MASLENITSA ANNOUNCES FULL FESTIVAL LINEUP
Festival announces line-up at exclusive Russian Afternoon Tea at Mari Vanna restaurant
Presentation of full week of cultural events from 11–17 March 2013
Main Festival on Saturday 16 March 2013, Trafalgar Square, London
- Special video greeting by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson
- Details of Cultural Week revealed by Olga Balakleets, Director of Ensemble Productions
- Presentation by official charity partner, Naked Heart Foundation
- Photographic Exhibition at City Hall (11-17 March)
- Special Pancake Menu at Mari Vanna (12 March)
- Literary Evening at Waterstones Piccadilly (13 March)
- Craft classes for adults and children at Russian Cultural Center (14 March)
- Exclusive curatorial tour of exhibition at V&A (15 March)
- Festival Gala at Royal Courts of Justice (15 March)
- Overview of Main Festival at Trafalgar Square (16 March)
- One night only performance by top avant-garde theatrical troupe Theatre Praktika (17 March)
On 26 March, Ensemble Productions and Mari Vanna restaurant welcomed press to an exclusive Russian afternoon tea featuring blini with caviar and homemade vodka infusions to discuss the details of the upcoming Maslenitsa Festival.
Following a special video introduction by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson (see full video here – http://www.maslenitsa.co.uk), Ensemble Productions Director Olga Balakleets announced the full festival week’s line-up. This was followed by a special presentation by Genia Mineeva, representing the official charity partner, Naked Heart Foundation.
For full event details please see individual event profiles and Maslenitsa Festival press release.
Notes for Editors:
Name: The Russian Week in London, Festival Maslenitsa
Organiser: Ensemble Productions
Date: 16 March 2013
Location: Trafalgar Square, London
Hours: 13:00–19:00
Cost: Free
Maslenitsa Week: 11 March 2013 – 17 March 2013
Official Charity Partner: Naked Heart Foundation
Event Partners: Mayor of London, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Embassy of the Russian Federation in London, Federal Agency Rossotrudnichestvo, Russky Mir Foundation, Polymetal International, ICT Group, O1 Properties, Lycamobile
About the Naked Heart Foundation
It was the Beslan school siege in 2004 that motivated international model Natalia Vodianova to set up the Naked Heart Foundation. Desperate to do something to help, she had a simple idea – if the young survivors could be distracted by play for at least five minutes each day, it would help them to heal. Providing them with safe outdoor play facilities would redefine their city landscape and act as a form of therapy. The Naked Heart Foundation was set up in the same year, and in 2006 it completed its first play park, five minutes from where Vodianova grew up in Nizhny Novgorod. In 2009, 40 play parks and 30 Russian cities later, Vodianova had fulfilled her dream of giving the children of Beslan their very own Naked Heart play park. To date the charity has built 90 play parks and playgrounds and is now creating a network of family support centres to care for families raising children with disabilities. It also provides funding for dozens of Russian NGOs working in the field and holds an annual international Forum for child development specialists. In 2013 it will open its 100th site. For more information visit www.nakedheart.org or www.facebook.com/NHFcharity
About Olga Balakleets
Director of the Maslenitsa Festival and President of Ensemble Productions, Olga Balakleets is dedicated to sharing the arts and culture of her native Russia with the world. A graduate of the Conservatory in St Petersburg, she created Ensemble Productions in 1998 in order to initiate and promote international cultural projects, including the prestigious Maslenitsa Festival held in Trafalgar Square. As a Russian cultural advisor, Balakleets works closely with the Mayor of London, British Parliament, Russian State Duma and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. She has served as the Artistic Director of the British-Russian Cultural Association since 2005 as well as Vice-President of the Swiss-Russian Cultural Foundation since 2008 and was elected a member of the Russian Speaking Council of Great Britain in 2009. For her immense contribution in promoting Russian culture, Balakleets was awarded the Special Medal by Russian President Medvedev and the Order of St Prince Dimitry Donskoi and St Sergey Radonezhsky for Services to the Fatherhood, both in 2010.
About Ensemble Productions
Founded in 1998, Ensemble Productions is a London-based production and events company that specialises in Classical, Jazz, World, Pop and Rock concerts as well as Opera, Ballet and Contemporary dance productions in the UK and internationally. Previous projects have included the Dimensions Festival of Music from Russia and the Former Soviet Republics; the annual Maslenitsa festival in Trafalgar Square; the Operalia Festival in Central Asia; Days of Hong Kong in Russia’ the Marbella International Festival in Spain; the Russian New Year Festival in Switzerland; the Cyprus-Russia Gala in the Presidential Palace in Cyprus, the Arab-Russian Gala in Dubai and the Italia-Russia Gala in Rome. Ensemble Productions is proud to play a vital role in celebrating the rich heritage and diversity of the performing arts. For more information, visit www.ensembleproductions.co.uk
