The folk group «Switanak» by the center of creativity of children and youth of Partisansky district of Minsk Republic of Belarus was founded in October, 1984

Switanak means the time of the day before dawn, the time between night and morning, before sunrise.

The concert program of the ensemble on the whole is based upon song, music and dance folklore of the Belarusian Polesye which is considered to be a treasury of East Slavs spiritual culture. The repertoir of the ensemble - song, music and dance – keeps up one of the old traditions: musical accompaniment of a folk holiday, combining the art of folk music playing (using such ancient instruments such  as zimbaly, bag-pipe, zhaleyka and others), with the art of folk dance, song and dress.

The combination of music, songs and dances has enabled to create bright concert programs.

Revealing a rich inner world of Byelorussians, embodied in the song, music, dance, national suit, the folk group «Switanak» carefully keeps and renders the best features and traditions of belarusian folklore, it remains loyal to the spirit and character of original national creative work.

The team performs much and takes active part in charitable actions. The ensemble is a frequent visitor to the boarding schools for aged people and invalids, children asylums, the centers of social help.

“Switanak” has many awards for the great work on aesthetic education. It repeatedly became the winner and the prize-winner of reviews-competitions among folklore groups.

The concert program consists of two 45 minutes` parts or can be performed in a non-stop mode. The structure of the group can be either mixed (youth and children make the program together) or separate.