+ A
A -
CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
A SPECTACULAR display of culture and dance by Russian group of artistes is bringing the FIFA World Cup vibe from Russia to Qatar.
The star performance is one of the major activities of the Qatar Fan Zone at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena organised by Qatar Tourism Authority, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy and Ministry of Culture and Sports.
The arena for football lovers gives a glimpse of how a fan zone will look like when Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2022 - featuring live entertainment, concerts from Arab stars, a gaming and activation area, and more than 40 food and beverage stalls.
To ensure people in Qatar have the feelings of the entertainment ambience in Russia, Russian dance is being performed at the venue, in typical Russian costumes.
Speaking to Qatar Tribune recently, an official said they decided to feature the Russian dance to bring the atmosphere of the World Cup to Qatar.
"We want people to come here at the fan zone and have that feeling as though they are in Russia where the mega tournament is happening," she said.
According to her, they have a number of artistes to perform for the entire month and they keep on changing the choreography to ensure that people don't get bored.
"We try each time before the match to perform at least one cultural dance so that people can relate to that country," she said.
The official added that there are between five and six shows per day and more in the weekends.
"People are really happy and are enjoying themselves. We invite people to come and get thrilled," she said.
Describing the experience as really amazing, Lilia, one of the Russian dancers, said,"We are happy to be part of the fan zone here in Qatar, one of the richest countries in the world. The people are friendly. We are so grateful to the organisers."
She explained that the performance was a typical traditional Russian dance.
"The costume is kind of modernised version. We want to showcase our tradition. When you think of a Russian girl in 18th or 19th century, you see this sweet nice girl with a creative headgear, red cheeks and very elaborate dress. This depicts our culture," she said.
She added,"Sometimes, we change some moves. Sometimes, it takes a day or two to fix some dance and give a routine."
Lilia said this is the second time she was performing in Qatar while some of her counterparts are in Qatar for the first time, stressing that they enjoy what they do though their inspirations might be different as some of them took dance classes, while others were gymnasts, and some were dancers since their younger age.
According to her, the performers landed in Qatar a few days to the commencement of the World Cup to get used to the atmosphere.
Talking about the expectations for the remaining performances, she said,"I hope we will do great."
Besides the Russian dance, the artistes also performed German and Japanese dance forms.
