Boundaries that destroy the magic of motion: the dance is joined by a greeting

Holy Wednesdays

« As I remember today, I come to the Cultural Palace, and there are only six years of dancing. As I was for me? Twice as much as they were at the time – thirteen, » Audronė Kaunas recalled her first steps on the parquet and later accompanied by dance virtuoses. As a teenager, Audronė studied with the pioneer of the expression dance in Lithuania Katerinas Daujotaitė and later with choreographer Birutė Letukaitė. For the last few years, Kaunas has taken the subtleties of movement from contemporary dance actress, choreographer Goda Laurinavičiūtė. She told Audrone about the dance classes of the international project Dance Well dance for seniors with Parkinson’s disease or other mobility disorders organized by the Lithuanian Dance Information Center.

« Goda tells me, » Try, it’s really interesting there.  » That’s how I did, and now I can’t stop, « Audronė said that for more than a year on Wednesdays, she was as holy Sundays for her. At that day, a woman pulls more ornate clothes from the closet, combing and raising her 91 friend, Antan.

« The two of them are more fun, » Audronė hugged the bald buddy, and when she answered the same – she smiled.

When Audrone was unable to finish the sentence, the senior stuck in her hand, leaned a little forward and lifted his left leg in the swallow pose.

« I can not yet show it! » – Audronė began to calm down Antanas.

The power of motion

Vladislovas, called relatives just Vlad, has been walking alone for dance lessons for some time.

Choice: Although one left, Vlad did not give up dance lessons. Photo by Regimantas Zakšensk

« I used to go with my wife. She had Parkinson’s disease, participated in the activities of the Parkinson Society, » said Wednesdays after the beloved, according to her lover. Because of its inferiority, the man missed only one dance lesson. The movement is being called by stagnation, and like -minded people from loneliness.

« You talk, jump and time passes faster, » Vlad’s speech interrupted the teacher’s request for a pile. After the fourth floor of the Ąžuolynas Library, the dancers sat in a circle and traditionally, and began to greet each other with movements.

Company: Antanas and Laima are one of the most passionate dancers. Photo by Regimantas Zakšensk

« I’m Laima, » she lifted her hands, turning to the gathered women, and then performed the wings of the bird’s wings. With the same echo, the library roof lifted from the sounding « Hi, Laima ». After the seniors, Alina, Erika, Adrian, Jurga came from her place until the movements of all joined the overall dance.

For a moment, after hesitating whether all the activity and general preparations before the big Sunday’s performance « Dance 1,000 » in Vilnius, one of the teachers is a choreographer, a contemporary dance creator, a longtime member of Kaunas Dance Theater Aura, Golden Stage Cross winner Mantas Stabačinskas lifted his students from chairs.

Ritual: Each lesson begins with a greeting that connects to the dance. Photo by Regimantas Zakšensk

« We are starting the show. Take your place, » I realized when the first sounds of music, I realized what Stabačinskas had in mind, talking about the magic of motion a few minutes ago. The shy seniors sitting in a wheelchair turned into a scene in a wolf. Not only she herself, but also the wheels of her vehicle. Vlad did not stop in place, and at the beginning of the conversation she covered with modesty. Soon the dancers appeared in the hands of requisites – needles and thread balls, where they were peeled and eaten by bananas.

Dance about us

« What the performance is about that everyone can dance. No matter what condition, with the disease or without, the dance provides strength and power, » said Erika Vizbaraitė, a dancer, choreographer and educator.

What about the performance? About the fact that everyone can dance. No matter what condition, with or without disease, dance provides strength and power.

The same thing, only in other words, about the miniature of contemporary dance « Dance 1,000 Years », which Kaunas audience saw last autumn, and this Sunday will be able to appreciate the audience of the capital, Choreographer Agnietė Lisičkinaitė and Greta Grinevičiūtė said. They view the dance as a tool that eliminates our own boundaries. Where the motion is unrestricted, « they » and « us » are not left, so the audience will see not teachers and students, but simply dancers not classified according to their experience, education or physical data.

« These people’s body capabilities are quite limited, so even the simplest movement tasks were difficult for them. We worked on our daily movements, we wanted to show that dance is around us and we do not need to know something specific to dance. G. Grinevičiūtė spoke.

Benefits: Adrian (left) and Mantas enjoyed the change in seniors and the power of dance. Photo by Regimantas Zakšensk

Teachers E. Vizbaraitė, G. Laurinavičiūtė, Gabija Blochina, Mantas Stabačinskas, Marius Monkis and Adrian Carlo Bibiana also seconded her. When they start attending free dance classes, seniors dance and leave them. For example, Laima’s legs are watching the series, and Audronė has a dance step from kitchen to room.

« We see people coming barely moving, and they go out on the wings. Believe me, it has been repeatedly that the dancers left their sticks after school, » Stabačinskas enjoyed the change.

Will search for support

The choreographic miniature « Dance 1,000 Years » is part of the international project « Dance Well » produced by the Lithuanian Dance Information Center, and its mission is much more important and meaningful than the appearance on stage alone.

Photo by Regimantas Zakšensk

The creative European project « Dance Well » began in 2013 and its creators were Italians. 2019 The initiative expanded internationally, unifying eight stage arts and education organizations in Italy, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Lithuania. Communities in these countries, through dance, seek to mitigate the effects of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, as well as to improve patients’ well -being.

“We started to organize dance lessons in Kaunas in early 2022 with the fear of obscurity – how to create a space that is safe for both elders and six professional dance teachers and museum visitors. Masteikaitė – after three years of the project, we see that interest is growing and people who lead and attend classes are no longer imagined.

Earlier this year, the third season of contemporary dance lessons began in Kaunas, which moved to a new place – the Ąžuolynas Library in Kaunas. Lessons are open to everyone and participation in them is free. The organization of Dance Well dance lessons is partly funded by the Lithuanian Cultural Institute, the EU Creative European Program and Kaunas City Municipality. The fate of lessons depends on further support.

« We received support from Kaunas City Municipality, so we will continue our lessons by the end of this year, and we will continue to look. It will all depend on the support. We will look for it both in Lithuania and internationally, because we see the need for dance lessons, »