On March 20, 2026, a gala concert of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography titled “When the Steppe Awakens: Nauryz in Dance” was held on the stage of the Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre in Bucharest. The event was dedicated to the spring holiday of Nauryz. Young performers from Kazakhstan presented fragments from renowned ballet productions as well as works by contemporary international choreographers to the Romanian audience.

At the beginning of the event, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Romania, Yerlik Ali, delivered a welcoming speech. He briefly spoke about the cultural traditions of celebrating Nauryz and introduced the Academy to the audience.

The evening’s program combined classical, national, and contemporary pieces. The audience watched excerpts from the ballets The Romance of the Rosebud and the Butterfly by Riccardo Drigo, Paquita by Ludwig Minkus, The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and La Sylphide by Herman Severin Løvenskiold.

Particular interest was sparked by the Kazakh national choreographic works “Akbayan” and “Zholbarys Zhurek” (Brave Heart) staged by Anvara Sadykova and Almat Shamshiyev, performed to folk music in a modern arrangement by the folklore-ethnographic ensemble Hassak Ensemble. The program also featured the Kazakh classic “Dreams of Love” choreographed by Bulat Ayukhanov to the music of Franz Liszt, as well as the contemporary piece “Inside” to music by Johann Sebastian Bach choreographed by Kato Nakao.

The hall brought together a diverse audience: among the guests were members of the Kazakh diaspora who came to support the young performers from their homeland, as well as residents of Romania eager to discover the richness of Kazakh culture. The concert took place in a warm and festive atmosphere, with the audience greeting each performance with sincere applause and enthusiastically welcoming the young dancers who gave the public a vivid and memorable evening.

A special guest of the program was international competition laureate, soprano Laura Ali, who performed pieces from both the classical and national repertoire.

The trip and concert were organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Romania, and the general sponsor — Rompetrol KMG International.