’s 22nd international theatre conference, Laubegg.
[121] Slovenian Centre of the International Theatre Institute, 17 July 2009: veza.sigledal.org Laboratory at Retzhof under Ostrenko’s direction, offered to Slovenian practitioners.
[122] Nettime, 4 February 2009: nettime.org International Physical Theatre Laboratory, Malta, 27 April–2 May 2009.
[123] Kakanien revisited, 28 May 2008: kakanien-revisited.at THEATRE METHODS 08, Malpils, 7–13 July 2008; workshop by Ostrenko.
[124] Nettime, 8 January 2008: nettime.org International Performing Arts Laboratory Performer’s Physicality, Prague, 20–25 April 2008.
[125] Papageno, 25 July 2022: papageno.hu Dramaturgy of Physical Action workshop, Brussels, 3–5 August 2022.
[126] INFOARTES, Lima, 25 August 2014: siica.cultura.pe IPTL and IUGTE conference, Carrara, 15–22 December 2014.
[127] Campadidanza, 2 March 2016: campadidanza.it Summer School of Physical Theatre at Retzhof, 2–9 July 2016.
[128] The New School, Media Studies blog, 2023: blogs.newschool.edu/media-studies Physicality in Performance with Sergei Ostrenko, Berlin, 26–30 April 2023.
[129] Performance Philosophy, 15 September 2017: performancephilosophy.org Jack Beglin on the Ostrenko brothers’ IUGTE laboratory.
[130] NIPAI, About: nipai.org/about 26 years; more than 3,000 professionals trained; over 60 countries; six continents; Berlin and Laubegg; the Knowledge Applicability Concept.
[131] NIPAI, 3-Week Physical Theatre & Directing Residency in Hungary, 1 April 2021: nipai.org/post/hands-on-intensive-3-week-physical-theatre-workshop-in-hungary Residency in Csurgó built on the Ostrenko Brothers’ Method.
[132] IUGTE, Theatre Biomechanics workshop page: iugte.com/projects/theatretradition/theatrebiomechanics Head of IUGTE’s Russian Theatre Department since 2009.
[133] Association of Russian Theatres Abroad, Makeyevka Theatre for Young Audiences: russian-theater.pro/theaters/makeevka-tuz 2008 master classes; Shakespeare Transit under Ostrenko’s guidance, 2009.
[134] Komandirovka.ru, Luhansk Regional Drama Theatre: komandirovka.ru The first international theatre project in the Luhansk region, organised by IUGTE with ArtUniverse.
[135] Wikipedia, Taganrog Theatre: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taganrog_Theatre Passions of Romeo, October–November 2012, IUGTE International Shakespeare Performance Project.
[136] Maine Arts Commission, International Physical Theatre Lab and IUGTE Conference: mainearts.maine.gov Retzhof, 13–21 December 2018.
[137] NIPAI, Choreography and Blocking in Performance: nipai.org/programmes/choreography-and-blocking-course Developed by Sergei and Gennadiy Ostrenko; 12-week distance programme; 12-month and 18-month programmes; Learning by Doing.
[138] NIPAI, Ensemble Building Programme: nipai.org/programmes/ensemble-building-program Developed by Sergei and Gennadiy Ostrenko.
[139] NIPAI, Back Row to Close-Up: nipai.org/programmes/screen-acting-self-tape-course Screen acting course developed by Sergei and Gennadiy Ostrenko.
[140] NIPAI, 22nd International Conference Performing Arts Between Tradition & Contemporaneity, 6 November 2025: nipai.org/post/22nd-performing-arts-conference Founded 2003; Laubegg Castle, 18–22 December 2025; about 50 participants; past participants from over 30 countries.
[141] NIPAI press release, International Physical Theatre Intensive, 15 July 2025: nipai.org/press-room/international-physical-theatre-intensive-by-nipai Csurgó, Hungary, 23 June–13 July 2025; ten countries; led by Sergei and Gennadiy Ostrenko.
[142] Wikipedia (Russian), Daugavpils Theatre: ru.wikipedia.org The theatre was closed in 1963 and re-established in 1988.
[143] Wikipedia (Russian), Viktor Kopytko: ru.wikipedia.org His theatre scores include Three Knives from Wei (State Russian Drama Theatre, Minsk, 1992) and Pink Butterfly (Tyumen Drama and Comedy Theatre, 1998, after Pu Songling), both directed by S. Ostrenko.
[144] Oper Frankfurt, production team, Zinovy Margolin: oper-frankfurt.de Belarus-born stage designer; Golden Mask for Jenůfa and Les Parapluies de Cherbourg; sets for the Mariinsky, the Bolshoi and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
[145] Recirquel, History: recirquel.com/history Founded in Budapest in 2012 by Bence Vági; first show Night Circus, spring 2013; later productions at the Edinburgh Fringe.
[146] Wikipedia (Hungarian), Bence Vági: hu.wikipedia.org Non Solus at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, February 2019.
[147] HVG, “Az artista is fél, ha elengedi a kötelet”, interview with Bence Vági by Mercédesz Gyükeri, 8 January 2017: hvg.hu “Szergej Osztrenko jött színészmesterséget tanítani” (“Sergei Ostrenko came to teach the craft of acting”); the company began with 16–17-year-old acrobats from the Baross Imre circus school.
[NIPAI] NIPAI reviews and creative reports: nipai.org/reviews and nipai.org/reviews/creative-reports Participant testimonials.
[Google Maps] NIPAI reviews: maps.app.goo.gl/cF2cmvWmTA1qHhkU6 Participant testimonials.