April 9, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. The Vitebsk ensemble "Lyavonikha" will give a grand concert today at the Daugavpils Latvian Culture Centre (Latvia), the BELTA correspondent was informed at the Vitebsk Culture Centre. The concert programme of the Honoured Amateur Ensemble of the Republic of Belarus will introduce the audience to the best examples of folklore from Belarus, Poland, and Russia: it will feature folk songs, choreographic sketches, and vocal-instrumental compositions reflecting the national culture of Slavic countries. The Latvian folk song and dance group "Svatra" will also take part in the concert. The participants of the "Lyavonikha" dance ensemble met them during a joint master class held on March 24-25 in Vitebsk. This folk group has repeatedly participated in various international folklore festivals and concerts in Austria, Belarus, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Croatia. The ensemble is a laureate of the "Sudmalinas" International Dance Festival (Latvia) and a participant of the "Pulka eimu, pulka teku" and "Baltica" International Folklore Festivals. The performance of "Lyavonikha" in Daugavpils is a new stage in cultural exchange established within the framework of the project LLB-1-072 "Daugavpils and Vitebsk: Cultural Cooperation and Development", which involves the Daugavpils Latvian Culture Centre and the Vitebsk Culture Centre. The project envisages joint cultural events: celebration of traditional national holidays Kupala Night and Līgo; organisation of concerts; implementation of cultural exchange programmes; provision of Belarusian musical instruments, stage costumes, and accessories to the Honoured Amateur Ensemble of Belarus, the "Lyavonikha" dance ensemble of the Vitebsk Culture Centre; training of the ensemble participants 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 Culture Centre. All this will contribute to the main goal of the project: to provide an opportunity to hold various events, including international ones, at a higher technical level, aimed at popularising national cultures, customs, and traditions. The project implementation is planned for 2012-2013. The total budget is 296.8 thousand euros. The budget for the Belarusian part of the project is 109.9 thousand euros, including 98.9 thousand euros from the European Commission funds.