“Time Choose Us”: the opening ceremony, colorful show and intro performances of participants of the Sozhski Karagod festival in Gomel

Over 1,500 artists took part in the opening ceremony of the 9th Sozhski Karagod International Dance Festival on 14 September. The participants and guests saw a spectacular theatrical performance dedicated to the theme of time and directed by Piotr Ivanovich. The dance festival that is a hallmark of the city over the Sozh River brought together 29 companies from 11 countries.

The famous dance festival brings together dozens of best groups from different countries every year. All in all, the festival has seen about 100 companies from over 20 states over its 21-year history. Gomel was chosen as the host city for a purpose: back in 1946 the Gomel dancing company led by Alexander Rybalchenko presented Belarus during the Days of the BSSR in Moscow. Today local traditions are well preserved and passed to the younger generation.

The opening ceremony of the 2018 Sozhski Karagod featuring more than 1,500 artists, a rave of color, choreographic performances, lighting special effects, fireworks and a fire show was the most spectacular in the history of the Gomel festival. The event embodied the idea proposed by director-producer Piotr Ivanovich, namely to show the inexorable transience of time (symbolized by a mechanical watch, an hourglass, a sundial and the incense clock) that has no power over art.

This year’s edition featured artistic groups from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Greece, Israel, Serbia, and China. The event culminated with a show that united all kinds of choreography. About 600 artists created a live logo of the holiday and more than 60 drummers made the audience applaud to the rhythm of the new festival hymn "Our Sozhsky Karagod".

The opening ceremony of the festival, a kaleidoscope of choreographic shows and intro performances of dancers in our photo essay from Gomel!