An infusion of new artistic talent brought about a qualitative renewal of Lithuanian ballet in the 1960s with the return to Vilnius in 1959 of a group of dancers who had recently graduated from the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute (now known as the Agrippina Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet). These artists included Leokadija Aškelovičiūtė, Regina Baranauskaitė, Genovaitė Samaitytė, Ramutė Šimėnaitė, Gražina Žvikaitė, Antanas Beliukevičius, Eugenijus Judinas, Raimondas Minderis, Pranas Peluritis and Vytautas Sinkevičius. Pranė Sargūnaitė ir Elegijus Bukaitis graduated from the Leningrad academy one year later and returned to join the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre in Vilnius.
The ranks of the new, younger ballet company were also complemented by graduates of the Moscow School of Choreography, including Lithuanian dancers Vytautas Kudžma, Sigita Vabalevičiūtė, as well as performers of other nationalities who had completed their training in other cities in the USSR before coming to Vilnius, such as Svetlana Masaniova (from the Byelorussian SSR School of Choreography), Nina Antonova (Moscow School of Choreography), and Natalija Kairienė and Natalia Topchevskaya, both of the Leningrad Choreographic Institute. Another graduate of the Leningrad school, Yuri Vasyuchenko, performed with the Vilnius company from 1974 to 1976, and later became famous as a performer with the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. New performers also came from the small but increasingly formidable ranks of the M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius, including Rūta Krugiškytė, Elena Švedaj, Gražina Sakalauskaitė, Voldemaras Chlebinskas, and Jonas Katakinas.
The first attempts at modern choreography in Lithuania were associated with Russian choreographer Konstantin Boyarsky Konstantin Boyarsky Konstantin Boyarsky (1915–1974) was a Russian ballet performer and choreographer.
Boyarsky graduated from the Leningrad Technical School of Choreography in 1935, and completed choreography training in 1941, studying under Fyodor Lopukhov. From 1935 to 1941 he danced at the Mariinsky Theatre, and simultaneously began working as a choreographer for the Musical Comedy Theatre. Boyarsky was a choreographer for the Malenki (now Mikhailovsky) Theatre from 1956 to 1967, and artistic director for the Leningrad Ice Ballet company from 1967 to 1974.
Boyarsky primarily choreographed original works, including Francesca da Rimini in 1959, A Classical Symphony, and Dimitri Shostakovich’s Encounter and The Lady and the Hooligan, all in 1962. Vytautas Grivickas directed The Lady and the Hooligan in Lithuania, based on Boyarsky’s choreography, in 1971, assisted by Antanas Beliukevičius, a former dancer with the Malenki Theatre. The same ballet was performed in 1981 at the Klaipėda Musical Theatre, directed by Elegijus Bukaitis.
Boyarsky’s work bolstered experimental trends in Russian ballet, and he was joined in the theatre by contemporary composers and performers. Boyarsky often used original literary material for his productions. (1915–1974), who mounted Antanas Rekašius’ (1928–2003) ballet Gęstantis kryžius Gęstantis kryžius (The Fading Cross)The ballet takes place in America. Betty, a blind white woman, loves Bob, a black man. She "has never seen blacks or whites. A person's skin color means nothing to her [...] But in a country ravaged by racial hatred, the love between a black man and a white woman is doomed" (citation from The Fading Cross [production program], LSSR Opera and Ballet Theatre, 1966). Betty's brother Will despises Bob. After Betty regains her sight with the help of an operation, her love for Bob does not die. Another brother, Ralph, tries to defend the couple, but Will and his friends blind Bob, while Betty dies trying to protect her beloved. (The Fading Cross) in 1966. The production’s expressive and modernist music was complimented by the austere set designs of Antanas Pilipavičius (b. 1938) and a plasticity of choreography, though the ballet’s libretto (written by the composer himself) was highly ideological and infused with the Cold War tension of that era.
Boyarsky graduated from the Leningrad Technical School of Choreography in 1935, and completed choreography training in 1941, studying under Fyodor Lopukhov. From 1935 to 1941 he danced at the Mariinsky Theatre, and simultaneously began working as a choreographer for the Musical Comedy Theatre. Boyarsky was a choreographer for the Malenki (now Mikhailovsky) Theatre from 1956 to 1967, and artistic director for the Leningrad Ice Ballet company from 1967 to 1974.
