Palace of Independence hosts New Year's Eve Ball

The Belarus New Year's Eve Ball for the youth took place in the Palace of Independence on 29 December.

Some 314 young people from different regions of Belarus were invited to the event. They included university students, students of institutions of general secondary, vocational and secondary special education. Among them were scholarship holders of the Special Presidential Fund for Social Support of Gifted Students, winners, participants and prize-winners of various competitions, Olympiads and conferences.

Among the attendees were Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Culture Minister Anatoly Markevich and Education Minister Igor Karpenko, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko.

The first part of the ball, the classical one, opened with a polonaise of debutants. These were 72 couples formed from gifted youth ages 16-23 who were auditioned and chosen to study ballroom etiquette and ballroom dance rehearsals for two months.

The classical part of the ball was followed by a free program which included rumba, tango, samba, pasodoble, and a final quadrille.