BREST, 3 January (BelTA) – The Vytinanka folk music group from Stolin will represent Belarus at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai, BelTA has learned from Vasily Zaruba, the head of the culture department with the Stolin District Executive Committee.
“It is one of the most outstanding creative teams of Brest Oblast which has a great experience. The group has represented Stolin District at multiple events, including the ones that involved the head of state. Vytinanka plays a lively and authentic music at a professional level. The group is expected to stay in Dubai for approximately two weeks at the start of the event. The program of the performance has been approved by the Culture Ministry. The regional budget will cover the expenditures,” said Vasily Zaruba.
Vytinanka will represent the country at the World Expo for the third time: in 2015, the group performed at the Belarusian pavilion in Milan and two years later, at the Expo 2017 in Astana [presently known as Nur-Sultan]. The group was founded in 1981. In 1992, it received the title of the People's Ensemble and in 2004, the title of the honored amateur group of the Republic of Belarus. The core team consists of 10-15 people, roughly a half of them being musicians with the rest forming the vocal group.
“It is a great honor and responsibility for us. I am very proud and will do our best to perform well. In May, we passed the hour-long audition to confirm our title of the honored group, and this is the program we will take to Dubai. The core of our music are Polesie's folk tunes, both authentic and modified to fit in with the classical, jazz and popular music genres. Our program also features folk singing and traditional dancing. We have some songs we penned ourselves”, said Petr Ostapchuk, the leader of the group.
Usually the group performs 3 to 4 concerts a day at world expos. “We would get very tired. But we gradually got used to it, and really loved performing. Huge crowds show up to watch our performances, they are interested in our ethnic costumes, music and songs. We play national instruments: the squeezebox, the violin, the trumpet, the flute, the cimbalom. We also tour other pavilions to promote our art”, said the leader of the ensemble.
The World Expo 2020 will take place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021. Belarus will use the central theme of the event “Connecting minds, creating the future” to advance the idea of multilateral progress and sustainable development. More than 190 countries will represent their national pavilions. Approximately 30 million people are expected to attend the event.