Boyarsky primarily choreographed original works, including Francesca da Rimini in 1959, A Classical Symphony, and Dimitri Shostakovich’s Encounter and The Lady and the Hooligan, all in 1962. Vytautas Grivickas directed The Lady and the Hooligan in Lithuania, based on Boyarsky’s choreography, in 1971, assisted by Antanas Beliukevičius, a former dancer with the Malenki Theatre. The same ballet was performed in 1981 at the Klaipėda Musical Theatre, directed by Elegijus Bukaitis.
Boyarsky’s work bolstered experimental trends in Russian ballet, and he was joined in the theatre by contemporary composers and performers. Boyarsky often used original literary material for his productions. (1915–1974), who mounted Antanas Rekašius’ (1928–2003) ballet Gęstantis kryžius Gęstantis kryžius (The Fading Cross)The ballet takes place in America. Betty, a blind white woman, loves Bob, a black man. She "has never seen blacks or whites. A person's skin color means nothing to her [...] But in a country ravaged by racial hatred, the love between a black man and a white woman is doomed" (citation from The Fading Cross [production program], LSSR Opera and Ballet Theatre, 1966). Betty's brother Will despises Bob. After Betty regains her sight with the help of an operation, her love for Bob does not die. Another brother, Ralph, tries to defend the couple, but Will and his friends blind Bob, while Betty dies trying to protect her beloved. (The Fading Cross) in 1966. The production’s expressive and modernist music was complimented by the austere set designs of Antanas Pilipavičius (b. 1938) and a plasticity of choreography, though the ballet’s libretto (written by the composer himself) was highly ideological and infused with the Cold War tension of that era.
Innovative trends in Lithuanian choreography in the 1970s were inspired by the work of choreographer Elegijus Bukaitis Elegijus Bukaitis Elegijus Bukaitis (b. 1941 in Kaunas) is a Lithuanian ballet performer and choreographer, who trained at the Choreography Department of the Čiurlionis School of Art, graduating from the Leningrad Choreographic Institute in 1962, and later studying at the Choreography Department of the Leningrad Conservatory from 1962 to 1971.
From 1971 to 1973, Bukaitis choreographed for the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre, serving as senior choreographer there in 1973–1978 and 1991–1992. From 1978 to 1986, Bukaitis choreographed for the Stage and Orchestra Ensembles Association.
Since 1984, he directs the Rhythmic Dance Improvization Studio of the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs Cultural and Sports Hall. In his work, Bukaitis embraced a modernized classical style, seeking plastic equivalents for modern music in dance movement. (b. 1941). Soon after graduating from the Choreographic Institute in Leningrad, Bukaitis began studying choreography and directing, mounting his first production, Aistros Aistros (Passions)The hero of the ballet, Ąžuolas, is torn between Giedrė, a human child, and her bright dreams and her "joy at scientific discovery", and Aistrė, a woman of dreamy and treacherous beauty born of "the world of evil and darkness." After winning over Ąžuolas, Aistrė is triumphant, but sensing that Giedrė is attracting evermore supporters, she forces Ąžuolas to kill Giedrė. But Ąžuolas comes to his senses and "dies in battle without achieving victory. Having lost her admirer, Aistrė weakens. Giedrė leads the people to vanquish evil." (Aistros, ballet program, LSSR Opera and Ballet Theatre, 1971). In 1986, Bukaitis mounted the ballet Aura based on the music and ideas of Aistros. Using rather exalted combinations of modern and classical choreography, the production contemplated man's existence: He, standing at the crossroads of good and evil, with She representing good and Aura—evil. Set designs for this production were created by Marija Jukniūtė and Irena Zabarauskaitė. (Passions), in 1971, based on the music of Antanas Rekašius. The production was one of the first ballets in Lithuania to forego a literary storyline, replacing it with dramaturgical conflict using allegorical characters: good, symbolized by the character Giedrė, evil, embodied by Aistrė, and Ąžuolas, representing man. Production designers had intended to use a fair amount of lighting and technical effects, with set designs by Marija Jukniūtė, but it soon became clear that Jukniūtė’s concept would be impossible to implement on the small stage of the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre of that time. As a result, the production went on with sets designed by Juozas Jankus.
