Gallery: Youth dance festival rehearsals begin
Nearly 8,500 youth performers in 585 dance and gymnastics troupes gathered in Tallinn to begin rehearsals for this weekend's youth dance festival.
Performers have been practicing the repertoire for two and a half years and now they will have until Thursday evening to integrate everything into one large performance, based on the Estonian legend of Dawn and Dusk, about the keepers of a treasure being passed from generation to generation, reported ETV news broadcast "Aktuaalne kaamera" on Monday evening.
The initial rehearsals are held on separate training grounds before joint rehearsals will be held at Kalev Central Stadium later this week.
"We are told what to do and then we do what we are told," youth dancer Kati-Mia said in describing the rehearsals.
Polina, a Russian-speaking youth dancer, said that they are told what they need to do in Estonian, which is then translated for them.
"And then it turns out that the dances have changed," she added. "We learned it one way, but now we have to dance a different way."
The dance festival will be staged in three performances held on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening, all of which are sold out already.
Song festival rehearsals begin on Friday; the youth song festival itself will take place on Sunday afternoon, immediately following the Youth Song and Dance Festival parade.
Editor: Aili Vahtla