The organizers of the contemporary choreography festival in Vitebsk have announced a large-scale program

The organizers of the XXXI International Festival of Modern Choreography in Vitebsk have prepared a large-scale program. Details were announced at the BELTA press center by Marina Romanovskaya, Deputy General Director of the Vitebsk Culture Center for Special Projects.

"This is the 31st festival, but its main event – the competition – alternates: in odd years, a Belarusian competition is held, and in even years, an international one. For this reason, we decided to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the festival over two years. How to celebrate? Of course, with grand productions on the Vitebsk stage. We have never had such large-scale performances as this year. Our founders and partners are helping us with this. Thanks to them, we have a magnificent, luxurious, beautiful program," said Marina Romanovskaya.

The festival will open on November 20 at the National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre in Minsk with the performance "Rossini Overtures," presented by the Italian company Spellbound contemporary ballet. On November 22, residents of Gomel will be able to see it, and on the Vitebsk stage, the production will be shown on November 25 and will be the concluding performance of the festival program.

Marina Romanovskaya noted that this is a very expensive project, prepared by the Italian company for the 150th anniversary of Gioachino Rossini and is being showcased worldwide thanks to a grant won by the Italian Ministry of Culture. The manager of Spellbound contemporary ballet is already familiar with the Vitebsk festival and insisted that Belarus be included in the world tour.

"To see such a production is a great gift. The plot is interesting. The set design is a huge wardrobe with many drawers, each containing music that Rossini gave to the world. And on stage

the viewer will observe the composer's own room. All his phobias, delights - life. I am sure that the ballet will be liked. At least an hour and a half of music by Rossini," said Marina Romanovskaya.

The Moscow Provincial Theatre under the direction of Sergey Bezrukov will show the play "Caligula." "The very presence of a drama theater on the stage of a contemporary dance festival seems very new to me. The audience will be interested to see the festival version of the play without words based on Camus's story at the opening of IFMC in Vitebsk on November 21," the organizer is sure.

On the same day, the Swiss project Joshua monten company will present the dance performance "Little Joy" in the "Vitebsk" concert hall, thanks to which IFMC viewers will have the opportunity to get closer to the artists and feel involved in the action. The festival program for November 22 features the beautiful ballet "The Sleeping Beauty" by the "Kyiv Modern Ballet" theater, staged by a great friend of IFMC, Radu Poklitaru.

"Radu Poklitaru, together with the Swiss set designer, has masterfully crafted this ballet story with the effect of a children's fairy tale that you can't tear yourself away from. It intrigues the audience," shared Marina Romanovskaya.

The next day, the festival venue will move to the Yanka Kupala National Academic Drama Theatre. The first part will feature the dance performance "Air" staged by Olga Labovkina, the first Belarusian dancer and choreographer to win the first prize in the International Competition of Contemporary Choreography.

A regular participant of the forum, the Perm Theatre "Ballet of Evgeny Panfilov," will delight IFMC viewers for the 25th time this year. And again with productions that cannot be missed. On the second part of November 23, to the music of classical and contemporary composers, the company's dancers will present the ballet suite Tolstoy. The tribute performance "Star 62090" to the music of Viktor Tsoi, dedicated to the new creative generation, and the choreographic performance "Panopticon" can be seen in the program of the final day of the competition on November 24.

The XXXI International Festival of Contemporarychoreography will be held from November 20 to 25. Its venues will be Vitebsk, Gomel and Minsk. The main event of IFMC is the International Competition of Contemporary Choreography. The festival program includes creative laboratories of Russian, Polish and Belarusian dancers, practical and theoretical master classes, etc. The founders of the forum are the Ministry of Culture, the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee and the City Executive Committee, the National Academic Grand Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus. The organizer is the "Vitebsk" Cultural Center.

BELTA.