The Vitebsk Oblast Media Center revealed what IFMC 2023 will delight and surprise modern dance lovers with
– The festival is anticipated by both spectators and choreographers, and dancers. This is evident from the numerous applications received from collectives and the buzz at the ticket offices, – noted Gleb Lapitsky, General Director of the Vitebsk Culture Center.
Gleb Lapitsky also emphasized that IFMC draws attention to Vitebsk as a center for the development of elite art and proves that world-class projects can be implemented in our city.
What will the current, thirty-fourth festival be like? What will delight and surprise modern dance lovers? This was revealed by the creator of the project and the soul of IFMC – Marina Romanovskaya, Deputy General Director for Special Projects of the Vitebsk Culture Center.
This year, a national competition will be held. It is gratifying that in recent years the diaspora of dancers in Belarus has significantly grown, and they are making themselves known more and more brightly.
– More than 40 works were submitted for preliminary selection, and in the end, 25 remained, which showed a decent level. Some works were pleasantly surprising, for example, a production in the style of the theater of the absurd, – said Marina Romanovskaya.
The guest program will feature the MOSCOW Ballet, which will present the result of a modern dance laboratory and the performance "All Roads Lead North"; the Evgeny Panfilov Ballet Theater with two productions: "The Prince and the Pauper" and "Romeo and Juliet"; the CANNON DANCE Contemporary Dance Theater from St. Petersburg with the ballets "The Unutterable Cube" and "Heartlessness"; and the Belarusian State Youth Theater with the performance "Contact. A Little Story About What's Inside... And Everything". By the way, the latter was staged by Vitebsk choreographer Diana Yurchenko.
The jury, headed this year by the soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, People's Artist of Belarus Konstantin Kuznetsov, includes representatives from North Macedonia, Croatia, and Italy.
Traditionally, the festival program includes master classes, lectures on contemporary art, presentations, press conferences, open discussions, as well as exhibitions: paintings by Alexander Solovyov and photos by Igor Gusakov, who has been photographing the festival for 30 years. Interestingly, the photographs can be seen as you approach the "Vitebsk" concert hall, by sitting on the installed smart benches with built-in panels.
The XXXIV International Festival of Modern Choreography will be held from November 22 to 26, 2023. The main event of IFMC will be the republican competition, which has 200 participants. The contestants, members of the international jury, and the expert council include representatives from ten countries.