Called by the Arts. The Language of Dance
You are warmly invited to the opening of the photography exhibition “Called by the Arts. The Language of Dance” by photographic artist Vaiva Abromaitytė.
In this exhibition, the artist presents a cycle of photographs and objects, aiming to capture the fragile essence of ballet, to freeze a moment of dance, and to allow the viewer to see and feel the spirited flight of the soul, the illusion of music suspended in movement, and the physical effort of the dancers.
The works reveal the daily life of students from the Ballet Department of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts. The chosen perspective—behind the scenes of ballet—reflects the hard daily work required to achieve the impression of lightness and ephemerality on stage.
Vaiva Abromaitytė, who works across various artistic media, seeks a holistic form of expression—developing the representation of body and movement in “corporeal and material” photography. Her images seem to echo the ideas of French philosopher Gilles Deleuze on the fold and the complexity of the human being, nature, and the universe. The artist emphasizes a distinctive visual language, where the interplay between emptiness, body and material, light and shadow holds exceptional aesthetic significance.
For Vaiva, creation is a continuous process. The life-sized photographic subjects in the exhibition gaze back at the viewer, radiating the diverse energy of dance. Through classical photographic formats that document the everyday life of ballet, the elegance, brilliance, and beauty of the art form unfold. Sometimes the dancers pose openly; other times, they reveal the refined beauty of classical ballet silhouettes or immerse themselves in the element of movement—capturing the vibrations of body and soul within a microsecond. These moments forge a touching connection between artist and viewer, giving birth to the miracle of dance—one that invites us to relive it again and again, on stage, in dreams, and in memory.
This exhibition is dedicated to the upcoming 80th anniversary of the Ballet Department of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts. Established in 1952 as the Choreography Department of the then Vilnius Ten-Year Music School, it has become a center for training professional Lithuanian ballet artists, nurturing the traditions of this art form and ensuring its continuity.
Before that, talented children were trained in a ballet studio affiliated with the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre (LNOBT). Thanks to choreographer Vytautas Grivickas (1925–1990) and other ballet artists, a systematic and consistent ballet education began, gradually preparing a new generation of performers.
The Ballet Department has been led by notable figures such as Henrikas Kunavičius (1925–2012), Lili Navickytė-Ramanauskienė (1933–2021), Jolanta Vymerytė (1965–2022), Edvardas Smalakys (b. 1968), Petras Skirmantas (b. 1957), and Lina Puodžiukaitė-Lanauskienė (b. 1981). Since 2016, the department has been headed by Eligijus Butkus (b. 1979)—a principal dancer of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, multiple recipient of the Golden Stage Cross, Opera Beacon, Jurgis Žalkauskas, and Konstantinas Stašys awards.
Over the past seventy years, the department has trained many soloists and artists who have shaped the development of Lithuanian ballet, performed on stages in Lithuania and abroad, and, as choreographers, have inspired others to dream and rise above the everyday. Many of them, after completing their stage careers, have become teachers at the Ballet Department, passing on their knowledge and experience to future generations of Lithuanian ballet artists.
The dancers featured in the photographs are students of the Ballet Department: Adelija, Akvilė, Deivydas, Gabija, Ieva, Jogailė, Jokūbas, Jonas, Kostas, Milda, Mykolas, Nojus, Nora, Nora, Paulina, Robertas, Saulė, Tėja, Vasara, and Vasarė.
Exhibition curators: Eligijus Butkus and Giedrė Zaščižinskaitė
The exhibition is open until November 21
Admission is free, but registration is required