This weekend, choices must be made — not of the doom and gloom variety, but rather, about what to see and where to go. In Astana, the legendary Scheherazade and her stories of ancient antics stand unopposed this Sunday. Still, once the evening hits, it’s about choosing what is near and dear to you — tango, the heart and soul of every city dweller, and true punk spirit blossomed on the Kazakh land; or author cinema, the likes of Andrei Tarkovsky and his explorations of the human condition.
In Almaty, the events will divide the city into two camps – theater buffs and concert-goers. Jazz aficionados can look forward to the international festival, which will bring musical talent from around the world to collaborate with the Almaty jazz school. And that is far from over for the concert part; APLHA, pioneers of Q-pop will hit the stage this Sunday and showcase their newest album. Additionally, the city has curated the tale of courtroom drama for theater buffs, where they can take sides for or against Joan of Arc during her 1431 trial.
Discover these and other events in the list by QazMonitor below.
Astana
"Nobel Fest: Innovations in Medicine" popular science conference
Over twenty speakers from around the world, topics focusing on innovation in medicine, ranging from rapid DNA sequencing to recent breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease treatment – this is this year’s Nobel Fest. Astana’s two-day pop science craze will bring to the city such names as Michael N. Hall, who discovered a protein crucial to cell growth, and Saleem Abdulrauf, known for advancements in less invasive neurosurgery procedures, all to share their insights into the human body and functions with the capital’s crowd.
NOTE: Purchased tickets are valid for both days of the event. The event will have simultaneous translations into Kazakh, Russian, and English.
Dates: April 27–28, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
NOTE: To see the full program, please refer to the official schedule.
Address: Presidential Center, Alikhan Bokeikhan Street 1A
Entrance: ₸8,000–₸150,000 (as of April 24, 2024, $18.11–$339.61)
"One Thousand and One Nights: The Story of One Grand Deception" lecture by Asian Studies scholar Zhakau Bagzhan
Each night, Scheherazade tells her Shahanshah, a monarch named Shahryar, a new tale. Some are interconnected, some self-contained, but all are drawn from everywhere at once. The young woman seems to know not only her Iranian roots and neighboring Arabian tales but also legends written in Sanskrit and folk tales from distant Mamluk Egypt. Asian Studies scholar Zhakau Bagzhan will explore who Scheherazade was and where the reality of her stories dissolves into the realm of imagination.
NOTE: The lecture will be conducted in Russian. Please sign up through Concept Art’s DMs to attend the event.
Date: April 28, 12:00 a.m.
Address: Concept Art lecture hall, Kerey and Zhanibek Khans Street 5, entrance 3, office 23, 2nd floor
Entrance: ₸3,000 ($6.79)
"Airy Tango Night" concert by Astana Ballet Symphonic Orchestra
To the orchestra of the capital’s ballet troupe, ‘tango is the soul and passion of the downtown, embodied in music and dance’. For the evening's performance, the soloists chose such bops like Sonny Kompanek’s Killer Tango and Julio Medaglia’s Belle Époque en Sud América, all to illustrate how an emotion matures within oneself, culminating in sheer intensity that mesmerizes.
Date: April 28, 6:00 p.m.
Address: Astana Ballet, Uly Dala Avenue 43
Entrance: ₸1,000–₸5,000 ($2.26–$11.32)
"Mother Worship" (Анама Тағзым) concert by Yedil Khussainov
An artist working in multiple genres, Yedil Khussainov is many things, but one take on him is that he plays what can be coined as ‘Zhetysu punk’. From the Seven Rivers, he brings his skills in throat singing, mastery over the shankobyz, zhetygen, and several other instruments, along with sick beats, into a true defiance of conventions.
Date: April 28, 6:00 p.m.
Address: Astana Opera, Dinmukhamed Qonayev Street 1
Entrance: ₸3,000 ($6.79)
Stalker (Сталкер, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky) screening and open discussion with art critic Polina Zhukova
A man lives on the border of a special zone. He has a family – a wife and a daughter. He often leaves them for days to guide those interested in the zone. Today's visitors are a Professor and a Writer. The two want to see the so-called Room, a place where dreams are made true. Each of the three wants to fulfill their dreams, but their dreams are vividly different.
NOTE: The movie and open discussion with art critic Polina Zhukova will be in Russian. Please sign up through Concept Art’s DMs to attend the event.
Date: April 28, 7:00 p.m.
Address: Concept Art lecture hall, Kerey and Zhanibek Khans Street 5, entrance 3, office 23, 2nd floor
Entrance: ₸3,000 ($6.79)
Almaty
Joan of Arc play
A patron saint of all of France, she guided the defenses of Orleans and lifted the siege off the city, marking a turning point in the hundred-year struggle. But in 1431, she was tried for heresy and witchcraft. Standing before a biased court, Joan of Arc and her witnesses will have to reconstruct all the events of her life that ended the war between her homeland and England and determine who she truly was.
NOTE: The play will be staged in Russian.
Dates:
April 26 – 8:00 p.m.
April 27–28 – 7:00 p.m.
Address: 2act Theater, Ritz Palace mall, Al-Farabi Avenue 1, entrance from Izganov Street
Entrance: ₸8,000–₸12,000 ($18.11–$27.17)
XXII Almaty International Jazz Festival
This weekend, the Southern Capital has a two-day feast for all jazz enthusiasts. The local jazz school is teaming up with musicians from Austria, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, and Tajikistan to deliver spicy duo bops. Imagine Diana Samyken’s sultry vocals in tandem with Yogev Shetrit’s drums — this and other power duos will showcase a fusion of styles and some hot licks.
Date: April 28, 5:00 p.m.
Address: Almaty Theater, Al-Farabi Avenue 30
Entrance: ₸5,000 ($11.32)
ALPHA concert
It has been a long time, but ALPHA, one of the pioneers of Q-pop, will finally take it to the stage for a solo gig. They are ready to showcase their new album ALMANY TISTEME: Tome 1, and perform their all-time classics from 18 and HIT. Get ready to experience both old and new ALPHA.
Date: April 28, 7:00 p.m.
Address: Astronaut karaoke bar, Ritz Palace mall, Al-Farabi Avenue 1, 4th floor
Entrance: ₸8,000–₸12,000 ($18.11–$27.17)
Mutual Misunderstanding dance performance
Sometimes, body language speaks louder than words. Conveyed through dance performance, the sheer kineticism of Mutual Misunderstanding gets across the complexity and subtlety of human interactions—the actions and miscommunications that arise day-to-day.
Date: April 27–28, 7:00 p.m.
Address: Dom36, Baribayev Street 36
Entrance: ₸4,000–₸20,000 ($9.06–$45.13)