Lithuanian Folk Music and Dances

1
Lithuanian Folk Music and Dances
2
Love of Singing

• If you were to ask a Lithuanian about his
  country's traditional culture, you would most
  likely hear about Lithuanian songs and love of
  singing.

3
Lithuanians Sing More than They Speak

• Most Lithuanian people still know hundreds of
  songs.
• There is a saying that Lithuanian people sing
  more than they speak.

4
From Generation to Generation

• Songs were handed down from generation to
  generation.
• As a result, Lithuanian folklore contains over
  400,000 collected songs.

5
Diversity of Folk Songs

• Folk songs reflect a broad spectrum of moods -
  extreme joy or deep sorrow.
• There is a large diversity of Lithuanian song
  genres including work, calendar cycle, wedding,
  feasting, war-historical and others.

6
Polyphonic Lithuanian Folk Songs

• The polyphonic Lithuanian folk songs called
  sutartines have been placed on a UNESCO heritage
  list.

7
Traditional Instruments Kankles and Skuduciai
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Polyphonic Singing Dances

• Polyphonic songs have accompanying dance
  elements.
• The movements are quite simply and easy to
  perform.

9
Ring dances, circles

• One style of Lithuanian folk dance is called
  rateliai, a type of dance in the round.
• The dancers themselves sing the lyrics without
  any instrumental accompaniment.
• Stepping around in a circle, the participants
  perform various movements which illustrate the
  songs text.

10
The Lithuanian Song and Dance Celebration

• It is held every 4 years in Vilnius. Thousands of
  Lithuanians come from all the world to celebrate
  this festival.
• It is a national level occasion which is even
  included into the UNESCO World Heritage list.