Junior Eurovision 2018 – Day 1 Rehearsal Recap

Here in Minsk, Belarus, the first ten rehearsals have taken place throughout the afternoon. So what have you missed? Here's our handy recap giving you all the highlights from the Minsk Arena! From Armenia to Belarus via Macedonia After a change of schedule for the first day of rehearsals today, instead of beginning with Albania as we were due to alphabetically, we started with Armenia. We ended late in the day with Albania and Belarus. The full provisional schedule is available below. http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/heres-the-rehearsal-schedule-for-the-2018-junior-eurovision-song-contest/ Armenia - L.E.V.O.N Green suit - check. Colourful LED screens - check. Full of charisma and personality - check. L.E.V.O.N had a very positive opening rehearsal for the whole of the Junior Eurovision transformation of Minsk Arena today. http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-l-e-v-o-ns-got-the-dance-moves-for-armenia-review/ Australia - Jael Australia by numbers, but Jael delivered a champion rehearsal today. The lighting is really effective for this performance and we are fans of the podium prop! http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-the-arena-is-filled-with-gold-for-australias-jael-review/ Azerbaijan - Fidar Huseynova Are you expecting a prop because it's Azerbaijan? You'd be right! Fidar has a lit-up white box similar to Cyprus's prop at ESC 2009 and there's some sweet choreography with her backing dancers as well. http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-azerbaijan-brings-a-big-white-box-for-fidan-huseynova-review/ Israel - Noam Dadon The Israeli rehearsal today was a really competent run-through of a professional looking performance - think any Israeli ballad Eurovision entry and you've got this exactly right in your mind. As Louis Walsh would say, he's like a young Boaz Mauda! http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-noam-dadon-keeps-it-simple-for-israel-review/ France - Angélina Now, we're a fan of a weekend break. France are gambling on the idea that most viewers are looking forward to a Parisian holiday, as their staging resembles that of a beautiful park in their capital city. What more could you want? Well... the Fortnite inspired dance moves from the music video are back. A thoroughly enjoyable rehearsal! http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-frances-angelina-recreates-a-day-out-in-a-parisian-park-review/ Macedonia - Marija Spasovska The visuals for this are striking, almost as striking as the story told by the lyrics. Macedonia have really pulled together a great overall performance. Marija even has a costume change! http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-on-screen-graphics-and-a-costume-reveal-for-macedonias-marija-spasovska-review/ Georgia - Tamar Edilashvili Georgia win the award for possibly the best on-screen graphics that we've ever seen used with smart camera angles - giving the impression that cars are driving behind Tamar on stage. That's not all though, as her outfit also ties in to the key lyric of the entry. http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-tamar-edilashvili-is-in-highway-traffic-for-georgia-review/ Ireland - Taylor Hynes Bright, bold graphics on the screens and a confident on-stage presence from Taylor. Ireland's first use of backing dancers at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest really brings to life one of the contest's more upbeat entries. http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-ireland-review/ Albania - Efi Gjika Pink summarises this rehearsal nicely - the colour, not the pop artist - but the entry also has some really cute cartoon animation on the screens, a charismatic performer looking to engage the crowd in front of her and plenty of camera shots of the audience too! http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-pink-pink-and-more-pink-for-efi-gjika-and-albania-review/ Belarus - Daniel Yastremski The home entry has brought prop after prop after prop! Why not when you're hosting the whole thing, eh? Ending the day in style full of choreography, slick camera shots and great use of the screens to tell the story of the song. http://escxtra.com/2018/11/20/day-1-belarus-using-home-advantage-by-bringing-props-galore-to-the-party-review/ Tomorrow, we will see the remaining ten performances from Italy, Kazakhstan, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Wales. Voting opens on Friday for you to support your favourites before the contest takes place. We will be bringing you rehearsal reports all week, plus maybe even a live stream or two as we look ahead to Sunday's big show. You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook: @ESCXTRA

Junior Eurovision 2018 – Day 1 Rehearsal Recap

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