Fairy-tale adventures: just a beginning
In December 24 the Ukraina National Palace of Arts will host The New-Year Kaleidoscope, a charitable production for children to which residents of Kyiv’s orphanages will be invited. These spectators will be the first to see a new fairy tale which is traditionally produced on this country’s main stage during the winter vacations.
The palace plaza will see exhibitions of ice statues, inflatable figures, and various amusements. Before the play begins, children will be greeted in the vestibule by Grandfather Frost and the Snow-Girl, fairy-tale characters on stilts, merry clowns, and circus actors. There will be a folk instruments orchestra playing and all kinds of children’s fun. The little guests, who will recite a poem, sing or dance, will receive a prize from Grandfather Frost himself.
At the same time, the palace’s first floor will see a program of children’s competitions and the traditional lighting of the New Year Tree. Boys and girls will be also invited to take part in a master class and competitions on the second floor.
The main fairy-tale extravaganza will begin on the stage: the play is accompanied with kinds of special effects, such as laser lighting, “rain,” and “fountains.” Audiences will see motorbikers’ show, tamed exotic animals (camels, horses, bears, buffalos, and llamas), as well as such domestic animals as dogs, cats, pigs, geese, and turkeys. The characters in The New Year Kaleidoscope will be played by students of the Kyiv Children’s Academy of Arts. The sport dance group Pulse will be performing on stage during the whole play.
It will be recalled that this New Year show will be open not only to Kyivites but also to children from other regions of Ukraine twice a day from December 25 until January 10.
NATO holds a place for Ukraine and asks for help in Afghanistan
Georgia and Ukraine are, as before, candidates for NATO membership, said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in a Moscow Echo Radio interview at the end of his visit to Russia. In his words, this decision, which was made last year, still remains in force. Meanwhile, the alliance’s secretary general reiterated that Georgia and Ukraine must meet a number of requirements. “They have not yet met them, and this is the reason why we started to cooperate with Georgia and Ukraine in order to reform their societies,” Rasmussen said. The NATO secretary general requested the president and prime minister of Russia to furnish helicopters, fuel and pilots for Afghanistan and to help organize the training of Afghan policemen, AFP reports. Dmitri Medvedev instructed this request “to be examined,” and Vladimir Putin said he was sure that the joint efforts of Russia and the alliance “can produce a good result.” The secretary general also noted that NATO does not see it necessary to conclude a new European security treaty proposed by Russian President Medvedev. “I doubt that there will be additional benefits from a new treaty. I do not think we should have a new legal framework because we already have serious documents that lay a good groundwork for our cooperation and for overall European security,” Rasmussen said in confirmation of the alliance’s official position.
Vasyl Lomachenko: the world’s best boxer
Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko is the best boxer in the world, according to the International Amateur Boxing Association, which sent him a statuette and a diploma. A Beijing Olympic champion, Lomachenko won the World Championship in Milan in September and became the first Ukrainian who did so at the age of 21.
He was promised a car for his achievement and recently was assured that very soon he will receive it. The champion is prepared for action. He is not going to quit amateur sport, at least not before the 2012 Olympics in London, reports Unian.net. He intends to become the first Ukrainian to become a Olympic boxing champion twice.
Vasyl has taken some time off lately but is already eager to resume workouts. The sportsman represents the Kolos Association (Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky) and is a student at Ushynsky Southern Ukrainian State Pedagogical University.
