On Sunday, November 16, 2025, at 6:00 PM, at the State Šiauliai Drama Theatre, the Kaunas Dance Theatre “Aura” will present the dance performance Sea.
Tickets: https://www.ticketmarket.lt/…/festivalis-virus30…
This event is part of the contemporary art and fashion festival Virus‘30, organized by the Šiauliai Art Gallery.
Full program: https://fb.me/e/61BZE3JER
The compositional wholeness of M. K. Čiurlionis’s symphony The Sea (1903–1906) is marked by philosophical undertones, vivid imagery of nature, and psychological depth. “The image of the sea, which had long enticed the composer, emerged as a symbol of life purified and exalted through struggle; an active force, tragically breaking and solemnly reviving, addressed the scorned dignity of man, calling to rise against the vices and oppression of the age.” (Vytautas Landsbergis)
For choreographer Birutė Letukaitė, Čiurlionis’s The Sea became a central metaphor for speaking about the altered relationship between contemporary humanity and nature, as well as today’s pains: the Baltic Sea poisoned by toxins and a society polluted by phobias, selfishness, and apathy. The disrupted balance between nature and humankind brings irreversible losses to both.
“Scientists have long studied and confirmed that the Baltic Sea is the most chemically polluted sea in the world, that fish caught there are unfit for consumption […] The Baltic Sea is not only the most radioactive sea but the most radioactive body of water in the entire world.” (ELTA)
“Why do you complain, sea?” asked the composer more than a century ago, as if foreseeing the Baltic’s future lament.
Idea, direction, choreography: Birutė Letukaitė
Music: M. K. Čiurlionis
Performers: Kaunas Dance Theatre Aura, students of the Ballet Department of the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, students of the Dance Department of the Mikas Petrauskas School of Performing Arts.
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Dear visitors, by attending the exhibition openings, you acknowledge and agree that the events may be filmed or photographed, and the images may be published on the Šiauliai Art Gallery website, in the media, or on social media platforms.
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Organizer: Šiauliai Art Gallery
Funded by: Šiauliai City Municipality, Lithuanian Council for Culture
Main media partner: Lithuanian National Radio and Television
Partners and supporters: UAB Sixteen media, Cupernican, wãpsva LT design house, Soya Asia, Saulės miestas shopping center, UAB Laurema graphics, Tešla ir dešra, Simo limonadai, SOVLI Toyota Center Šiauliai, Meno niša, Šiauliai “Aušra” Museum, State Šiauliai Drama Theatre, UAB Rūta, Šiauliai Technology Training Center, Šiauliai Athletics and Wellness Center, Estonian Academy of Arts, Art Academy of Latvia, Vilnius Academy of Arts, Lviv Fashion Week, independent art space Garage, UAB Grafų baldai, VšĮ Aksida, Šiauliai Industrialists’ Association.
Festival designer: Marius Žalneravičius.