Ruslana Rocks East and West On Promo Tour

With the Eurovision 2004 Song Contest only weeks away, our popular singer has decided to make herself known outside Ukraine. She has recorded her chart-breaker “Dyki Tantsi” [Wild dancing] in Ukrainian and English and submitted the recording with a clip to the Eurovision organizing committee. Ruslana Lyzhychko will perform a combined version of the song on May 12 in Istanbul before a worldwide audience, who will decide how successful her choice of the song has been, casting their votes by phone and via the Internet. Since under the contest rules viewers in Ukraine will not be allowed to vote for Ruslana, she has embarked on an extensive promotion tour abroad. Ruslana has already performed in Belarus, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. The temperamental singer has won the hearts of music fans in the Baltic states, Sweden, and Iceland. Meanwhile, in Reykjavik Ruslana and her Zhyttia [Life] ballet had a nerve-racking experience. With French flight dispatchers on strike, their stage costumes did not arrive before the concert. But it is not Ruslana’s way to cancel the concert. “No big deal, we’ll make it!” she told her partners, who performed with so much drive that already in the third minute the audience got carried away so much as to attempt to join Ruslana in her song without understanding a single word in Ukrainian. Surprisingly, Ruslana considers that particular concert one of her best. Meanwhile, in Monaco she tried to captivate the middle-aged and older audience, performing in the fashionable halls of Monte Carlo. Representatives of high society proved a remarkably receptive audience. According to Ruslana, seeing madams in evening dresses and messieurs in tuxedos dancing away to “Dyki Tantsi” is a view to remember.

Aside from the concert crowds, Ruslana has also charmed the foreign media. She has performed live on major radio stations that broadcast music in the European format and on popular television channels. In interviews she has been asked many question on both music and politics. The singer is now warming up for a blitz tour of Greece, Israel, Portugal, and Turkey. Meanwhile, beginning this week Ukrainian channels are airing her new clip, which she has shot for the Eurovision contest. To learn who wins the Eurovision Grand Prix, watch the contest live on UT-1 television.