Director: Mrs. Alexandra Borisova The X International Folklore Festival "Keeping Traditions" is held with the aim of preserving and developing the multinational cultural heritage of Russia, popularizing public diplomacy through the exchange of cultural values and traditions of the people of the world. The festival promotes the strengthening of civil peace and interethnic harmony, and is aimed at developing and strengthening friendly cultural ties between creative groups of the Russian Federation and foreign countries. Objectives of the festival: Identification and promotion of the best folk performers Improving the professional skills of team leaders and teachers Development of friendship, mutual understanding and cultural cooperation between creative groups of the Russian Federation and foreign countries Raising the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism and developing mutual respect for the cultural traditions and customs of other ethnic groups Program: Until March 20, 2024 - Submission of applications March 25-26 - Publishing of videos of online participants March 25-30 - Online voting for the People's Choice Award and evaluation by Jury March 30 - Competition Day. Announcing the results during the Awarding Ceremony April 1-7 - Sending of diplomas and thankful letters Conditions of participation: Creative groups and soloists of any genre are allowed to participate in the festival, if they have submitted an application for participation and paid the registration fee. Age of participants from 5 years and older without restrictions. Applicants along with their application are to send a link to their video performance on YouTube or a video file in MP4 format. All videos participate in the online voting for the Audience Choice Award. The participant, whose video receives the most likes from followers, becomes the Winner of the online voting for the Audience Choice Award. The winner is awarded by a cup and an electronic diploma. The results of voting will be announced during Awarding Ceremony on March 30. Each participant performs 1 competition piece. The duration of the video is not more than 5 minutes. For theatrical performances and folklore rituals, the duration of the performance is strictly up to 8 minutes. Folk dances and rituals, songs and music based on the folk material of any region or any country, both in authentic performance and in modern processing are most welcomed. Nominations: Vocal: (academic, folk, pop, jazz) Choirs: (academic, folklore) Theatrical creativity: (art word, author's poem, musical performance, dramatic performance, puppet theatre) Instrumental creativity: (classical music, folk music, pop music, jazz music) Folklore: (song folklore, theatrical folklore performance) Fashion Theater: (national costume, pret-a-porte, evening collection, historical costume, modern suit, fantasy collections) Choreography: (folk, folk-stylized, modern, variety, children's story-game dance, contemporary, modern, dance theater, dance show) Age categories: I. 5-6 years old II. 7-9 years old III. 10-12 years old IV. 13-16 years old V. 17-44 years old VI. 45 and over VII. Mixed * Note: In the nominations "Fashion theatres" and "Theatrical creativity" nominees are not distributed by age categories. Criteria for evaluation: Complexity and technique of performance Artistic impression (creating an image, revealing content, emotionality, artistry) Presentation (costume, props, direction, musical accompaniment, selection of repertoire, stage design) Difficulty of performance and compliance of the repertoire with age Jury: Participants will be judged by a highly qualified jury consisting of cultural and art figures, famous artists, art-directors, teachers, representatives of creative, public and government organizations. Performances are evaluated on a 10-point system. The jury's decision is final and not subject to review. Awarding: The organization of the prize fund is the responsibility of the Festival Organizing Committee. Any organization or individual is allowed to make charitable contributions to the festival and establish its own prizes. The number of laureates and diploma holders is not limited, since there is a qualification system for evaluating competitors, and not comparing them with each other. In each nomination and age category, the titles of laureates of I, II, III degrees are awarded, as well as the title of diploma holders of I, II, III degrees. The laureates are awarded cups and diplomas. Diploma recipients are awarded diplomas. The Grand Prix is awarded to the Best Children's Performer and the Best Adult Performer with the most votes from the Jury members. The Grand Prix laureates are awarded a diploma, Certificate for participation in the super-final of the year "International Award "Folk Star" in the amount of 15,000 rubles. Winners of the Special Prizes "Best National Costume", "For the Preservation of Folk Traditions", "For the Development of Public Diplomacy", "Best Team Leader" are awarded diplomas. Participation fee: Soloist - 35 Euro Duets, trios, quarters - 45 Euro Ensemble (groups) more than 4 people - 70 Euro * Personal diplomas for each participant (upon request by e-mail) - 4 Euro Participation fee includes: Diploma without the mentioning the word "online" (electronically) Letter of gratitude to the teacher (electronically) Processing of applications Video posting Participation in online voting for the Audience Choice Award Evaluation by Jury Notes: The target fee is paid in full within 3 days after receiving the Confirmation and Invoice. If the target fee is paid by the organization, it is necessary to provide details of the legal entity. In case of refusal to participate in the festival 14 days before the start or no-show, the amount of target fee is not refunded. Any group willing to participate must submit an Application form.