Kazan hosts jubilee concerts by the State Songs and Dance Ensemble of Tatarstan

On December 12 and 13, at 18.00 on the stage of the M. Jalil Opera and Ballet Theater, anniversary concerts of the State Song and Dance Ensemble of the Republic of Tatarstan will take place, with which the renowned collective will celebrate its 80th anniversary.

The State Order of Friendship of Peoples Song and Dance Ensemble of the Republic of Tatarstan was founded in 1937. The formation of the collective took place in the atmosphere of the formation of the Tatar professional culture of the 30-40s of the XX century, in close contact with outstanding folklorists, composers, choreographers, artists, writers, performers (Zuleikha Akhmetova, Alexander Klyucharev, Faizi Gaskarov, Azgar Abdullin, Alfiya Avzalova, Maksuda Shamsutdinova and many others).

The team is a laureate of numerous festivals and competitions, the owner of the State Prize of the Republic of Tatarstan. G. Tukay. The creative collective of GAPiT RT became a laureate of the All-Union and All-Russian competitions, the international Carthaginian folklore festival in Tunisia, the 43rd International Festival in France, and also the winner of competitions and reviews of professional art groups.

The ensemble tours extensively not only in Tatarstan and Russia, but also abroad, that is why it is known all over the world. From trips in the collective it is customary to bring "creative baggage" - dances and songs of different nations of the world. Today in the repertoire there are national numbers of more than 100 nationalities.

As the director of the ensemble, Honored Worker of Culture of Tatarstan Yuri Zhukov noted at the official press conference timed to the anniversary of the Tatarstan Republic of Tatarstan, today one of the oldest collectives of the republic "is in full combat readiness". "Despite the difficult economic conditions, when the words about saving and optimizing are heard more often, we managed to completely preserve the staff of the ensemble, which continues to be the custodian of national traditions, presenting the musical, dance culture and applied art of the Tatar people at the highest professional level" - he said.

In preparation for the jubilee concert, the ensemble members studied archival documents, recalled the repertoire of many years ago. As the art director of the collective, People's Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan Airat Khametov, told in the first section of the festive show, the audience will be told about the history of the ensemble since 1937. This will be a kind of digression into the past with memories and important numbers of those years. It will  be  opened by  chorus "Sibele chachak" to the music of Mansur Muzafarov. In the second section will be presented all the most interesting, bright, original,  show the liked by the audience items. And at the end of the concert everyone expects a pleasant surprise, which the leaders of the ensemble have not yet revealed, wanting to preserve the intrigue.

To date, the ensemble employs about 120 people - a dance, choral and orchestral groups, as well as employees of the sewing workshop, which is called the heart of the team, and administrative staff. According to the chief choirmaster of the ensemble Niyaz Garayev, through the creative work of the collective it is possible to trace the whole cultural, musical, choreographic life of the republic for the last decades. It's hard to get into the ensemble, because only the best artists work here, but it's even harder to leave. Favorite thing is so addictive that people remain in the ensemble for almost the entire life. For example, on the eve of the jubilee of the collective, the main conductor Rashid Mustafin will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his work, raising the troupe's orchestra from the accordion quartet. Now the musicians perform works of classical Russian and Tatar composers and collaborate with modern Tatar authors, the band has its own composer Radik Salimov.

Over the decades, a lot of dynasties have developed in the collective,  after  parents come  their children, not only creative unions, but also strong family couples - today they are more than twenty.

Dear journalists!

We invite you to cover the event tomorrow, December 12 at 6 pm.

Pass to the event through the theater's service entrance.

Media Accreditation - Regina Shigabetdinova, +7 9372 981220, shigab-regina09@yandex.ru