The Russian Art Culture Week will be held during the ongoing fifth Shanghai International Art Festival, featuring Russian music and dance, the organizing committee said.

The Russian Art Culture Week, scheduled from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4, will have excellent performances from Russian music and dance groups, including the Jazz music band led by George Krayan, the most famous Jazz musician in the country, according to the Russian Consulate in Shanghai.

Andrei V. Krivtsov, consul general, said the attending troupes also include the world's first professional folk dance group -- the Ballet Moiseyev -- and the renowned Kuban Cossack Song and Dance Ensemble. In addition, the organizing committee is planning to sponsor a special performance by prize winners of the Tchaikovsky International Music Competition.

According to Chen Shenglai, director of the general office of the festival, since 2002 the Shanghai International Art Festival began to invite one guest country to hold its art and culture week. Last year it was Australia's turn to exhibit its folk and ethnic culture and art.

The Russian week is co-sponsored by the Chinese and Russian ministries of culture, and is part of the 2003 Russian Art and Culture Festival held in China. The Russian festival will stage cultural exchange activities in Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo and Wuhan.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2003)