Lithuanian Song Celebration: Vilnius

My friend and former Oliver Avenue neighbor, Kristina, has always been active with Lithuanian American groups (Chicago and Minneapolis, I think) as a way to maintain a connection with her family’s culture. She teaches Lithuanian school and dances with a folk dance group which travels to various Lithuanian festivals. This year, the 100th anniversary of the Lithuanian Song festival in Vilnius, her dance group was able to make a Circle of 16 dancers in order to join this UNESCO heritage event, described here…

“Since 1924, every four or five years, Lithuanians from all over the world join the majestic National Song and Dance Festival. Held over several summer days, open-air dances, songs and music unite up to 40,000 craftsmen, singers and dancers dressed in traditional costumes, and more than 300,000 spectators in an authentic expression of their identity. In the 20^th century mass choral singing acquired widespread popularity as a means of asserting Lithuanian cultural identity through the tradition passed down from generation to generation. With the collapse of the Soviet Union a new national awakening took place, characterized by the spontaneous singing of thousands in mass rallies historically known as the Singing Revolution. The Baltic Song and Dance Celebrations was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.”

The stadium was packed, and with so many dancers on the field it was nearly impossible to spot Kristina and we couldn’t pick out her circle despite knowing the costume colors and patterns, but then, right at the end, we did see her group and Kristina saw us in the audience. It was so exciting for us all; here is the moment we spot one another!

Because Kristina spent every day practicing with the thousands of dancers, I was fortunate to have recruited a friend to travel with me from Sweden so that I wouldn’t have to spend so much time on my own. Kristina met us whenever possible. On one of our first evenings of the visit, Andrea and I hiked up to what we later discovered was an outdoor arena named the Mountain Stadium for the Ensembles Evening. With lots of breaks en route, we made it in plenty of time to save a spot for Kristina and some of her dance circle who also climbed the hill at the end of a long day of dancing. Kristina had 32,000 steps on her tracker when she arrived and that doesn’t account for the return trip, so we had nothing to complain about. These events are so popular that we were extremely lucky to get tickets. The show was amazing! The atmosphere was magical, with the music, light show and theatrical elements of dance to enhance the Song Celebration. This was a televised event, with specially selected professional performers. Being part of such a huge live event was special and moving even though we didn’t understand the lyrics.

While poor Kristina was diligently rehearsing, Andrea and I enjoyed the sights of Vilnius. We perused shops, explored a few museums, and learned a lot about the history of Lithuania, with frequent stops to sample many of the typical foods.