The 32nd International Festival of Modern Choreography (IFMC) will open at the Vitebsk Concert Hall on 18 November and will run through 23 November, BelTA learned from the Vitebsk Concert Hall.

The IFMC 2019 in Vitebsk will bring together artists from Belarus, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Russia, and Ukraine. The program of the festival will also include lectures, theoretical master classes, seminars, and roundtables. The Vitebsk Concert Hall will host exhibitions. The festival will open with the legendary Anna Karenina – a wordless performance by the Vakhtangov State Academic Theater of Moscow. Stage director Angelika Kholina will present her interpretation of the novel.

The IFMC 2019 program includes various performances. On 19-20 November, the Kiev Modern Ballet theater company will stage the world premiere of the ballet Viy. The company will perform in Vitebsk and in Minsk, on the stage of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater. On 21 November, Belgian choreographer Jan Martens will demonstrate his work Sweat Baby Sweat which is based on several movement languages, such as yoga, circus acrobatics and even rock 'n'roll dancing. Evgeny Panfilov Ballet from Russia's Perm will bring to Vitebsk two premieres: Labyrinth and Man of Air. The festival will wrap up on 23 November with Oskara by the Kukai Dantza dance company from Spain. Oskara was named the best performance at the international dance forum Tanzmesse 2018 in Dusseldorf.

The centerpiece of the IFMC 2019 will be the Belarusian contest of modern choreography. Shortlisted artists will perform on 22 November.

The program of the festival will also include lectures, master classes, seminars, and roundtables. The Vitebsk Concert Hall will host exhibitions.

The founders of the festival are the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee, the Belarusian Culture Ministry, the Vitebsk City Hall, and the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater. The organizer is the Vitebsk Culture Center.

BELARUSIAN NEWS