COMMENT⟩ Latvians are crazy about folk dance

Similar to the arrangement of the repertoire – after the interlude of the couple, as they danced up the hill, the super dance of the elders “Klabdancis” follows – have those lovers really aged that fast?

Then, snappy, but somewhat inconsistent with the author’s idea, I say it as one of the pioneers of this dance, the bowed “Klipu klapu” and again the old, but always fresh “Vecie zvejnieki”.

The novelty of the concert escaped me, because you cannot consider the love couple flying on the ropes as such, because there was such a thing, not only in the events in Agra. Yes, I liked them and found the “crisp” white sheets, they were well lit and moved nimbly.

Yet such an element has been used successfully in the excellent performance “From the sword …” and, apparently, a similar idea has already been expressed in the creative group of the second program of the 2023 dance festival.

So what is the purpose of the XXVII concert of the General Latvian Song Festival and the XVII “BALTS” Dance Festival, which was presented to the public on October 13 at the presentation concert of the VEF Palace of Culture?

This program, which is due to be screened next summer at the “Arena Riga”, was initially conceived as a never-before-seen and newly created dance event. This time, the authors want to be like painters who, taking a blank canvas with dance steps and motifs, paint today’s Latvia, its people. The idea is to use and revive the paintings of old Latvian masters in dance.

The program consists of six sections, for each of which special music was composed by six composers: Mārtiņš Miļevskis, Kārlis Auzāns, Kristine Kalniņa and Edgars Kārkls, Renārs Kaupers, Juris Kaukulis, Āriks Zeps and Julgi Stalte.