BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/05/2008

Belarus: Performance on shining baubles

by Marco Brey

Belarus was the last country to rehearse today. The singer Ruslan Alehno showed a lively performance together with four female dancers - he even climbed on one of the shining baubles placed on the stage floor. Remarkably, Ruslan's busy choreography did not affect his vocal efforts at all!

The Belarusian representative in the Second Semi-Final of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, Ruslan Alehno, performed together with four female backing dancers during his first rehearsal today. Their choreography incorporated several shining baubles placed on the stage floor: Ruslan climbed on them, jumped off again, and he finished the performance standing on top of one of them. Overall, the performance was very lively and elaborate. There were no problems with his vocals and everything looked very convincing on the screens.

Previously, Ruslan Alehno had to pass the two stages of the Belarusian national selection. First of all, there was a semi-final with 15 entrants, out of which an expert jury picked three finalists. In addition to that, the highest-placed song according to the televoting result was added as the fourth finalist. The final, which took place in January, did not only feature the participants, but several national and international stars as well. In the end, a professional jury decided that Ruslan Alehno should perform Hasta La Vista at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.

At the press conference, Ruslan Alehno was asked if there are also Russian and Belarusian versions of Hasta La Vista. He said that a Russian version was recorded and is already on heavy rotation at several radio channels in Moscow. He jokingly added that there were no plans to record a Belarusian version, but he could sing the Russian version with a Belarusian accent. The delegation also told a funny story around the recording of the official video clip, which took place in Kyiv, Ukraine. A part of the video had to be recorded at night, when it was raining - which was not exactly a pleasure for Ruslan, as this was done in February, at six o'clock in the morning. Ruslan illustrated his feelings back at that time by chattering his teeth during the press conference.

Source:

http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news/belgrade-2008?id=855

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