The Virnist (Faithfulness) National Dance Group of the Prosvita People’s House, headed by Anatolii Foliush for over 30 years, participated in the prestigious 25th Menelaidia International Festival, which took place from June 4 to 16 in Greece.
The main location of this festival was the city of Karditsa, located in the central part of Greece. Every day, from June 4 to 9, the locals and the guests of the city could enjoy the folk choreographic art of different countries. The festival featured bands from Bolivia, Paraguay, Ukraine and 18 ensembles of Greece. Serhii Shutenko, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Greece, attended one of the concerts by the Virnist National Dance Group. He spoke to the director and the participants of the ensemble and was pleasantly surprised that the students of higher technical institute are such virtuosos in choreographic art. The Ambassador expressed his gratitude for popularizing the Ukrainian folk choreographic art far beyond Ukraine and noted that students’ support is extremely important for the nation formation.
From June 10 to 12, the festival participants moved to Corfu Island. There were held two concerts, amazing excursions to the park of Princess Sisi and the temple with the relics of St. Lazarus
The rest of the festival days, the Virnist National Dance Group together with other participants spent on Lesbos Island. For two more days, a number of dancing concerts took place in a small fishing village Plomari, where the monastery of St. John is situated. Colorful folk costumes, talented performances, vivid Ukrainian dances by the Virnist National Dance Group left a lasting impression on the audience.
