Cabaret duet "Academy" for the stage of the late 2000s was a truly unique project. Humor, subtle irony, positive, comic video clips and the unforgettable voice of the soloist Lolita Milyavskaya did not leave indifferent either the youth or the adult population of the entire post-Soviet space. It seemed that the main mission of the "Academy" was to give people joy and good mood. That is why not a single feast or holiday was complete without the songs of the cabaret duet.
History in brief
The start of the "Academy" falls on the fall of 1985. It was then that two graduates - Alexander Tsekalo (a former student of the Moscow Institute of Culture) and Lolita Milyavskaya (a graduate of the Kyiv Variety and Circus School) were sent to Odessa according to the results of distribution. Young people got a job at the Caricature, a well-known theater. Lolita conquered everyone with her vocals, and Alexander was a real comedian and the soul of the company.
His comic songs (which Sasha himself invented) were sung by the entire theater staff. One fine day, Tsekalo invited the beautiful Milyavskaya to sing a duet on stage. Lolita, without thinking twice, agreed. And not in vain - the performance of young people made a splash.
The first projects of the group Cabaret-duet "Academy"
After several performances in the theater, the couple decided to clearly move in this direction. Young artists officially announced the creation of a musical cabaret duet. The name was chosen simple and uncommon - "Academy". The musicians approached creativity quite seriously. The first songs, such as “Not a deity, not a mortal, not a creature”, as well as the ironic hit “Blue Dishwashers” are high-quality pop music set to poems by famous poets. By the way, the guys searched for texts on their own, sitting in libraries and leafing through dozens of poetry collections.
Target - Moscow
In a short time, the couple became so popular in Odessa that the performance schedules were scheduled weeks in advance. There was simply no end to fans of cheerful pop music. But the musicians did not plan to remain the stars of the local spill forever. Their goal was big show business. And to achieve glory on the starry Olympus is possible only by getting into its very center - the capital of the Soviet Union, Moscow. But the artists fail to get on the big stage right away. I had to run for some time on the radio and TV channels, presenting my work. The couple gave concerts in clubs, private parties, until their songs attracted the attention of the famous producer Sergei Lisovsky.
The debut of the Cabaret duet "Academy" on the big stage
Sergei Lisovsky never looked for easy ways to work. The guys liked him for their originality. It was also a visual non-format. A small fat man and a bright tall brunette with a memorable voice immediately attracted the attention of the audience. Having become the wards of the producer, the couple finally learned what real show business is.
Tsekalo and Milyavskaya will make their debut on the big stage at the large-scale festival "Evening of Sergey Minaev". The duet was remembered not only by the originality of the composition. In the days that followed, half the country sang the cheerful song "Toma". Until 1993, the band had accumulated enough material to release a full-fledged album. In 1994, after hard work at the studio, the cabaret duet "Academy" presents its first collection called "Not Ballroom Dances".
First solo program
The debut solo concert of the cabaret duet "Academy" gives in 1995. The program called "If you want, but you are silent" takes place nowhere, but in the state concert hall "Russia". The performance created a real sensation. A full house, a mind-blowing show, groovy dance melodies and humorous lyrics delight the audience.
Further, not a single concert or festival is complete without the participation of Sasha and Lolita. For the comic troupe "Masks-show", with which the "Academy" collaborated for some time, the artists create an explosive song "Infection". After broadcasting the video on television, the song becomes one of the most popular for several seasons.
New songs and albums of "Academy"
In 1996, Milyavskaya and Tsekalo begin large-scale work on recording a new album. The working title is "Eclectic". The collection includes such hits as "I was offended", "Fashion", "These poor flowers", as well as a new symbolic song "Wedding". She appeared as a result of the formalization of the relationship between Tsekalo and Milyavskaya. After 15 years of joint creativity, the couple got married. The wedding turned out to be magnificent and crowded. There was probably no publication or entertainment program that would not report on this event in show business. After all the celebrations, the "Academy" decides to create a whole concert program called "The Wedding of Lolita and Sasha."
A grandiose performance took place at the end of the winter of 1997, also in the concert hall "Russia". The audience was surprised by the fact that in addition to pop music, the program included numbers in styles unusual for a duet, such as semi-jazz or blues. In 1998, the cabaret duet "Academy" pleases fans with the next album. The "Fingerprints" disc is unlike the previous ones. It is deeper, the lyrics are not so funny. There is a change in the character of the music. Most of the songs on this album are written by the famous author Sergei Russkikh.
The collapse of the team Cabaret duet "Academy"
The last solo album of the cabaret duet "Academy" was released at the end of 1998. It was named after the hit "Tu-Tu-Tu" of the same name. After the release of the disc, the couple no longer plans to release joint hits. Everything happens because of constant disagreements, both in creativity and in married life. Even the birth of Eva's daughter did not save Tsekalo and Milyavskaya either from the collapse of the team or from a sudden divorce.
In 1999, the "academic" family officially parted, also putting an end to the existence of a joint project. Until the end of the year, they worked out all the planned concerts. And after the closing of all contracts, they stopped communicating at all for four long years. Moreover, the artists even avoided meetings at social events and went there in turn.
Life of artists after the project
Fans of the cabaret duet "Academy" are used to always seeing a couple of cheerful and humorous. But no one knows for sure what happened behind the scenes, and what kind of relationship Sasha and Lolita had outside of creativity. Milyavskaya, bright and charismatic, has always been in the spotlight. Tsekalo remained in the shadows. Perhaps this contrast was useful on the stage, but not in married life. The man looked very weak next to such a prominent lady as Lolita. Plus, the singer was offered support in her solo career by many producers. There was no place for Sasha. Perhaps one of the reasons for the divorce and the breakup of the group was jealousy. Lolita is credited with many novels on the side.
Alexander Tsekalo after the "Academy"
The artist gave up music and began a career as a theater artist. He is gladly accepted by the "Commonwealth of Taganka Actors". Sasha will make her debut in the play "New", directed by Tigran Keosayan. Tsekalo did not communicate with his daughter Eva for many years. Lolita took her to her mother in Kyiv.
Since 2000, Alexander has been actively involved in producing, acting in films and musicals. From 2006 to 2014 he worked as a presenter on Channel One. Even for some time he holds the post of deputy general director of the channel. Since 2008, he has been a co-owner and general producer of the Sreda company, as well as a co-owner of two restaurants.
Alexander Tsekalo married for the fourth time. Has three children from previous marriages (daughter Eva from Lolita Milyavskaya (Lolita does not confirm this information and remains silent on this issue), son Mikhail and daughter Alexandra from Vera Brezhneva's younger sister Victoria Galushka). She has been married to model and actress Darina Erwin since 2018.
Lolita Milyavskaya now
After the Academy Lolita Milyavskaya began to develop rapidly as a solo artist. Already in 2001, she pleases her fans with her first album "Flowers". Further, new discs will follow one after another: “The Show of a Divorced Woman” 2001, “Format” 2005, “Neformat”, “Orientation North” 2007, “Fetish” 2008, “Anatomy” 2014, “Ranevskaya” 2018.
Off stage, the singer is the official face of the SOKOLOV jewelry brand. She is also a designer of women's handbags and even released her own collection in 2017. According to some review publications, the singer is among the twenty wealthiest artists.
As for her personal life, Milyavskaya was married 5 times. The only daughter of the singer, Eva, still lives in Kyiv.