From 1971 to 1973, Bukaitis choreographed for the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre, serving as senior choreographer there in 1973–1978 and 1991–1992. From 1978 to 1986, Bukaitis choreographed for the Stage and Orchestra Ensembles Association.
Since 1984, he directs the Rhythmic Dance Improvization Studio of the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs Cultural and Sports Hall. In his work, Bukaitis embraced a modernized classical style, seeking plastic equivalents for modern music in dance movement. (b. 1941). Soon after graduating from the Choreographic Institute in Leningrad, Bukaitis began studying choreography and directing, mounting his first production, Aistros Aistros (Passions)The hero of the ballet, Ąžuolas, is torn between Giedrė, a human child, and her bright dreams and her "joy at scientific discovery", and Aistrė, a woman of dreamy and treacherous beauty born of "the world of evil and darkness." After winning over Ąžuolas, Aistrė is triumphant, but sensing that Giedrė is attracting evermore supporters, she forces Ąžuolas to kill Giedrė. But Ąžuolas comes to his senses and "dies in battle without achieving victory. Having lost her admirer, Aistrė weakens. Giedrė leads the people to vanquish evil." (Aistros, ballet program, LSSR Opera and Ballet Theatre, 1971). In 1986, Bukaitis mounted the ballet Aura based on the music and ideas of Aistros. Using rather exalted combinations of modern and classical choreography, the production contemplated man's existence: He, standing at the crossroads of good and evil, with She representing good and Aura—evil. Set designs for this production were created by Marija Jukniūtė and Irena Zabarauskaitė. (Passions), in 1971, based on the music of Antanas Rekašius. The production was one of the first ballets in Lithuania to forego a literary storyline, replacing it with dramaturgical conflict using allegorical characters: good, symbolized by the character Giedrė, evil, embodied by Aistrė, and Ąžuolas, representing man. Production designers had intended to use a fair amount of lighting and technical effects, with set designs by Marija Jukniūtė, but it soon became clear that Jukniūtė’s concept would be impossible to implement on the small stage of the Lithuanian Opera and Ballet Theatre of that time. As a result, the production went on with sets designed by Juozas Jankus.
Bukaitis was the first Lithuanian choreographer to deliberately seek out new themes and expressive forms of modern choreography linked to the poetic and artistic works of his contemporaries. Some of Bukaitis’ concepts were never implemented, including an abstract ballet, first begun in 1971, based on the symphonic poem Jūra (Sea) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, for which Bukaitis created a large number of movements and pose diagrams.
Bukaitis also directed classical ballets. His first production was Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, editing the production’s libretto himself, imbuing it with a mysterious mood more characteristic of the work of E. T. A. Hoffman. Borrowing a few fragments from a production created by Russian choreographer Vasili Vainonen (1901–1964), Bukaitis choreographed the majority of the ballet himself, complementing classical choreographic movements with folk dance and improvized elements. Bukaitis edited the production’s libretto himself, emphasizing the mysterious world of Hoffman’s story, foregoing the traditional presentation of Drosselmeyer through pantomime, and instead creating a dance role for the character. The second act took place in “a kingdom of dead dolls ruled over by Drosselmeyer” where, even though evil had been vanquished, “terrible memories” lingered. Spragtukas: Spektaklio programa, Vilnius: LTSR operos ir baleto teatras, 1973. The production’s set designer, Regina Songailaitė, used a large amount of silver in her sets, alongside varying use of lighting.
A measured sense of modernity was also evident in Bukaitis’ choreographic polyptych Apmąstymai šokyje (Reflections in Dance), staged together with Georgian choreographer Giorgi Aleksidze (1941–2008). The Reflections were abstract choreographic creations based on a symphonic principle, with choreographic ideas conveyed through neoclassical dance movements to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frédéric Chopin, and Ludwig Minkus.
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