(KZN.RU, March 1, by Taisiya Basharkina) A new children's center "Ekiyat" opened its doors today to young artists, actors, musicians, dancers and poets.
President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov welcomed the children, parents and guests. We must create conditions for the development of children, and such conditions are provided by the new theater, said Minnikhanov.
A true holiday awaited children in the puppet theater: they were met by life-sized puppets - the heroes of Tatar and Russian fairy tales; a show was presented in the foyer, and two performances in two languages - Pinocchio and Kamyr Batyr - were given on the new stage.
In the fairy-tale castle - that's what the new Ekiyat theater looks like - some 9,000 square meters are designated for the children's cultural center with multifunctional rooms, workshops, studios and laboratories, with its own entrance and cloakroom. It will accommodate about 2.5 thousand children. Until now, Kazan has not had a children's center like this. The center will house children's art school No.1 and Vakhitovsky District Children's Art School ("Small Arts Academy”) as well as several dance groups. The puppet theater has two auditoriums - large with 250 seats and small with 100 seats – children’s cafes, play areas and a shopping gallery selling goods for children.
The total area is 21.7 thousand sq. meters. The construction of the center cost 1 billion 300 million rubles, the funds having been allocated from the budget of the republic.