Do not be afraid to follow their dreams
I Diana Dankovtseva and I was born in a small town Michurinsk in Russia. When I was 5, my mother brought me to the choreographic school from which I graduated 8 years later. I started singing accidentally. I usually sang in front of my relatives at their birthday parties or at some holiday parties. One day I came to our neighbor who sew the concert costume for me (for the NY school party). Her daughter was a well-known singer in our town. I told her that I’d heard a beautiful song. She asked me to sing it to her. I did. She immediately picked up the phone and called the sound producer responsible for the annual NY concert at the Drama theatre, asked him to listen to my singing. I sang over the phone. The next day I was rehearsing that song for the concert, and in two days I performed it. That’s how my singing career started. After graduated from the choreographic school, I joined the modern dance ensemble and continued performing as a singer with the dancers. In 2006 I entered the Russian Academy for Foreign Trade and I had to put my hobbies aside for a few years. I performed, but on a small scale limited to the Academy concerts and rare home town invitations. I was interested in acting, but was really busy with the Academy studies and literally could not find time to do what I really wanted to do. And, it’s only the last year when I managed to devote my whole time to my passion.
Did you study acting
I studied acting at the Moscow Film and Television School. Our coach is Evdokiya Germanova, a well-known Russian actress. I also attended the Michelle Danner’s Golden Box workshop for the actors which took place in November 2013 in Moscow.
The Great Gatsby with and without effects: http://t.co/hnv0MmTBdn
— Diana Dankovtseva (@DianaDank) July 24, 2013
What acting technique do you use At school we use different techniques as the actor can be many sided. We pay more attention to the exercises from the Stanislavsky system. Others from the technique of Michael Chekhov. Personally, I practice the Lee Strasberg’s Method at home (I’m glad that now it’s possible to find the necessary literature in Russia)
What wrong impressions do actors hold about acting Acting is not easy. It seems that if you are an artistic kind of a person, you can do everything, play every role you want. Well, that’s not true. Behind every part played by any actor there is a lot of hard work and daily training. Of course, there are some cases when actors get the part without having any previous experience in acting. They play that part, and that’s it. And to move forward, they have to work harder. Acting is a constant self-work, self-cultivation, self-discipline. It’s overcoming obstacles. 
Do you take courses to improve your craft I try to take courses, but in Russia the courses were not popular until recently. Actually, earlier only the actors with the academic background in acting (from the top 5 acting universities) were accepted. So if you took acting courses somewhere, it was not enough. It was impossible to even participate in the casting, let alone to book the part. Now, it’s easier, but still, there are some limitations. What acting books do you read I’ve recently read Konstantin Stanislavski: “An Actor Prepares”, “Building a Character”, “Creating a Role”. Lee Strasberg’s “A Dream of Passion: the Development of the Method”. Arthur Bartow’s “Training of the American Actor”. How do you keep fit as an actor Mentally, I keep fit when doing exercises, especially with the Michael Chekhov’s technique. Physically, I keep feet by swimming in a pool every day in the morning (at 8:00 a.m.). I like it because it gives a necessary physical load, and at the same time that load is not bad for your joints, while the result is absolutely the same compared to the training in the gym. I also like training at home (ABS training, butt lift exercises, exercises for legs, etc.) and running. When you’re offered a role, what do you do next When I get a role, I read the script once then I read the lines of my character and try to develop the story of the character, especially when there are some details missing in the script. I have to build the story by adding such details and filling up the gaps. I start to think like the character, try to find the habits of the character (from the mode of speaking to the pace). It’s important to get distracted from everything and get involved in the story in whole. How do you take a character in a script to a honest, believable and breathing person After doing the work of building the character I start my work on becoming that character. It’s always great when there is someone who can help you to get into the character. And that’s when the technique of asking questions usually helps. The actor is asked different questions related to his character and has to answer on behalf of the character. It’s a kind of an “interview with the character”. To answer such questions the actor has to get inside the character, to feel what he feels and suffers. Usually, it helps. The number of questions – endless (the one that the person “interviewing” you can stand) 🙂 .
Rehearsals, rehearsals… pic.twitter.com/0SByrkocgR — Diana Dankovtseva (@DianaDank) February 5, 2014
How do you stay fresh on set
It’s important to me to relax between the takes. I’m not the one of the actors who stay in the character all the time, even when they have dinner with their family 🙂
Describe a memorable character you played
The most memorable character that I played was Daisy Buchenen in the Great Gatsby (Moscow Film and Television School Show), 2013
What do you want most from a director
I prefer a director who has great competency, creativity, understanding, and imagination
What actors do you long to work with
I would like to work with actors like Meryl Streep, Judy Dench, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, the list is endless :-). In my opinion, these people are great actors, the have great talent, and some are legends.
Why
They live acting, they are the masters of their craft.
What advice would you give actors
As an actor I would advise other actors to not be afraid to follow their dreams. Be special. Be yourself. Work hard every day. Remember all actors were beginners cat once, with ups and downs. There are mistakes we commit, but it sometime is our best we learn from them. But what happens, happens for the best. The best days are ahead.
