YOUTH FOLK DANCE COLLECTIVE "ŽILVINAS"
"Žilvinas", a youth folk dance group of the ŽVEJŲ RŪMAI Culture Centre, is one of the oldest ensembles of this genre in Lithuania. Its history dates back as far as 1948.
Over the years, the status of the group, as well as its subordination to one or another cultural agency, has been changing. The generations of both the dancers and the leaders have changed. Choreographer Gitana Puzinienė has been leading the Žilvinas group since 2003.
Today, the members of the Žilvinas group are young people who study or work in Klaipėda and schoolchildren. The repertoire of Žilvinas is dominated by the dances typical of Lithuania Minor and Klaipėda Region.
The Žilvinas dance group traditionally participates in the multifarious events held in Klaipėda City, the celebrations to mark historically significant dates and public holidays, and various ceremonies. The group is a regular participant of the World Lithuanian Song Festivals and the Song Festivals of the Western Lithuania Region, and the very first time when it danced at the Lithuanian Song Festival dates back to 1950 (!). Every year, Žilvinas participates in at least several traditional celebrations, folk dance festivals and competitions organised throughout Lithuania (such as Pora už poros, Pamario susuktinis, etc.), where they often win the title of laureate. The group is also a participant of the Nepalikim su negalia vienų (Let’s not leave the disabled on their own) charity event held in Palanga.
The Žilvinas dance group participated in the following international competitive festivals: the Adriatic Zadar open in Croatia (2019), the Baltic Amber Jurmala 2016, where the group won the 2nd place, Merry Christmas Baltic Amber Riga 2018 - the 2nd place, Baltic Amber Spring Suwalki 2018 - the 1st place.
“Žilvinas is my most beautiful, coolest and most beloved people”, says Gitana Puzinienė, the leader of the group.
“She’s like a mother to us”, the dancers say.
“This is what describes our beautiful family”, the leader reiterates.
It often happens nowadays that the dancers of Žilvinas leave to different places around the world. And we start again from the beginning…
