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BY IRINA BYKOVA
The closeness of relations between Cyprus and Russia has been developed beyond business and economic cooperation and is extensively complemented by a palette of cultural events held with the participation of leading Russian artists and emerging talents.
During the past five years, the Cyprus – Russia Gala has been marked as one of the most significant cultural events, and has its unique place on the annual calendar of events with an exclusive live entertainment programme with diverse performance and fine dining.
The 5th Gala, held a week ago on the vast grounds of the University of Cyprus under the auspices of First Lady Elsie Christofias, brought together over 700 guests and the most promising young and established artists, such as young stars from the Vladimir Spivakov International Foundation partnered with the Cyprus Young String Soloists, who performed a piece written specially by Cypriot-Russian-trained composer Antonis Moustakis. The programme also included the unique A'Capella ExpreSSS with their varied repertoire of Russian folk and jazz; the legendary Russian rock band Lubeh, and the most successful Cyprus born singer, Michalis Hadjiyiannis with his band, all of whom helped contribute all the proceeds from the event to the Radiomarathon Foundation for Children with Special Needs.
There was also a remarkable performance of the talented ‘Melodites’ band highlighting the history of Cyprus – Russia Gala, when children with special needs appeared on stage to offer their memorable contribution to the event.
The 5th Anniversary Cyprus – Russia Gala was organised by London based Ensemble Productions, a company that specialises in cultural events , including the annual Russian Winter Festival in Trafalgar Square, the Operalia Festival in Central Asia, Days of Hong Kong in Russia, the Russian New Year Festival in Verbier, Switzerland, and the Arab-Russian Gala in Dubai, among others.
“About 6 years ago when I visited Cyprus for the first time, I was struck by the number of Russian people whom I met here. Being engaged in organising cultural events and festivals in the UK, Russia and other countries I imagined creating something similar in Cyprus that could have expressed fully the depth of the relationship between two countries and closeness of our cultures,” Olga Balakleets, Ensemble Productions Director said.
“I came to the idea to create a kind of cultural platform that will bring together leading artists of both countries. The Cyprus – Russa Gala became a public and cultural diplomacy event and from the beginning in 2007 received great support and grew to be highly recognized,” she added.
“It has been a long journey, with many wonderful artists, lots of supporters and a growing collaboration with the Radiomarathon that we are delighted to be supporting. What can be a more worthy cause than supporting children with special needs? We hope to continue this important tradition for many years to come.”
The event was hosted by Interros International Investments Ltd., a leading private investment company actively involved in charity programs such as ‘Voices of Orthodox Russia’, launched by the International Foundation for the Orthodox Christian Nations. It also supports educational and cultural programmes, including long-term scholarship and grant programmes for talented students and young teachers and grants to museums.
