Over 200 dancers of the "Patrepsynė" final revealed the uniqueness of folk dance

In 2024 May 4 The final of the "Patrepsynė" folk dance competition for Lithuanian schoolchildren was held in Šiauliai Cultural Center. This year, as many as 210 young lovers of folk dance came to the city of Saulė from nineteen municipalities of the country to compete for the title of the best. In different categories of groups - beginners, advanced and experienced - there were real battles, which not only revealed the character of the dance of each trapeze couple, but also allowed to see the love of children and youth for folk dance.
The organizer - Šiauliai Cultural Center. Financed by the Lithuanian Culture Council and Šiauliai City Municipality.

The Šiauliai Culture Center became the home of folk dance lovers on May 4, as the "Patrepsynė" folk dance competition for Lithuanian schoolchildren, which promotes the nurturing of ethnic culture and the spread of folk dance, was held here for the seventeenth time. As many as 105 couples from nineteen municipalities of the country gathered in the city of Saulė this year. The love of folk dance and the desire to become the best schoolchildren dressed in national costumes came to Šiauliai from the municipalities of Varėna, Tauragė, Prienai, Pasvalis, Biržai, Kėdainiai, Kelma, Šilalė, Kaunas, Šiauliai districts and Šilalė, Klaipėda, Tauragė, Trakai, Panevėžys, Municipalities of Marijampolė, Palanga, Joniškis and Šiauliai cities.

The final of the "Patrepsynė" folk dance competition for Lithuanian schoolchildren started energetically. In the entertainment hall "Maksas" from all over Lithuania, for the competition for the coolest name, the trepsis and trepsitės opened the competition by dancing a joint non-competitive dance "I'll give Petruis bean bliūda".

Later, the competition turned into a real battlefield, where all pairs of folklorists enthusiastically danced dances selected by the Lithuanian National Cultural Center. As many as 84 couples competed in the beginner category this year, who performed "Viedar`s", "Tancius", "Lelinderis" and "Drėbininke" dances. In the advanced group, 12 couples competed in folk dances "Dūktinis", "Three Sisters", "Padispanas" and "Rai rita tam". In the advanced category, 9 couples danced to "Gyvataras", "Olimpa", "Buva dūda Vilniuj" (in four) and "Meilutė".

Emilija Vienažindytė and Kajus Petrauskas from the Domeikava Gymnasium of the Kaunas district triumphed in the beginner category (teachers: Daiva Bradauskienė, Kamilė Jurevičiūtė, Vilius Marma). In the advanced category, Eivina Petrauskaitė and Gabrielius Bambalas from the folklore ensemble "Gers smuoks" of the Šilalė district municipal cultural center (artistic director Ilona Raudonienė) performed best and became laureates. Kamilė Savickaitė and Lukas Plačinskas from Radviliškis district celebrated their victory in the experienced group. Šiaulėnai Marcelinos Šikšnis high school (teacher Džiuljeta Ragauskienė).

This year, at the Lithuanian schoolchildren's folk dance competition, Patrepsynė dancers were accompanied by the Vieversėlis instrumental group of the children's and youth folklore ensemble of the Šiauliai School of Music School (director Arūnas Stankus) and guests: the Čiučiuruks instrumental group of the children's and youth folklore ensemble of the Telšiai Cultural Center (director Rita Videikaitė-Macijauskienė) and the instrumental group of the children's and youth folklore ensemble "Alkiukai" of Klaipėda City Municipality Ethnoculture Center (art director Ingrida Žmijauskienė).

In the finals of the competition, seven members of the commission evaluated the trapezes for their originality, expressiveness, naturalness, musicality and dance technique. Audronė Vakarinienė, one of the organizers of the Lithuanian song festival "Kad giria žaliuųť", Folklore Day "Rasi rasoj rasi", selected the best pairs of dancers at the Šiauliai Cultural Center. Together with her, Alvydas Vozgirdas - artistic director of the children's and youth folklore ensemble "Kuršiukai" of the Klaipėda Ethnoculture Center and the adult collective "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".

All participants of the final and their leaders, teachers were awarded with thanks. The best trepsiuks and trepsytės in individual dances received not only diplomas, but also special gifts prepared for the competition, and the laureates chosen in the categories of beginners, advanced and experienced - the fennel gardens tied by the Šiauliai folk artist Raimonda Kiminaitė.

Patrepsynės winners 2024

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.