Vitebsk amateur artists are expanding the geography of their foreign concerts

September 1, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Amateur creative groups of the Vitebsk Culture Center are expanding the geography of their foreign performances, the center told a BELTA correspondent. Vitebsk amateur artists have already won the sympathy of audiences in Latvia, Germany, Estonia, and Poland, and are now heading to conquer Spanish and Italian audiences. The Honored Amateur Collective of Belarus, the folk dance ensemble "Lyavonikha," received invitations to two Spanish festivals at once - the XXVI International Folklore Festival in the province of Teruel, Aragon Autonomous Community, and the musical folk festival in the province of Zaragoza. Both festivals are widely known outside of Spain, and receiving an invitation to participate in them is an honor and very difficult. Festival organizers are very careful in selecting participants and always conduct preliminary viewing of video materials from the applicants' concerts. Vitebsk's "Lyavonikha" has become more than just a participant in the festivals: it will present Belarusian folk dances at the opening and closing concerts and give solo performances. The Honored Amateur Collective of Belarus, the choreographic ensemble "Zorka," is heading to Italy for the International Festival-Carnival of Children and Youth "Orpheus in Italy." By the way, in 2008, young Belarusian stars Andrey Kunets and Masha Novik returned victorious from this festival. Another group in demand for international projects is the historical reconstruction club "Vargentorn." Recently, its members returned from Poland from the early medieval culture festival "Wolin-Jomsborg," and are now heading to Ukraine for the III International Festival of Culture and History "Tales of Ancient Kiev." The Vitebsk Culture Center helps to unleash the creative potential of more than 1.8 thousand people, of whom 1.1 thousand are children. All of them are members of 48 clubs, circles, and amateur groups, 20 of which hold the title of "People's." -0-