New Delhi: 6-day Youth Festival from tomorrow

New Delhi: The Art, Culture & Language Department of the Delhi government will organise the 9th edition of Youth Festival from December 1 to 6 at the Central Park in Connaught Place from 6 p.m. onwards. The six-day long extravaganza will be a celebration of music, dance, theatre and arts.

The audience will get to witness an exciting line-up of dancers, musicians, performing artistes and a laser show. Besides this, an art exhibition titled 'Kala Mel' will also be held which will provide a platform to upcoming artists to exhibit their works.

The first day will see a sarod and rabab ensemble by the disciples of Mukesh Sharma, which will be followed by a cultural performance by Tapaswani Navsadhana.

Later, disciples of Jayalakshmi Eshwar will present Bharatanatyam ensemble. After this, a street play by Parikalpana Cultural Society and contemporary dance by the disciples of Shivam Chauhan will be staged. The evening will see a folk dance performance by Shyam Arts and will conclude with a band performance by Ekagra.

The second day will start with tabla ensembles by the disciples of Akram Khan, followed by cultural performance by Salam Baalak Trust. Disciples of Kanaka Shrinivasan will present a Bharatanatyam ensemble. The evening will see disciples of Nisha Rawat perform a contemporary dance. This will be followed by folk dance by Veena Vyas and group and a band performance by Project Raag.

The third day will start with a Pakhawaj ensemble by the disciples of Fateh Singh Gangani. This will be followed by a cultural performance by Taleem. Artistes from Trilalla Gurukulam and disciples of Deepti Omcherry Bhalla will present Kerala's dance form Mohiniattam. Later, artistes from Common People Group will present a street play.

The fourth day will commence with sitar ensembles by the disciples of Prateek Choudhary. Cultural performances by Jan Akanjsha Prathisthan, Odissi ensembles by the disciples of Ranjana Gauhar followed by a street play by Lakshay and group will entertain the audiences.

The fifth day will begin with flute ensembles by the disciples of Chetan Joshi. Following this will be a cultural programme by Manzil Mystics. Kathak ensembles by disciples of Abhimanyu Lala will be next on the agenda which will be followed by a street play by Gulzar and group. Post this there will be a dance performance by the disciples of Bhavni Mishra. The evening will end with the folk dance by the Pratibha Kala Kendra and the Rock N Raaga band.

The last day of the festival will witness performances beginning with violin ensembles by the disciples of Sharat Chandra Srivastava. Next will be cultural performances by Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre Society (JAC) followed by a Odissi performances by Madhumita Raut. The day will also see street play by Prasoon Narayan and group, and contemporary dance by Santosh Nair and group. The evening will round up with folk dance by Jaymala Arts and group along with the Firdaus band.

Speaking about the festival, Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, "Youth are the future of our country and we have always kept our faith in the development of the youth and children to make our nation better. We also believe that culture is the best way to reach out to the people from any section of the society."