Vitebsk to become the centre of Latvian culture again on November 12
05/11/20120 views
On November 5, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Vitebsk will once again become the centre of Latvian culture on November 12, the state institution "Vitebsk Culture Centre" informed BELTA.
A new stage of cultural exchange will be implemented during the traditional November Days of Latvia in Vitebsk under the project LLB-1-072 "Daugavpils and Vitebsk: Cultural Cooperation and Development" of the Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus Cross-border Cooperation Programme. The project organisers 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 Vitebsk Culture Centre to discuss current trends in the cultural sphere and explore possible solutions to existing problems. 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 Arnolds Grīnbergs) titled "On the Banks of the Daugava-Dvina". The ensemble participates in all events of the city of Daugavpils, republican song and dance festivals in Latvia, and is a laureate of international brass band festivals in Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland. The ensemble'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 singer Dainis Skutelis, laureate of the V. Mulyavin Prize at the XX International Festival of Pop Song Performers "Vitebsk-2011", soloist of the Latvian National Opera Ilona Bagale, and the Honoured 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 the national cultures of Latvia and Belarus, which form the core of the concert programme, will leave no one indifferent," the Vitebsk Culture Centre is confident.
The project "Daugavpils and Vitebsk: Cultural Cooperation and Development" envisages holding 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; organisation of concerts; implementation of cultural exchange programmes; provision of the Belarusian Honoured Amateur Collective "Lyavonikha" Dance Ensemble of the "Vitebsk" Cultural Centre 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 "Soviet Army" Cultural and Recreational Complex, a branch of the "Vitebsk" Cultural Centre. All this will contribute to the main goal of the project: to provide 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 EUR 296.8 thousand. The budget for the Belarusian part of the project is EUR 109.9 thousand, including EUR 98.9 thousand from the European Commission funds.
This year, the Vitebsk "Lyavonikha" Dance Ensemble performed a large concert programme at the Latvian Cultural Centre in Daugavpils, and Kupalye was celebrated in Vitebsk with the participation of Latvian groups.
The overall strategic objective of the cross-border cooperation programme "Latvia - Lithuania - Belarus", implemented within the framework of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, is to improve the territorial cohesion of the Latvian, Lithuanian and Belarusian border regions, ensure a high level of environmental protection, promote economic and social well-being, and foster intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. -0-
BELTA