In the cultural center of Šiauliai, dance will unite folklore lovers

In 2024 May 4, 11 o'clock The final of the Lithuanian schoolchildren's folk dance competition "Patrepsynė" will be held in the "Maksas" entertainment hall of the Šiauliai Cultural Center (Aušros al. 31). This year, as many as 105 couples from nineteen municipalities of the country will come to the City of the Sun to compete for the title of the best. The organizers of the event hope that the competition will bring together not only lovers of ethnic culture, but also residents of Šiauliai and guests of the city, who will be able to see how the younger generation nurtures their love for the old Lithuanian folk traditions.
The organizer is the Šiauliai Cultural Center. The event is free. Financed by the Lithuanian Culture Council and Šiauliai City Municipality.

The seventeenth Lithuanian schoolchildren's folk dance competition "Patrepsynė" is coming to an end. On the first Saturday of May, dancers from all over Lithuania will gather in Šiauliai, dressed in national costumes. Having started their journey towards the finals at the beginning of March, the young dancers will finally have the opportunity to prove how much you need to love folk dance.

"Folk dance is one of the greatest treasures of the Lithuanian people. What was preserved by our countrymen, today is taken over by the youth, thus strengthening the identity of our nation. I am glad that the Lithuanian schoolchildren's folk dance competitions held at the Šiauliai Cultural Center are growing, and the drive of children and young people to pass on our traditions is not going anywhere," says the director of the Šiauliai Cultural Center, Deimantė Bačiulė.

This year, the "Maxas" entertainment hall of the Šiauliai Cultural Center will be filled with over two hundred young folk dance enthusiasts who will come to the competition finals from nineteen municipalities in the country. The organizers of the event promise that the pairs of dancers from the municipalities of Varėna, Tauragė, Prienai, Pasvali, Biržai, Kėdainiai, Kelma, Šilalė, Kaunas, Šiauliai districts and the municipalities of Šilalė, Klaipėda, Tauragė, Trakai, Panevėžys, Marijampolė, Palanga, Joniškis and Šiauliai will not will not only enthusiastically stomp in the final of the competition, but will also reveal to the audience the character of folk dance.

This year, the "Patrepsynės" final will begin with a joint non-competitive dance "I will give Petrui bean bliūda" performed by folk dance lovers. It is hoped that this highland dance will not only become a part of the opening of the final competition, but will also protect the excitement and the joy of dancing.

In the beginners' group, the largest number of competitors will compete this year - as many as 84 couples who will dance according to the dances "Viedar's", "Tancius", "Lelinderis" and "Drėbininkė" selected by the Lithuanian National Cultural Center. In the advanced category, 12 couples will compete in the dances "Dūktinis", "Three Sisters", "Padispanas" and "Rai rita tam". 9 couples with dance experience will compete in the experienced group. Here they will try to impress the commission by dancing folkloric dances "Gyvataras", "Olimpa", "Buva dūda Vilniuj" (in four) and "Meilutė".

"Patrepsynė", a folk dance competition for Lithuanian schoolchildren, cannot be imagined without music. This year, the dancers will be accompanied by the instrumental group of the children's and youth folklore ensemble "Vieversėlis" of the Šiauliai School of Music School (conductor Arūnas Stankus) and the guests: the instrumental group "Čiučiuruks" of the children's and youth folklore ensemble of the Telšiai Cultural Center (conductor Rita Videikaitė-Macijauskienė) and the city of Klaipėda the instrumental group of the children and youth folklore ensemble "Alkiukai" of the municipal ethnoculture center (art director Ingrida Žmijauskienė).

Audronė Vakarinienė, a specialist in choreographic folklore, one of the organizers of the Lithuanian song festival "Kad giria žaliuųť", Folklore Day "Rasi rasoj rasi", will select the best pairs of dancers in the Šiauliai Cultural Center. Working together with her will be Alvydas Vozgirdas - artistic director of the children's and youth folklore ensemble "Kuršiukai" of the Klaipėda Ethnoculture Center and the adult group "Kuršių ainiai", Gvidas Vilys - ethnomusicologist, doctor of humanitarian sciences, Vaida Naruševičiūtė - head of the Varėna Culture Center. folklore specialist, head of folklore ensemble "Žeiria", Ramutė Gaučaitė - associate professor, doctor of social sciences, choreographer, Daiva Adamkavičienė - head of cultural activities at the Pasvalis Culture Center, folklorist, head of folklore ensemble "Rags" and children's folklore ensemble "Linelis" and Jūratė Šemetaitė - Head of the Ethnic Culture Department of the Lithuanian National Culture Center, deputy head of the creative group of the Folklore Day "Rasi rasoj rasi" of the Lithuanian song festival "Kad giria žaliuųť". This year, a commission of seven members will evaluate the uniqueness, technique, musicality, expressiveness and naturalness of the folk dance of children and youth.

All the couples who appeared in the competition and their managers will be awarded with letters of thanks. The best trapeze dancers of individual dances, who will receive not only diplomas and special gifts, will also compete for the names of laureates in the beginner, advanced and experienced categories.

The information is provided by Aušra Brijūnienė, head of the Amateur Art Department of the Šiauliai Cultural Center, mobile. +370 655 25 527, e-mail ausra.brijuniene@siauliukc.lt.

Liubov Yarmoshenko photo.