XXVII Nationwide Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival: pre-event concert
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The XXVII Nationwide Song and XVII Dance Festival, which marks the 150th year of the Song Festival tradition, the main events take place in Riga from the 30th of June to the 9th of July 2023. Historically, the beginnings of the Song Festival in Latvia can be traced directly to Dobele, where in 1870 the first Kurzeme Singing Festival took place, ending in the courtyard of the Dobele Castle. The Song and Dance Festival tradition has played a significant role in creating Latvia’s national identity and maintaining the idea of an independent nation through difficult periods of history. This has also been recognised at an international level: in 2003, the Song and Dance Festival was included on the UNESCO List of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. To ensure that choir singers and dancers, musicians, decorative folk art creators, folklore groups and amateur theatre participants can take part in the Festival, there are five years of everyday, systematic work in the lead-up: rehearsals, constant preparation of repertoire, evaluations, competitions, exhibitions, seminars and concerts. And, every five years, they all flow from Latvia’s regions and small towns to Riga, becoming Latvia’s most powerful folk movement.
XXVII Nationwide Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival: pre-event concert Video stock
XXVII Nationwide Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival: pre-event concert Foto stock
