Šokio spektaklis „Žemaitė N.18(0)“ | Utena

Dance performance "Žemaitė N.18(0)"

There is no age limit for love and creativity

Ensemble "Lietuva" presents the premiere - a dance performance "Žemaitė N.18(0)" about a woman who has clearly outlived her time. The new program will be launched on February 21. in the Vilnius Dance Theater, later the tour will continue in other Lithuanian cities. The phenomenon of Žemaitė with all the most intimate facts of her life deserves separate attention, so the dance performance will invite you to look at the famous Lithuanian classic in a completely different way.

"Žemaitė N.18(0) - you will be surprised how wonderful, unstoppable and independent she is", says the director and head of the ensemble "Lietuva" about the born idea. choreographer Aušra Krasauskaitė. At that time, the courage to love and stand out from others emerged, unique in its inner freedom. The new performance will tell the story of the writer's passions and extraordinary lust for knowledge, life, art and men, which simmered beneath her dignified, proud posture and the scarf that always covers her head. By combining an intriguing biography and creative motives, the side of the writer, which has so far been barely presented on the stage, will be reflected on, which hides secrets that have not been understood by many creators, thus destroying the well-established, somewhat undeservedly portrayed image of a "grandmother" with a scarf on a one lita bill.

The new program of the Lietuva ensemble is being created to commemorate the one hundred and eightieth anniversary of the birth of writer Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė (pseudonym Žemaitė). The story line arouses the curiosity of the woman's spicy life: at the age of 65, she fell in love with a man 30 years younger, who dated her granddaughter, and eventually married Žemaitė's daughter. Žemaitė's surviving letters to her beloved bear witness to very strong feelings that influenced her work.

"Primarily, Žemaitė is a person who not only listened to her inner voice, but also had enough courage to follow it. There is a lot to analyze about her biography or the people who were around her who may have influenced her, but this speculation is irrelevant. Anyone who wants to learn about Žemaitė can easily do so with a few clicks on a computer or phone. What is interesting to me is that Žemaitė is a woman like me, who allowed herself to hear her authentic "I" and respond to her needs - to create, love and live freely in the context of that time, where many did not even dream about it in their most secret fantasies. And this choice is important today, because despite the declared freedom to choose - where to live, what to love, to be a feminist or not, to accept one's feelings without questioning their goodness or badness - it is becoming more and more complicated. I want to create a performance that would convey what I feel when I read and think about Žemaitė. I share this inspiration, if you too would turn to yourself", - invites A. Krasauskaitė to the premier.

In the project specially dedicated to the year of Žemaitė, a bright, colorful personality will be revealed in the language of movement and symbols. The choreography will be dominated by classical, neoclassical and contemporary dances, while dynamic mass scenes will be replaced by duets and solo compositions performed by the "Lietuvos" dance troupe. Modern choreography, intertwined with ethnic motifs, supplemented with Lithuanian folk customs will strengthen the city/rural images, which are inseparable aspects of the writer's life. The atmosphere created by the scenography will allow you to feel the multifaceted personality of the play's main character - Žemaitė. The performance will feature motifs from different composers, as well as Lithuanian folk works.

Literary researchers describe Žemaitė as "an active, sensual, hipster-wearing scarf, strangely out of place in the environment and unafraid of radical changes in life" - it is she who best meets the needs of the present age among the authors of the classics. The beginnings of feminism in Lithuania can be heard in Žemaitė's position at that time, in the questions she raised - such as why women earn less than men. Paradoxically, Žemaitė received great support from young intellectuals Povilas Višinskis, Jonas Jablonskis and others, but there was no understanding of this in the immediate environment.

As you know, Julija Beniusevičiūtė-Žymantienė wrote about rural realities, mutual relations, hardships and misfortunes, vividly described pictures of nature and accurately depicted different human states. Attention to feelings is what particularly attracts Žemaitė's work. The writer initiated modern Lithuanian prose and the current of realism in Lithuanian literature: the short story "Marti", the short story "Petras Kurmelis" and other well-known works that are still quoted in school programs. However, when making sense of Žemaitė's creative merits, one rarely looks back to the author's personality and the woman's dramatic history.

Director and choreographer A. Krasauskaitė - laureate of the Golden Cross of the Stage and the Mask of Thanks, who has staged more than eight dance performances in various Lithuanian theaters, created choreography for such projects of the ensemble "Lietuva" as the musical drama "Emilija", the collage opera "Mažvydas", the musical drama "Sakmė" about a gifted heart" or the dance performance "Dance Symphony from North Jerusalem" by Jievar Jasinskis music. The creator of the new project was also inspired by the dance performance "Uncles and Uncles" based on Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas.

Set designer and costume designer - Giedrė Brazytė, also laureate of the Golden Stage Cross, Thanksgiving Mask and Fortune Prize. The author of the dramaturgy is Kristina Steiblytė, the different works of the musical part will be combined by Silvija Miliūnaitė, and the light painter Pijus Vasiliauskas.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Director and choreographer: Aušra Krasauskaitė

Playwright: Kristina Steiblytė

Scenography and costume designer: Giedrė Brazytė

Composers: Silvija Miliūnaitė, Nijolė Sinkevičiūtė, Vidmantas Bartulis, Faustas Latėnas, Giedrius Puskunigis and others

Head of the musical part: Silvija Miliūnaitė

Light artist: Pijus Vasiliauskas

Assistant director: Giedrė Kriaučionytė-Vosylienė

Soloists:

Žemaitė: Gintarė Vaitiekūnaitė / Kristina Tarasevičiūtė

Daughter Juzė: Eiva Dobilaitė / Vesta Gineitytė

Granddaughter Elzė: Goda Mikuckytė / Alina Jazdauskytė

Konstantinas: Jakūbas Silius / Daniel Voinovas

Son Antanas: Simonas Laukaitis / Antanas Striganavičius

Unė Babickaitė: Greta Frolovaitė

Performers:

Dance troupe of the State Ensemble "Lietuva".

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