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International folk festival in Chandigarh
by Sunil Sharma

         Chandigarh: The international folk festival in Chandigarh has attracted artistes from Russia and France this year. According to organisers, the festival is a pioneering effort for Punjab and a great way to give fillip to cultural exchange. "The basic idea is that we are getting these troupes from France and Russia. This is just exposing our people to these Russian ball room dances and French opera. Basically of course to entertain and enthrall the citizens here," said Roshan Sunkaria, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh . The performances from Russia included the traditional Russian Quadrile dance form. Quadrile used to be known as the dance of Moscow suburbs. Another Russian folk performance was the Kaleidoscope. The French artistes performed traditional dances like the famous ensemble of Marie Laure Vincent. The Russian folk performances shown here were part of modern folk dace forms. "I think it's very important as its first time international festival. I hope next time we invite different country maybe Italy and Poland ," said Natalia Ryabova, Director, Esakov Valeriy, a Russian dance troop. The concept of exposing Indians to International folk forms was welcomed by the people. The perfectly synchronized dance performances left the audience spellbound. "I think there must be more of such exchanges between the two countries because it always helps to know the culture of each other. It develops greater understanding between the people and building up confidence between the two states," said Maninder Singh, member of the audience. As for Indian folk dances, artists will present naati, luddie, ghoomer, sammi, bhangra. The festivals travels to Kapurthala and Jalandhar. The initiative for the international folk festival was taken by the Municipal Corporation and the Punjab Arts Council.
-Mar 3, 2009

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