The international festival for people with disabilities «Ray» begins in Kazan

More than 500 people with disabilities arrived from almost 40 regions to participate in the «Ray» International Festival of Integral Creativity in Kazan. Today, a gala concert consisting of 140 performances will take place in the Railway Workers' Recreation Center. The program includes songs and dances, playing musical instruments, as well as reading poetry. On the eve of the festival, excursions were organized for the participants in the Kazan Kremlin, where the Mayor of the city met with them.

He interested about the performances of the young artists at the concert. One of the participants' mothers shared that they had come to Kazan for the third time from the Irkutsk region, and this year, her daughter, Angelina, would be reading a poem. A local poet had helped create the poem, which reflected the girl's experiences, from her health struggles to making candles for fighters of the special military operation. Angelina read an excerpt from the poem to the Mayor.

The main purpose of the event is to contribute to the formation of an active lifestyle for people with disabilities and provide them with the opportunity to self-actualize in creativity. «We have come here for the warmth and kindness of your beautiful and clean city, – said the guest of Kazan, addressing the Mayor. – I want share the opinion of everyone here – thank you for your support and organization of this event».

Today, 516 participants from nearly 40 regions of Russia, as well as Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Turkey, will perform on the stage of the Railway Workers' Recreation Center. Their creative performances will be judged by the head of the Department of Folk Art and Cultural Activities of the Gomel Regional Centre for Inclusive Culture Yevgeny Vasilyev, People's Artist of Russia Lima Kustabayeva, Honoured Artist of Tatarstan Maria Semyonova, and Honoured Worker of Culture of Tatarstan Svetlana Semyonova. The event will be hosted by soloist of the Kazan Philharmonic Ilnur Faskhutdinov.

Performances by the Tatarstan State Chamber Choir, under the leadership of People's Artist of Tatarstan Milyausha Tamindarova, as well as the Tango Wheelchair Dance and Sports Club and the previous winners of Ray festival, were prepared for the participants and spectators of the gala concert. After the competition, all participants in the gala concert will receive diplomas and awards.

For reference, during the application stage in 2023, the organizing committee received 736 applications from over 2,100 participants from 45 different regions of the country. After reviewing all the applications, 170 performances were selected, which included more than 500 individuals presenting vocal, choreographic, musical, instrumental works, and performing in the artistic word and original genres.