The State Hermitage Museum: Hermitage News

The New Year in the Hermitage, a Children’s Holiday

On December 23rd, 2011, the Hermitage Theatre once more opened its doors to children with health problems. This year, the pupils of Schools Number 370 and 34 have been celebrating the New Year for 15 years now. They certainly seem to have accumulated a great deal of experience, and the little actors made the stage their own, yet every performance in the Hermitage Theatre is an important and emotional event. These holidays not only give the children a great deal of enjoyment, but also have huge significance for the formation of their personalities, the development of their creative abilities, sense of duty, and self-confidence.

The school groups, the instructors and their pupils, put a great deal of preparation into this holiday, creating scripts, costumes, and props and dedicating a great deal of time to rehearsals. Various roles are played by participants of various ages, from the youngest schoolchildren to graduates and even their teachers; this helps the young actors to feel more confident on the stage. The show presented by School Number 370 was created based on the themes of Russian folk epics, and was called Sadko, while the pupils from School Number 34 showed a production called The Three Little Pigs, or How not to Behave. These shows included music, dance, singing, and elements of puppet theatre.

The Deputy Director of the State Hermitage Museum, V.Y. Matveev, opened this holiday. As always, he greeted his young guests with warmth and wit, and wished them a happy New Year full of health and success.

After the New Year’s performance all of the viewers and performers received presents, and the schools were presented with paints, brushes and paper for art classes. The young guests presented their drawings and crafts to Anna Kruglova, the representative of the Baker & McKenzie Company. For several years this firm has provided financial support for New Year’s celebrations for special children at the Hermitage.