The characteristic of folk dance will spread at the Šiauliai Cultural Center

On March 26, 2025, the Šiauliai Cultural Center's Orange Hall (Aušros al. 31) will host the Šiauliai city and district qualifying round of the Lithuanian schoolchildren's folk dance competition "Patrepsynė". This year, 27 pairs of dancers will compete in the beginners' group to enter the finals, performing compulsory dances. The event organizers hope that the joy born on the dance floor and the energy emitted will convey to the audience the beauty of ethnic culture, the authenticity of folk dance, and will give the competition participants themselves a good time. The local round will reveal who will compete in the final stage of the competition on May 10.
Organizer – Šiauliai Cultural Center. Financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Šiauliai City Municipality. The event is free.

The Lithuanian school folk dance competition "Patrepsynė" has been bringing together folk dance enthusiasts for almost two decades. Preservation of dance traditions and dissemination of ethnic culture are what unites the younger generation. The competition, held in the spring, consists of three stages. The first round is organized in classrooms and schools. Later, the most talented couples compete in the second city and district stage. The last, most important, aspiration of every patrepsykus and patrepsytės is the final.

“The competition, now in its second decade, has become an integral part of the Šiauliai Cultural Center, attracting more and more participants and spectators every year. Young folklore lovers, by getting involved in this tradition with great enthusiasm, not only learn to dance, but also deepen their understanding of old Lithuanian traditions. I am glad that this involvement and sincere interest in folklore is becoming a real cultural light that connects different generations,” says Deimantė Bačiulė, director of the Šiauliai Cultural Center.

On March 26, 27 pairs of folklore dance lovers will try to win a place in the final at the Šiauliai Cultural Center. 23 couples passed the first round in Šiauliai city, so the Šiauliai Gegužiai Progymnasium Folklore Club "Čiutulis" (teacher Rima Šereivienė), Šiauliai Jesuit School Folklore Group "Jurgutis" (teacher Ramutė Vedeckienė), Šiauliai Juventa Progymnasium Folklore Club "Kleketukai" (teacher Eglė Baranauskienė), Šiauliai Saulius Sondeckis Art Gymnasium (teacher Jolanta Butenienė) and Šiauliai Juventa Progymnasium 4c class dancers (teacher Asta Jakumienė) will reveal their character in the competition. In the qualifying round, 4 guest couples from Šiauliai district Kuršėnai Stasys Anglickis Progymnasium (teacher Vaida Vielavičienė) and Šiauliai district Kuršėnai Paventiai School-Multifunctional Center Raudėnai Branch (teacher Alma Steponavičienė).

This year, participants will be invited to greet each other and get to know each other better by dancing the mandatory non-competitive dance “Trumpakojis”. It is expected that the joint dance will not only become a great accent for the opening of the competition, but will also relieve excitement and allow them to get to know the audience and other contestants better.

In the Šiauliai City and Šiauliai District Selection Round of the Lithuanian Schoolchildren’s Folk Dance Competition “Patrepsynė”, the youth dance technique will be evaluated and the participants will be delegated to the final by a competent commission, which will consist of Džiuljeta Ragauskienė, teacher of the Šiauliai Marcelinas Šikšnis Gymnasium dance group “Dūkymėlis”, artistic director of the Šiauliai Cultural Center choreography studio “Aušrelė”, ballet master of the Lithuanian Song Festival Mindaugas Kosaitis and Šiauliai District Deputy Director of the Municipal Cultural Center Rolanda Bitienė.

An integral part of the folk dance competition is music. This year, the participants will be accompanied and the rhythm of the dances will be given by the instrumental group of the Šiauliai Song and Music School Children and Youth Folklore Ensemble “Vieversėlis” (led by Arūnas Stankus).

The event organizers inform that applications for the participation of a pair of dancers delegated to the final round of the Lithuanian School Folk Dance Competition “Patrepsynė” can be submitted until April 4. Detailed information about the competition regulations and mandatory dances is available on the Šiauliai Cultural Center website: https://www.siauliukc.lt/news/3291/64/Kvietimas-vagaljuti-Lietuvos-moksleiviu-folkloriniu-sokiu-varzytuvese-Patrepsyne-2025/.

The third round – the final – will take place on May 10, when participants will compete for the title of the best folk dance dancers in two categories.

Photo by Liubov Yarmoshenko

Information is provided by Aušra Brijūnienė, Head of the Amateur Art Department of the Šiauliai Cultural Center, mob. +370 655 25 527, e-mail ausra.brijuniene@siauliukc.lt.