The opening ceremony of EC2018 will be enriched with a display of folklore traditions by Bajdyš from Třebíč.

Horácký folklore ensemble Bajdyš formed in Třebíč in 1984. Currently, it operates under the auspices of the Basic Art School and it fosters its young members from an early age in the children´s group Bajdyšek. The name of the ensemble comes form a typical Horacko region dance, whose humorous story and wilderness embraces the souls of young dancers. The musicians and dancers demonstrate youth and joy, therefore the ensemble strives to portray folklore and explore various playful themes from everyday life – dance programmes such as Žertovné, Bajdyš, Hospoda, Horácké skočné, Hačau – polka, Christmas on the Horácko region, male dances with brooms, love topics in Láska a peníze, and recruiting dances. Most of the repertory comprises of the Horacko region dances, however, there are also dances from Kopanice, the Valašsko region and Slovakia – Zemplín, Šariš, and Myjava.

The Basic Art School Třebíč

Basic Art School Třebíč (ZUŠ Třebíč) is one of the largest art schools in the Czech Republic. It educates 1,550 students in four art fields – music, dance, fine art and drama. The quality of the education has been proved by several achievements in various art competitions as well as long-standing intensive cooperation with a number of local institutions. Both the students and the teachers present their work at numerous events held by the school, they also give performances on ceremonial occasions organized by the town of Třebíč or Civic Cultural Centre Třebíč, and perform in old people´s homes, day care centres and other institutions.