Vitebsk will once again become the center of Latvian culture on November 12

November 5, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Vitebsk will again become the center of Latvian culture on November 12, the state institution "Center of Culture "Vitebsk" informed BELTA. A new stage of cultural exchange will be implemented within the framework of the traditional November Days of Latvia in Vitebsk under the project LLB-1-072 "Daugavpils and Vitebsk: Cultural Cooperation and Development" of the Cross-border Cooperation Programme "Latvia - Lithuania - Belarus". The project organizers have planned a series of events. Thus, on November 12 at 13:00, a meeting of cultural professionals from Latvia and Belarus will be held at the Center of Culture "Vitebsk", where modern trends in the development of the cultural sphere will be discussed, and possible solutions to existing problems will be considered. Specialists from both countries will also share their accumulated experience and answer questions from their colleagues. Latvians like to call themselves a singing nation, so it is quite natural that the next November event is musical in nature. On November 12 at 18:00, the concert hall "Vitebsk" will host a concert by the professional brass band "Daugava" (artistic director and conductor Arvīds Grīnbergs) titled "On the Banks of the Daugava-Dvina". The ensemble is a participant in all events of the city of Daugavpils, republican song and dance festivals in Latvia, and a laureate of international brass band festivals in Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland. The orchestra's repertoire includes classical, folk, and jazz music, much of which consists of popular musical rhythms from world-famous musicals and works by Latvian composers. The festive concert will also feature popular performer, laureate of the V. Mulyavin Prize of the XX International Festival of Pop Song Performers "Vitebsk-2011" Dainis Skutelis, soloist of the Latvian National Opera Ilona Bagale, and the Honored Amateur Ensemble of the Republic of Belarus, the dance ensemble "Lyavonikha", which will present its best performances to the audience, including Belarusian folk dances. "The most beautiful and refined examples of Latvian and Belarusian national culture, which form the core of the concert program, will leave no one indifferent," the Center of Culture "Vitebsk" is confident. The project "Daugavpils and Vitebsk: Cultural Cooperation and Development" provides for joint cultural events: celebration of the traditional national holidays of Ivan Kupala and Ligo with the participation of Belarusian and Latvian creative groups using historical and folklore themes aimed at preserving and popularizing folklore traditions and customs in the border regions; organization of concerts; implementation of cultural exchange programs; provision of the Honored Amateur Ensemble of Belarus, the dance ensemble "Lyavonikha" of the Center of Culture "Vitebsk", with Belarusian musical instruments, stage costumes and accessories, training of the ensemble members in new dance productions by a choreographer from Latvia; reconstruction of the summer stage of the complex of cultural and recreational activities named after the Red Army - a branch of the Center of Culture "Vitebsk". All this will contribute to the implementation of the main goal of the project: to create an opportunity to hold various events, including international ones, aimed at popularizing national cultures, customs and traditions at a higher technical level. The project implementation is planned for 2012-2013. The total budget is 296.8 thousand euros. The budget of the Belarusian part of the project is 109.9 thousand euros, including 98.9 thousand euros from the European Commission. This year, the Vitebsk dance ensemble "Lyavonikha" performed with a large concert program at the Center of Latvian Culture in Daugavpils, and the celebration of Kupala took place in Vitebsk with the participation of Latvian groups. The overall strategic goal of the cross-border cooperation program "Latvia - Lithuania - Belarus", implemented within the framework of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument, is to improve the territorial cohesion of the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Belarusian border regions, ensure a high level of environmental protection, ensure economic and social well-being, and promote intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. -0-