"We need an artist with a natural stage presence." The Slavianski Bazaar qualifying round is taking place in Vitebsk.
They will each perform two compositions. Participants in the pop song performers' contest will present a pop song by a composer from a Slavic country in one of the Slavic languages, and a popular song in a foreign language (a global hit). Participants in the children's music contest will perform a pop song by a composer from a Slavic country in one of the Slavic languages, and a pop song with a children's/youth theme.
"Today, Vitebsk takes over the baton of hosting regional selections. It is always very difficult to evaluate children. The children are already judged as adult contestants, as complete artists: how they cope with their excitement, how they fit into the repertoire, how they can captivate both the audience and the multimillion-strong television audience, and how they can win the hearts of the jury. We pay attention to the choice of backing tracks, the creation of high-quality backing tracks, and how the child generally immerses themselves in the image, how they understand what they are singing about," said Svetlana Avdeeva, a jury member and head of the international cooperation department of the "Vitebsk" Culture Center, part of the Directorate of the International Arts Festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk."
"Only two will advance to the final competition, which will take place in the summer. There are many aspiring artists who show a sufficiently high level of professionalism. For me personally, the competition is about identifying these talents. We are looking for artists who are memorable. On the one hand, they must possess all performance qualities – voice, intonation, expressiveness, and so on. But one of the criteria is vocal recognition, artistic and performance individuality. We need an artist who has an inner sense of the stage, an inner desire to communicate with the audience, to convey something personal and unique to the listener," noted Alexander Suvorov, chairman of the jury and chairman of the conducting cycle commission at the I.I. Sollertinsky Vitebsk State Music College. Ten-year-old Eva Markacheva from Vitebsk is participating in the competition for the first time. "I've been studying vocals for two and a half years. I came with two songs. The first is in Belarusian, and the second is in Japanese, which says: don't close yourself off, reach out, because there is light in each of us. I specifically learned Japanese to perform this song at 'Slavianski Bazaar'," the girl said about her preparation for the competition.
Vlada Modyalo from Dokshits came to the competition to try her luck for the second time. "The first time, I didn't make it to the second round. I prepared for this one. I've been doing vocals for 9 years. Previously, I participated in music competitions. For example, in Novopolotsk's 'Sounds of Dreams,' where I was a laureate of the first and second degrees," Vlada said. Dmitry Prikhodko from Glubokoye was very nervous before his performance. "I've been involved in music since fourth grade. I constantly participate in competitions in my hometown; in one of them, 'Merry Voices,' I won. On the advice of my teachers, I decided to try my hand at 'Slavianski Bazaar.' I will perform the songs 'Islands of Happiness' by the ensemble 'Pesnyary' and 'Music of My Soul.' I chose the repertoire with my teacher. This is my first serious competitive selection. I'm nervous, but I still dream of winning," Dmitry said.
Young Nika Tatarchuk from the regional center also debuted in the qualifying round. "I study at Music School No. 4 in Vitebsk. I will sing 'Kvetki Siniya' and 'Girl from Planet Earth.' My outfit for the performance was chosen by Yulia Kutepova, the head of the children's exemplary fashion theater 'Costumer' at the 'Vitebsk' Culture Center," Nika specified.
On December 10, Minsk will take over the baton of the qualifying rounds. Based on the results of the qualifying rounds, up to five participants from each region and Minsk will be selected to participate in the second stage of the qualifying rounds.