In the old theater of Vilnius, the smallest ones - babies - will see the performance for the first time. April 26, 27 the world tree premiere of choreographer and director Birutė Banevičiūtė will take place. It is a sensory-friendly movement performance for toddlers, babies aged 6-18 months, which is also suitable for children with disabilities. The performance is wordless, emotion, movement becomes a universal language here.
Babies don't need theater because they don't understand anything?
Performances for the smallest ones are not common on theater stages, but it is not a big surprise either. Or do you think that babies don't need theater because they don't understand anything? director, choreographer, pedagogue, artistic director of the dance theater "Dansema". Birutė Banevičiūtė's play "The Tree of the World" offers to take a closer look at the possibilities of perception and expression of babies, to abandon stereotypical attitudes, and calls for changing the attitude towards the youngest in society: "There is no single right answer, what babies should understand and how to react during the performance, all their reactions are appropriate and accepted, so moms and dads can relax and not worry if their child does something different from the others around them." According to the choreographer, art is special in that it allows the audience to think in their own way, feel in their own way and enjoy it.
VST dance curator Andrius Katinas emphasizes that the theater is a reflection of our society, so it must be open to everyone, from babies to grandparents, to dance and drama: "Having lived in Finland for 22 years and raising 4 children, I have experienced various stages of child education. I understand the importance of involving all age groups in artistic activities. The importance of such productions as "The World Tree" is unquestionable. This kind of theater is not only the involvement of our young members of society in artistic activities and their first acquaintance with theater or dance, but also educates the whole society, allows the parents themselves to grow together with the children, get to know the children in various situations, see the world through their eyes or remember what he once seemed to us. For parents who are raising small children, it is an opportunity to socialize and not get stuck in everyday life, which is rarely colorful."
SEnsorically friendly, atmospheric, inclusive
"World Tree" is a sensory-friendly movement performance in which babies are given the freedom to explore movements, body language, and objects on stage together with the actors. The performance is without words, so movements become a universal language here. The actors' costumes and set pieces, which change color and shape, will invite babies to move and experience the joy of discovery. For adults, this is an opportunity to see their little ones in a new, artistic environment that inspires children's imagination and develops creativity. The play's dramaturgy is constructed based on the joint action of actors and children-spectators, and the idea of the play is based on the image of the world tree found in the mythology of many nations.
B. Banevičiūtė has been creating performances for children since 2007, she is known as the first in Lithuania to create a dance performance for babies ("Mozaika"). Over the past 15 years, he has created performances for children, not only dance, but also drama, puppet theaters in Lithuania and abroad. The choreographer also stages performances for children with disabilities, conducts dance laboratories, according to her own methodology, 8-14-month-old babies get their first dance experience.
Dancer Giedrė Subotinaitė: "How to create a safe space for them?"
Professionals in their field worked on the production: set designer and costume designer Medilė Šiaulytytė, music composed by Augustinas Ališauskas, modern dance dancer Giedrė Subotinaitė assisted the choreographer.
G. Subotinaitė: "I have been working with the choreographer B. Banevičiūta for over 16 years. I have danced about 800 performances for babies and children in the dance theater "Dansema". This is my first performance with a choreographer in which I am not a performer. I find it very interesting for babies to both dance and create - when the little ones are both spectators and participants at the same time. I always ask myself questions: how to create a safe, reliable space for them and offer them the opportunity to experience movement the way they feel and want."
Actor Telmanas Ragimov: "It is very difficult for parents to let their children just be"
Actors of the Vilnius Old Theater play in the play: Edita Goncharova, Jelena Ragimova, Bozena Aleksandrovič, Maksimas Tuchvatulinas, Alexander Kanaev, Telman Ragimov. They had new experiences - without using verbal language to convey the content with body expression, plasticity, natural movement, and, according to B. Banevičiūtė, actors who have no experience acting for babies have many questions: how much time to give to the little one, how to allocate attention to them.
Actor Telmanas Ragimov: "I became a father a few months ago and I already knew that together with my wife, actress Jelena Ragimova, we would have to act in this play. In the rehearsals, we learned a lot about the development of babies, the mistakes parents make, and we learned how to freely interact with children. Of course, we check all this… with our son Seymour, who often attended the rehearsals as well. That's what we told him: "Seymour, we're going to work." Another professionally interesting thing is that behind a very simple meditative stage action, unusual things are hidden for me as an actor: there are no specific characters, strict dramaturgy, an unusual and extremely sensitive main audience, who can be involved in the action at any time, and many other nuances. During the test runs, we also observed the parents' reactions. It is very difficult for parents to let their children just be, in the safe space that we create during the performance. I wish parents to try not to control, to allow themselves and their children to be - we will take care of everything."
Creative Group: Author of the idea, director and choreographer – Birutė Banevičiūtė; stage designer and costume designer – Medilė Šiaulytytė; music author – Augustinas Ališauskas; choreographer's assistant - Giedrė Subotinaitė; assistant director - Gelena Ivaškevič.
The play stars: Edita Goncharova, Yelena Ragimova, Bozhena Alexandrovich, Maksim Tuchvatulin, Aleksandr Kanayev, Telman Ragimov
