On November 25, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Russian ballet legend Vladimir Vasiliev finds it easy to be a legend. He admitted this at a press conference held as part of the XXV International Festival of Modern Choreography (IFMC) in Vitebsk, a BELTA correspondent reports. "It is easy for me to be a legend because I don't imagine what it is. The main thing is that the legend does not acquire things it never had," added the People's Artist of the USSR, one of the greatest dancers of the 20th century, a laureate of many prestigious world awards, the winner of the "Best Dancer of the World" award, and jointly with Ekaterina Maximova, the recipient of the "Best Duet in the World" award, jokingly. Recalling the time of his formation, Vladimir Vasiliev noted that he never had idols; he liked many, but he did not strive to be like anyone. "I just wanted to be the best," he said. The artist immediately added: "Throughout my life, I have not danced as I imagined myself, I have not reached the horizon that I saw in my work." Vladimir Vasiliev is a Renaissance man. He does not confine himself to one thing. While continuing to stage performances around the world, he heads the Galina Ulanova Foundation, directs films, paints pictures, and writes poetry. Moreover, Vasiliev's painting has long become professional and is highly appreciated by art critics. Although the dancer and artist himself is quite modest in his assessments. Vladimir Vasiliev sincerely believes in good, and his national idea remains culture as the history of civilization. The XXV International Festival of Modern Choreography (IFMC) is one of the most prestigious festivals in the field of choreographic art in the CIS and Eastern Europe. Thousands of artists from more than 40 countries have performed on the Vitebsk stage over the 25-year history of the festival, which all these years has contributed to strengthening the image of Belarus as a modern state with highly artistic traditions and cultural values of the new century. The founders of the festival are the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, and the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of Belarus. The organizer is the Vitebsk Culture Centre. -0-

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