17 April, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. The I International Inter-University Festival of Contemporary Dance "Take a Step Forward!" opens today in Vitebsk, the Vitebsk Regional Committee of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union informed a correspondent. The two-day event will be held at the Vitebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine (VSAVM). It will be attended by over a hundred students from 9 higher education institutions of Belarus and Russia, mainly of agricultural profile. Among them are the Saint Petersburg State Academy of Veterinary Medicine, Velikolukskaya and Smolensk State Agricultural Academies (Russian Federation), VSAVM, Gorki Agricultural Academy, Vitebsk and Polotsk State Universities, Belarusian State Agrarian Technical University, and Vitebsk State Technological University. On the first day of the festival, the youth will take part in an extensive excursion program to memorable places and museums of Vitebsk, and guests will be able to learn about the life of the veterinary academy. In the evening, at the same university, participants will gather for a draw, which will be held in an unusual format: contestants will determine their performance numbers with the help of people in white coats. The ceremony will conclude with a general rehearsal – a themed disco "Meet-and-Greet Evening". The morning of April 18 will begin with an Olympiad in veterinary medicine among students of agricultural vocational schools in Belarus and a friendly football match between representatives of universities from Russia and Belarus. The start of the dance extravaganza will be given in the evening. Participants will present their home assignment – a dance "Street Magic" in the style of Street Dance or Jazz-Modern, as well as perform in freestyle – to the judgment of a competent jury and numerous spectators. At the participants' choice, it will be hip-hop, rock and roll, folk dance in a modern arrangement, or any other dance trend. Then (while the jury will be determining the winners), everyone will be able to take part in master classes conducted by the Irina Bukhovetskaya People's Studio of Contemporary Dance, the Diana Yurchenko Theatre-Studio of Modern Choreography, the "Sensation" Show Ballet, the "Phoenix" Break Dance Team, and other creative groups. The International Inter-University Festival "Take a Step Forward!" is dedicated to World Dance Day. The event is organized by the primary organization of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union of the Vitebsk Academy of Veterinary Medicine in honor of the French ballet master Jean-Georges Noverre. -0-

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