Director: Ludmila Pritulchik Saint Petersburg is the cultural capital of Russia and one of the most beautiful cities in the world! It is full of the atmosphere of liberty. During different periods the great writers, poets, architects were creating here, and today people come here looking for inspiration and new creative opportunities! The legendary Mariinski Theatre headed by Valery Gergiev presents wonderful widely known performances, and in the Vaganova Ballet Academy there is a classic Russian ballet school under supervision of Nikolai Tsiskaridze. Participation in the Festival-Contest «CREATIVE DISCOVERY» is a perfect reason to find yourself in the center of cultural life of Russia. Your will be impressed by the city and will desire to come back once again. Salute to Talents International Project was established in 2008. Salute to Talents is the system of prestigious international festivals-contests for children and youth combined with extensive excursion programme. Starting from 1 October 2019 you can enter the territory of St. Petersburg with an electronic visa. Filling in of the application on the website takes 10 minutes. The visa will be ready in 4 calendar days and is completely free of charge! Nominations: Instrumental art: Folk; Classical; Pop; Jazz Vocal art: Folk; Academic; Pop; Vocal and Instrumental Ensemble Choreography: Folk dance; Classical dance; Pop dance (including folk stylisation); Modern dance; Ballroom dancing Theatre: Art of declamation; Drama theatre; Musical; Mimics and Gesture theatre; Fashion performance; Puppet-show The original genre Fine art: Painting and graphics; Photo; Craftworks Group categories of participants: Soloists Small Groups (2-3 participants) Ensembles Choirs (vocal groups over 12 people) Orchestras (instrumental ensembles of more than 8 people) Age categories of members: Pre-School age group – up 7 years Junior age group – 7-10 years Middle age group – 11-13 years Senior age group – 14 -18 years Mixed junior age group – average age of 12 years or less Mixed senior age group – average age of over 13 years Adult age group – over 18 years Rules of participation: Participation in the festival-contest means participation in one nomination, one age category, and one group category. In the frames of one participation ensembles, choirs and orchestras present a program of two different items (acts), lasting not more than 4 minutes each. In the nominations “Theatre” and “Instrumental art” (ensembles and orchestras) it is allowed to present only one item lasting not more than 10 minutes. Soloists and small groups present a program of one item lasting not more than 5 minutes. In the nomination “Instrumental art” soloists and small groups may present two items lasting not more than 5 minutes together. If the participants exceed the time limit, jury is entitled to stop the performance and disqualify the participants. Rehearsals and performances are held strictly in accordance with the schedule provided by the art-manager of the festival-contest. Changes to the concert program are accepted by written notification of the art-manager of the festival not later than 21 day before the beginning of the festival tour. Participation in the “Fine art” nomination is held in the form of exhibition, which takes place during the festival-contest. In the frames of one participation it is possible to present 1 or 2 works (all works should be signed), the size of the works (the base area of craftwork) should be 50x70 sm or less. In case of using the sound recordings the participants should send them to the art-manager of the festival by e-mail and also bring it on a flash drive or CD (each track on separate CD). All the technical and musical equipment which is necessary (technical rider) should be indicated in the Request. Jury: The jury of the festival-contest is composed of well-known actors, teachers of art disciplines, directors, leaders of art groups, culture and art figures, public figures. The list of jury members is not announced before the day of the festival. At the end of the festival teachers have the opportunity to discuss with the jury members all the performances and exchange their opinions. All the performances are estimated by generally accepted criteria: technical skills (according to nomination), artistry, the complexity of the repertoire (programme), the creation of artistic character etc., according to the subjective jury’s opinions. Prizes and awards: All the participants receive souvenirs. In each nomination, age and group category the participants get the titles of I, II, III degree Laureates, as well as the title of Diplomant. Laureates are awarded with diplomas and cups. Diplomants are awarded with diplomas only. The jury also chooses the winner of Grand Prix from one of the I degree Laureates. Owner of the Grand Prix has an opportunity to participate in one of the festivals-contests of the Salute to Talents Project in the same nomination during the festival season without participation fee. Special diplomas which are issued if the jury decides that there are distinguished participants, are: “The best Choreographer”, “The best accompanist”, “The best choirmaster”, “The best Director”, “The best costume”, “The most artistic participant”, “The Youngest participant”, “Best fine art work”. Teachers, directors and accompanists will get official letters of gratefulness and certificates confirming that they attended a round table discussion. Program: Day 1 – 28.06 Recommended arrival time – from 8:00 to 12:00*** Meeting with the guide at the railway station (after 8.00 am). Meeting at the airport at extra cost. City tour: central squares and embankments, Vasilyevsky Island, Nevsky Prospekt, Kazan Cathedral, Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. Lunch during the tour. Check-in at the hotel at 2:00 pm Night at a hotel Day 2 – 29.06 Breakfast Festival day Transfer to the concert hall. Rehearsals Competitive performance Round table for jurors and teachers Workshop Gala concert Award ceremony, handing out of diplomas, Winners Cups and souvenirs to the participants as well as letters of thanks and round table participation certificates for teachers Disco Lunch during the festival day Transfer to the hotel Day 3 – 30.06 Breakfast Additional tours at extra cost: Hermitage Museum Russian Museum Parks of Pavlovsk Walking tour “Theatres of Saint Petersburg” Walking tour “Classical Saint Petersburg” Kronstadt Other additional tour (to be discussed individually) Day 4 – 01.07 Breakfast. Check-out before 12:00. Tour to Petergof (the entrance tickets not included) Transfer to the railway station***. Free time before departure of the train. Participation fee: 185 Euro per person Okhtinskaya hotel 3* – rooms for 2-3 persons, buffet breakfast M19 Station 3* – rooms for 2-3 persons, buffet breakfast 15 people + 1 for free Organisation fee: 15 EUR for one ensemble participant (no more than 225 EUR for an ensemble) 25 EUR for a soloist Participation fee includes: 3 nights at the chosen hotel 3 breakfasts and 2 lunches City Tour of Saint-Petersburg Tour to Petergof Transfer according to the programme Participation fee does not include: Any museum’s admissions and ticketing Additional days at the hotel Additional lunch (depending on the hotel) Transfer to the airport Any other individual transfer * – Not included into the participation fee *** – Please note that on the first day the city tour is joined with the transfer to the hotel, and on the 4th day tour to Petergof is joined with transfer to the railway station. Transfer from/to the airport will be calculated individually. Any group willing to participate must submit an Application form. Approved groups pay in advance a 10% guarantee fee, which is to be deducted at the final payment. As a next step - payment of an advance reservation installment to the organizational committee of the festival.