We will show you still have gunpowder

– You joined Kaunas folk dance asses – all leaders. Will you try to amaze the festival commission professionalism? The seniority of your own as an educator choreographer alone is more than 40 years. Are your colleagues just as honorable in age and experience?

– Some younger, others older. There are 60-year-olds, 70s, and the oldest of us 75.

We came together for the first time 20 years ago, as this competition does not take place every year – every four years. Everyone is professionals in their craft, who lead various folk dance groups in Kaunas.

We named the festival name « Klumpakojis ». Most of us associate our dance studies with Klaipeda University. Let’s say I’m in 1976. I graduated from Šiauliai Kazys Preikšas Pedagogical Institute Klaipėda Faculty of Music and acquired the specialty of ballet master teacher. Others, younger, are now dancing at Kaunas State Musical Theater, and have completed their studies at Klaipėda University Choreography or Dance Department.

We joined this festival for almost 30 people – eighteen leaders and eleven musicians. Everyone can say, our work and dance fanatics, because we get little money for it.

– How do I see, you are very fighting – will you seek victory?

– We have won this competition 20 years ago, and we will see how it will succeed today. It is always fun to win, but it’s fun to be all together. We were preparing for a few months, dancing, and after the dance, we had fun talking to a cup of coffee. So, first of all, fun time together, communion, friendship, and then laurel leaf wreaths and medals (laughs).

We would like to show that we Kaunas leaders still have gunpowder, we are alive, agile, we can dance no less than young people.

I know that as many as 43 folk dance ensembles from all over Lithuania participate in the competition this year, and one Lithuanian folk dance group came from Punsk (Poland). Still, our team is the only one. Usually there are amateurists in competitions and we have come up with leaders.

Not wisdom: the teacher choreographer K. Kondratavičius is 71 years. He says he could be able to retire freely, but as long as he feels necessary, he is leading as many as three folk dance groups. / Photo by K. Kondratavičius Personal Archive

– You named ‘clumping’, so will you dance with clogs?

– It is in this competition that we will leave the clogs for the younger ones, but after all, Lithuanians have a lot of dance with clogs. After all, in ancient times, clogs were an integral part of everyday life, especially in rural areas where people wore them both working and dancing.

Now, clogs are more important to us as a cultural heritage that we can convey to future generations through dance. Dancing with clogs is not easy. It requires greater precision, coordination of movements, and the sound of clogs helps to enhance the rhythm of the dance while giving the dancers energy. By the way, we always show dancing with clogs abroad, because only we Lithuanians and Dutch are dancing with them.

Our team is the only one. Usually there are amateurists in competitions and we have come up with leaders.

Going back to your question about Klumpakojis – why do we not shy with clogs? This time it is more important for us to show ourselves beautifully – turn, look at each other’s eyes, raise their hands beautifully … The young people are more technical, more energetic – with or without clogs.

– Do you work with dancers of all ages – children, youth, and are there third -century university students?

– Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) has a folk dance group Ave Vita. 35 years ago, I formed a group of middle -aged dancers, which includes teachers, doctors, actors and other professions. Many couples are even family there, that is, men dance with their wives. In addition, we not only dance, but also spend time together and celebrate the holidays. In winter – Mardi Gras, summer – Midsummer. We organize kayaks and go abroad together.

Many of those dancers work on the day of the day, and when they come here, they lower the steam. Everyone is equal here. The dance unites everyone, combines.

And for health, dance is fine. No need to walk with sticks and run marathons. You would see you my dancers – everyone is slender because there is no time to grow fat (laughs). On the other hand, now the times when everyone is sitting on computers, and we come to us, move – stretching out. Where else is beautiful music and good company! We jump, then talk to – what’s not therapy?!

Rated: A moment from the Lithuanian Song Festival « To praise green ». / Photo by K. Kondratavičius Personal Archive

– Do you have musicians playing live?

– No. We use records, but there is a huge folk orchestra at LSMU students – almost 20 people. You see, under the Flag of Ave Vita, two folk dance groups: youth and middle -aged.

– How many of those collectives are there at all?

– Currently, only three, but I had as many as twelve at a time. For nineteen years I worked as a ballet master of the folk dance folk collective of Kaunas Trade Union. Since 1986, as I said, I have become an artistic director of the LSMU ensemble Ave Vita. For ten years I led the children’s folk dance ensemble « Kalvelis » by Kaunas Leisure Center « Old Trest ».

And in what kind of schools, gymnasiums I didn’t work … I used to set up a dance group, wait for it to come and then prescribe a dancer of my student to lead him. I have set up a lot of such dance groups in various schools.

