Шутки шутками, а я нашел эту статью. Вышла она 11 августа в бёрбанкском приложении к Таймс - Burbank Leader. Вот полный копи-пейст.
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Giving it all for their art
Contestants go for the gold at the World Championships of Performing Arts this week at Hilton Burbank.
By Jackie Conley, The Leader
MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH — Scattered around the Hilton Burbank Airport and Convention Center on Tuesday morning, vocal competitors and aspiring actors patiently sat waiting for their turn to represent their country and impress the judges in the second day of the competition at the World Championships of Performing Arts.
"The primary thing to do is to develop competitive material," said CSM Words and Music producer Shele Sondheim, a judge for the competition. "The highest high is to come prepared and be really on top of your game."
Sondheim said he hopes this competition will spark international interest in the arts and encourage people to embrace performers like they do the athletes in the Olympics.
"Music and art is an international language," Sondheim said.
Ilhama Gulkiyeva has participated in more than 200 competitions internationally and is a popular singer in her native Azerbaijan, located between Iran and Russia. But for her, the World Championships of Performing Arts could bring a significant change in the way the arts are perceived in her country.
"My president said if we do well here, he will have big prizes waiting for us when we return," she said.
Gulkiyeva said the president of her country encourages the performing arts, and she hopes this will reflect a positive change in the way artists are viewed around the world.
"It seems like everything is done for athletes and not enough for performers," said Griff O'Neil, founder and director of the World Championships of Performing Arts.
Gospel rap artist Emmanuel Edili, of Nigeria, said out of all the competitions he's been in, this one is important because it's global.
"It helps you to appreciate different artistic styles," he said.
Edili, 29, said the hardest thing for him in competition is the few moments before going on stage.
"Because it's in that moment there that you make a decision whether or not you're going to go out there and get through it," he said. "But you realize this is the opportunity to show them what you're made of."
Singer Andrey Hovnanyan knows all about these types of opportunities. At 25, he said he has already performed in several international competitions in Germany, J.n and Belgium, and has performed in front of crowds of 8,000 people.
This is the first time the Armenian singer will compete in the World Championships, and he said he hopes to break into the American market.
"There's something special about America," Hovnanyan said. "It has a strong influence around the world."
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Обрати внимание на возраст других интервьюируемых.
Более того, не остановившись на этом, я нашел сайт этой конторы http://www.performersconnection.com . Убила меня фотография Акчуриной на лицевой странице, имя которой также присутствует в списке призеров или победителей (хрен поймет, список такой длины, что по-моему в него вошли все его участники). Настораживает то, что список победителей охватывает только 2003-й год.
А вообще классная мысль, может мне тоже какой-нибудь чемпионат мира придумать?
