Azernews.Az

Laman Ismayilova

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The 3rd International Festival of Student Performances, "Turkic World", has taken place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Azernews reports that students from the SABAH group of the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, specialising in acting, represented Azerbaijan and earned the award for Best Male Role.

The festival was organised by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan in collaboration with the T. Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts, under the auspices of the International Organisation of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY). The festival featured masterclasses, creative meetups, roundtable discussions, staged readings, and gala concerts.

Participants included students from universities in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The Azerbaijani delegation presented a production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. The course director and stage director of the play was Mikail Mikhailov, the chief director of the Azerbaijan State Theatre Yuğ, with Ruslan Ismayilov serving as acting instructor.

Mikail Mikhailov shared that the Azerbaijani delegation received a very warm welcome in Kazakhstan:

"This was the first international festival experience for our students. It was both a great opportunity and a source of joy for them. It also helped broaden their horizons and worldview," he emphasised.

"It's incredibly important to have festivals like this, where young people can meet each other and explore the cultures of Turkic nations. As members of the Turkic world, we must remain in creative dialogue and support cultural exchange. Azerbaijan hosted the second edition of this festival in Baku last year. The fourth will be held next year in Izmir, Turkiye."

The director also noted the positive reception the Azerbaijani performance received from the audience:

"The students were very nervous — performing on a foreign stage is a big responsibility. But they managed the pressure and delivered a great performance. Over the course of the three-day festival, we watched several other productions, each one reflecting the unique cultural identity of a different Turkic nation. That was incredibly meaningful for us to witness," he said.

At the festival's closing ceremony, all participants received diplomas and medals. The Best Male Role award was presented to Azerbaijani student Raghib Allahguliyev for his outstanding performance.