On February 13 vocal instrumental ensembles, instrumental collectives and pop groups will demonstrate their best numbers. The shows will take place over two months, and at the beginning of may the official song and dance festival participants will be announced.
“Almost 400 choirs with more than 15 000 participants will perform in the shows. The greatest concentration will be during the Choir shows in April, but folk dance shows for the main concert will take place from March till the end of April,” said PR Director Inga Vasiļeva.
Vasiļeva said that shows will feature all of the genres included in the song festival, but it's clear that the main emphasis and greatest competition is for the folk dance shows. Those include over 20,000 participants, but only 16,000 will be able to participate in the official festival, as this is the capacity for the Daugava Stadium. Organizers calculated that judges will have to travel more than 20,000 kilometers to visit all the shows.
Saskaņā ar Dziesmu un deju svētku likumu Latvijas Skolu jaunatnes dziesmu un deju svētki notiek reizi piecos gados starplaikā starp Vispārējiem latviešu dziesmu un deju svētkiem. Iepriekšējie XI Latvijas Skolu jaunatnes dziesmu un deju svētki notika 2015. gada jūlijā, piedaloties ap 38 000 bērnu un jauniešu no visas Latvijas.
As previously reported, the 11th Youth Song and Dance festival was held in 2015. The festival's concerts were attended by some 66,600 people, while altogether events drew about 200,000 visitors to the festival. Some 37,890 young singers and dancers participated in the festival, which serves as a downsized version of the Song and Dance festival (the latter is also held every five years).
