Dear EXCHANGE STUDENTS of Vilnius University!
Join our rehearsals where you will learn about Lithuanian culture from within. We will teach you to dance and you can try playing traditional Lithuanian music! We also are very interested in other cultures and would love to hear about yours.
"Ratilio" is Vilnius University's folklore ensemble with student members coming from all Lithuania's ethnic regions. An exclusive characteristic of youth as well as rapid orientation towards contemporary vicissitudes of life inspires our members' activity. Active and lively, our members come to the ensemble with little understanding of the traditional music, singing and dancing, but with great desire to explore the tradition through the embodiment of its values, which helps them to grasp the subtleties quickly and to represent Lithuanian folklore in Lithuania and beyond.
Songs, dances, and round dances are learned from folklore collections and from compatriots met during folklore expeditions. One can listen to ancient music instruments such as ragai (horns), daudytė, skudučiai (pan-pipes) and kanklės (a type of nine to five-stringed zither). A special part of their program is formed by the archaic Lithuanian folklore genre of multipart harmonious singing the sutartinė (which was added by the UNESCO to the list of intangible cultural heritage in 2010).
Vilnius University Folklore Ensemble "Ratilio" was founded in 1968. Since then many people were members of the ensemble and it now has a huge community of people from various fields who are proud to tell they are part of “Ratilio” family. The ensemble is considered one of the best and most reputed of the folklore ensembles in Lithuania. It is always referred to be the one that is aiming for professionalism and youthfulness in folk music.
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