Maslenitsa
Sun 7 Feb 13:00 - Sun 7 Feb 18:00
Maslenitsa Russian Festival
Following last year’s immensely successful inaugural event, the 2010 Maslenitsa Festival promises to be a vibrant and entertaining celebration of contemporary Russia and its rich cultural heritage. Ensemble Productions will hold the second festival at Potters Fields Park drawing on the strengths of the previous event, whilst introducing new exciting Russian acts to the people of London.
In this free family-friendly festival Ensemble Productions aim to present a spectacular line-up of Russian culture for both Russians living in London and British people interested in Russian culture, and music and dance generally.
‘Maslenitsa’ is a Russian folk celebration that takes place just before Lent – rather like a week-long version of Britain’s Shrove Tuesday.
The main stage will welcome a variety of folk, pop and rock performers specially invited from Russia as well as leading Russian groups based in the UK.
The programme includes folk and romance songs from the acclaimed ethno-folk group Pelageya; the Terem quartet, which brings together disparate musical trends with traditional musical instruments – including the domra, balalaika and accordion; the group After 11 from the folksong theatre ‘Russian Song’, founded by the famous folk diva Nadezhda Babkina, focusing on polyphonic (multi-voice) singing; Dmitry Danilenko, the recent winner of a ‘grand-prix’ at the international ‘Slavyansky Bazar’ festival of arts (2009); the instrumental folk group White Day celebrated throughout Russia for its balalaika and rock performances; the talented young singer Alexa Pol who has taken part in many festivals and was a winner in last year’s Russian song contest in London; and the charismatic bluesmen from St Petersburg, Billy’s Band. There will also be performances by a folk dance group from the Tatarstan Republic (which represents culturally diverse regions of the Russian Federation) and the Russian Orthodox Church Choir of London.
The children’s programme on the Scoop stage will feature puppet theatre pieces, a presentation of Maslenitsa traditions with audience interaction, performances of traditional songs by children’s groups, competitions and games.
In keeping with tradition, there will be tasty Maslenitsa specialty foods on sale – including the quintessentially Russian ‘blini’ (pancakes).
Hiring the park
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