02/12/2022

Astana Ballet announces the start of the I Republican Competition “ASHYQ SAKHNA” for creative youth

The “ASHYQ SAKHNA” competition is launched as part of the policy of supporting talented youth in Kazakhstan. It aims to unite and support young people, who are aged 18 to 45, in the field of Art. The period of the competition: from December 2022 to May 2023. The prize fund is 4 million tenge.

The republican competition “ASHYQ SAKHNA” consists of five qualifying rounds, where the winners in the following categories will be revealed: “Choreography”, “Libretto”, “Music”, and “Scenography”. The first round will be held in an online format. The winner in each of the nominations will receive a money prize in the amount of 1,000,000 tenge and the opportunity to participate in the creation of a full-fledged choreographic production that will be included in the repertoire of the Astana Ballet Theatre.

The jury of the competition consists of the heads of the Astana Ballet Theatre, as well as honoured figures of culture and art of Kazakhstan.

“The idea of such competition has been coming to fruition for a very long time, and now, finally, there are opportunities to fully implement it. As dedicated creators and organizers, we define our main task in identifying and supporting talented choreographers, stage designers, composers, and scriptwriters in the field of choreographic art. We want to interest young authors in their search for new ideas and forms to develop modern national choreography,” said Mukaram Avakhri, the chief choreographer of the theatre.

One must apply for participation in the competition from December 1 to December 31, 2022, by e-mail ashiq_sakhna@astanaballet.kz. The website of the Astana Ballet Theatre provides information about all rules and conditions of the competition for each of the nominations.

Summing up and awarding ceremony for the winners will take place on May 1, 2023, at the Astana Ballet Theatre in Astana. Also on this day, the premiere of the choreographic production staged by the winners of the “ASHYQ SAKHNA” competition will take place.

The founders of the competition, the “Foundation for the Development and Support of Ballet and National Dance” Private Foundation together with the Astana Ballet Theatre supported by the General Partner “Samruk-Kazyna” JSC and the social partner “Samruk-Kazyna Trust” Corporate Foundation, are sure that such an initiative will make a significant contribution to the development of national choreographic art and the strengthening of national traditions in the sphere of ballet art.