Since 1990 I started working as a choreography teacher at Kaunas Santara Gymnasium. My pedagogical seniority is 41 years old.

– Curious, do you have a family and have you been able to infect your own dance?

– I have – like. But my son -in -law is a former footballer, and the grandchildren do not dance anymore, but do sports. Imagine a daughter gave us four grandchildren and one granddaughter with my wife, now year and two months! Fifteen for the oldest grandson. By the way, her daughter Agnė also danced to me for a while. Wife? No, didn’t jump. Onutė is an economist. Former lecturer at Kaunas University of Technology. However, she is very supportive of my activities, understanding what I do.

– Is it at least a granddaughter to make a dancer when he grows up?

– Maybe… But I think you don’t have to dance – you can spend your free time in a different way. Most importantly, the kids to see a good example. Here are my grandchildren understanding what I do and sometimes come to concerts. So what more does Grandpa need?! I am happy.

– Tell us about yourself: Where were you born, grew up, how you became a choreographer?

– I am Kaisiadoriškis. Derived from a family of five children. The village is like this: everyone works a lot and then goes to the culture house. And I played a lot there, danced. Therefore, the desire to study choreography in Klaipeda was natural. Then I received an appointment to the Telšiai Culture School. I lectured, led the student dance group. Then it was time for the army. I had to do military service, but here the dance accompanied me – I danced in the Leningrad military ensemble. After the army I found myself in Kaunas.

– How did people entertain in the village – you said, went to a culture house?

– Rural people, you can say, everyone was from nature. Therefore, he was able to sing and dance. It used to be, we come back from our universities on weekends to help parents home, and after work we all dance and sing. Of course, there were more young people in my time, not going abroad. And the children were not as far away from their parents as they are now. We had no computers, smartphones, there was a communion – we all sang, danced, entertained. In my time, the generations were not as separated as they are now.

Dance gave people the opportunity to come together, share experiences, and create relationships. Allowed to forget, to escape from problems.

In memory: with LSMU ensemble Ave Vita folk dance group, middle -aged dancers. This year, this group is celebrating its 35th birthday. Longest years! / Photo by K. Kondratavičius Personal Archive

– If I had not asked omniscient, how much K. Kondratavičius – LSMU folk dance ensemble Ave Vita and Kaunas « Santara » gymnasium « Santarians » – I wouldn’t have guessed it: you are 71 years old.

– As long as I need, I try not to stop. It is fun that many of us are inviting us: whether what honorable guests would come to Kaunas, or whether a Lithuanian dance should be shown abroad … This summer we have gone to Japan with our dance program. The whole Emperor’s family watched our concert!

We were specifically invited – we didn’t pay a penny. There was a very serious festival of the entire Japanese educational institutions. We were only three collectives as guest rights: from Lithuania, South Korea and Vietnam.

How did we win the honor to represent Lithuania? Our Santaris dancers – eleven, twelve – are the strongest of all schools in Kaunas. I guess that for this reason, last autumn, I got into the top five educators who were awarded a teacher of the year at the Grunwald Arena. I received my gratitude and bonus. As soon as he returned from Japan, the II Santaka Honor mark from Kaunas City Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis!

Dance gave people the opportunity to come together, share experiences, and create relationships. Allowed to forget, to escape from problems.

– You are not only an educator choreographer, but also ballet master of Lithuanian song festivals and student song festivals, program organizer and implemented; Festivals – « Hey, a student, spin the wind », « Our beautiful family », « Dance connects us » and more. – The creator. You probably have more honorable awards for your merits?

– I really have (smiles), but they are not the most important. It’s good for me when I see it’s good for kids. That they are willing to choose dance lessons, go to rehearsals. That they spend their leisure time with a cigarette around the corner, but in the school acts hall, having fun with the dance rhythm.

I spend all my free time to develop and occupy young people. They want them to understand the importance of fostering the tradition of folk dance, because they contribute to the preservation of Lithuanianism.

Sometimes I go down the street and watch people. It is certainly possible to guess which one has visited something in his childhood, in his youth and which one is not. Sometimes I even talk, check if my eyes are not deceiving. The posture of dancing folk dances is completely different. This is especially true now that everyone is sniffing with noses on phones.

– What would you like for yourself, other festival groups, to our readers on the occasion of Easter?

– First of all, peace, peace. We Lithuanians must remain strong in our traditions – songs, dances, because it is they who make the Lithuanian nation worldwide and encourage young people not to lose their relationship with their roots.