VITEBSK, 28 December (BelTA) - The Lyavonikha folk dance company, established at the Vitebsk Concert Hall, celebrated its 70th anniversary with a vibrant performance on its home stage on 27 December, BelTA learned from the Vitebsk Culture Center.
The company’s mission is to preserve the beauty of folk dance and pass it on to new, younger generations. Lyavonikha has become a calling card of Vitebsk Oblast. The dancers have performed in numerous cities across Belarus and various countries, and have repeatedly taken part in diverse creative competitions, captivating strict juries and audiences alike.
“Lyavonikha is one of the oldest dance companies not only in Vitebsk but also in Belarus. It's important to recall that after the war, our city was almost completely destroyed, yet back then, they made a decision to set up such a collective at the city community center. It has never been professional, but it endures thanks to the enthusiasts. Its members come from completely different professions - teachers, healthcare workers. We even have emergency services personnel, and young people who dance in their free time away from their main jobs. Most importantly, throughout all 70 years, no matter the trends in the dance genre, Lyavonikha has preserved the folk style. They teach our youth not only how to dance but also how to understand folk dance, our rites, and traditions. Perhaps this is precisely the kind of concrete action that the head of state spoke about at the 7th Belarusian People's Congress: the time for concrete deeds has come. When young people gather around our genuine, authentic, genetic heritage, it means that heritage will endure,” Gleb Lapitsky, Director General of the Vitebsk Cultural Center, Director of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, told BelTA.
Once again, the company has proven that folk dance is a cultural and historical phenomenon, ageless and boundless. The audiences saw a magnificent spectacle and showered their favorite artists with ovations and flowers.
Photos by Aleksandr Khitrov/BelTA
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