Culture and Sports: Serbian folk dance ensemble Kolo performs in Vienna

30/01/2008

Serbian folk ensemble Kolo performed at the Vienna Stadthalle. Also in cultural news this week: the Night of Museums event was held in Croatia, and a 5,000-year-old altar was unearthed in Greece.

[Kolo.org]

The Serbian folk dance ensemble Kolo thrilled the audience at the Stadthalle in Vienna on Sunday (January 27th). The event was organised by the Serbian Diaspora in Austria with the assistant of Vienna Mayor Michael Haupl and Serbia's Ministry of Culture.

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A group of archaeologists discovered the ruins of a 5,000-year-old altar during excavations of an old Zeus sanctuary in the Greek mountain of Lykaion. The discovery is 1,000 years older than previous artefacts related to the worship of Zeus.

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World-renowned Albanian violinist Tedi Papavrami held a concert on Thursday (January 24th) in the Opera and Ballet Theatre in Tirana. Accompanied by the orchestra of the Albanian National Radio and Television, conducted by composer Ermir Krantja, Papavrami performed the same piece by Paganini that he played the last time he performed in Tirana, when he was 11-years-old.

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Around 100,000 visitors were registered in 60 Croatian museums and galleries during the Night of Museums annual event, which was held in about 20 towns in the country on Friday (January 25th). The organisers said this was a record in the event's three-year history.

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Romania will be the guest of honour at this year's Venice Carnival from Saturday (January 26th) to February 5th, the first country to have this privilege. Theatre and folkloric groups, Roma performers and handcraft artists will show off Romanian traditions and culture.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina sculptor Branko Ivankovic said that he is building the world's largest wooden crucifix. The crucifix will be made of walnut and will be 2.2m high and 3m wide. Ivankovic plans to complete it by the end of the year and apply for the Guinness World Records.

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The Ninth Guitar Art festival will be held in Belgrade from February 4th to the 10th. The event will bring together performers and bands from the region, as well as from the United States, the Netherlands, Russia, Poland and Israel.

Various sources – 23/01/08-30/01/08)