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L I T H U A N I A N A M E R I C A N N E W S J O U R N A L

o c t o b e r 2011

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“BRIDGES” (ISSN: 87508028) is published10 times per year (Jan./Feb. & Jul./Aug.combined) for $20.00, by LithuanianAmerican News Journal. Issue: 360Address of publication is:

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c o n t e n t s

* BACK COVER:

Th e 14th Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival iscoming to Boston on July 1, 2012

Come experience this celebration of

Lithuanian dance and culture!

Lithuanian AmericanCommunity

C ONTACT I NFORMATION :

WEBSITE

W W W . L I T H U A N I A N - A M E R I C A N . O R GTELEPHONE

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in this issue2 editorial

Letter from the Editor Jeanne Dorr

2 culturalEvents Open to thePublic - Dagilel is 2011U.S. Concert Tour

3 culturalDAGILELIS BOYS’ CHOIR 2011 U.S. TourOct. 20 - Nov. 6, 2011

4 educationMY FULBRIGHT PHILANDERING

IN LITHUANIA

Tom Hischak

7 cultural My Summer at Neringa Heritage Camp Angele Puodziunas

8 culturalMeeting the RenaissanceMan, dr. Charles Borowsky,“Dagilelis” & “The Amer ican Virtuosi”

Laurynas Misevicius

11 culturalTHINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:Gloria Adomkaitis

11 cultural S ˇ ALTINIS - Detroit, MichiganVictoria Viskantas

12 photo album“Dagi lel is” Boys’ Choir of Lithuania

14 knights of lithuaniaK OF L 98th ANNUAL

NATIONAL CONVENTION

Regina Juska-Svoba

18 reflectionsWhat I Remember About CousinVytautas PetrauskasVanda Fabijonaviciu-teS ˇ liu- piene R.Ph.

20 calendar20 cultural

"Dagilelis" important and significant achievements

* FRONT COVER: Photo of "Dagil elis" Boys' Choir youth ensemble

Dagile lis Boys' Choir of Šiauliai wasestablished in 1965

DAGILE LIS BOYS’ CHOIR

2011 U.S. Tour October 20 - November 6,

2011

The Dagilelis Boys’ Choir of Lithuania hasgained international acclaim for its scintil-lating performances under the direction of Maestro Remigijus Adomaitis. The choir has received many prestigious awards andhonors including Grand Prix at XXXIVInternational Festival of Songs and contest"Mundi Cantat" in Olomouc (2006, Czech

Republic) and first prize in the followingcompetitions: IX European FestivalGiuseppe Zelioli (2010, Italy), Giessen(1997, Germany), Arezzo (1999, Italy),Fivizzano (2000, Italy), Prague (2002,Czech Republic), Rome (2004, Italy).They were also awarded a special prizein the Cantonigros Choir Competition(2003, Spain). Their performances at major musical venues, on radio and television, andtheir numerous professional recordingshave been highly valued and appreciated

world-wide. Programs include both tradi-tional and modern religious and secular music.

Thirty eight members of the choir, ranging inage from 10-18, will tour the USA fromOctober 20 through November 6, 2011. Theywill perform in Maryland, Washington, DC,Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City.

Check the OFFICIAL WEBSITE:http://www.dagilelis.lt - for videos, publicity photos, and interview withfounding director Remigijus Adomaitis.



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I n May 2011, American professor Thomas Hischak went to Lithuania ona Fulbright Grant to teach at the University of S ˇ iauliai for two weeks.

Here are his impressions in a letter he wrote to friends and colleagues.

MY FULBRIGHT PHILANDERING IN

LITHUANIATom Hischak

Ever since I did some work in graduate school in the 1970s at theCenter for Baltic Studies at Southern Illinois University, I have beeninterested in theatre in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Back then plays written in Lithuania were smuggled out of the Soviet countryand produced in the States since they could not be presented in their native country. Part of my job was to read hundreds of play synopsesor scripts of Baltic drama and to rewrite them from crude transla-tions into somewhat flowing English for a book that was later published by the Center. It was not until 40 years later when I wasaccepted by the Fulbright Foundation that I wrote to universities inthe three Baltic countries to see if they would be interested in mycoming and teaching about American theatre. Lithuania’s Universityof Siauliai was holding an international student theatre festival inMay that they wanted me to participate in: So, Fulbright applicationswere made, government forms were filled out, and I was on my way.Here are my impressions of my two-week visit.

LITHUANIA AND S ˇ IAULIAI

Lithuania is a small country (about the geographic size of Virginia)with a population of under three million people. It is very modernand sophisticated. Everything is high tech and seems very currentwith the rest of the world. They got their independence from theSoviet Union only 21 years ago but in some ways it seems like its been much longer because they have come so far.

Yet there are still many things from the Soviet years that remain,most noticeably thousands of concrete or cinder block apartment buildings in the cold utilitarian style. Many of these have beenremodeled inside and I hear that most of them have quite niceinteriors. Just what you see through the windows looks better thanthe depersonalized exteriors. Also, some bureaucratic ways from theSoviets linger on. For example, Stalin insisted that every city or townhave only one central hot water plant. Since these old plants need to be cleaned and repaired, every spring and every fall the whole citygoes without hot water for a full week. I arrived on the day they shutoff the hot water. So much for a good first impression.

Lithuania is a beautiful country. Outside of six major cities, it isfarmland dotted with cottages and old houses. I didn’t get to see thecoast but the interior is rather flat and filled with thousands of lakes.(There was a lake in the city limits of Siauliai with a park around it.)I was there in spring when it was just blossoming all over the place.One of the most popular holiday spots was Trakai where an orangefairy-tale castle sits on an island in the middle of one of these lakes.All of it is charming without being too touristy.

S ˇ iauliai , the third largest city in Lithuania, wasmostly destroyed during World War II but todayis a thriving metropolis of over 100,000 people.

This pre-World War II building in S ˇ iauliai hasbeen beautifully restored and today is a high

school for advanced students. All classes aretaught in English.

The author in front of Trakai Castle, the most photographed site in the three Baltic countries.

S ˇ iauliai boasts one of the first modern pedestrianmalls in Europe. It is six blocks long and the

social center of the city.

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The city of Siauliai is a factory citywith over 100,000 residents.(Siauliai can be loosely translated as“City of the Sun.” A sunburst is thesymbol of the city and the residents

claim they get more sunny days thanany other place in Lithuania.) Duringthe Cold War, Siauliai was closed toforeigners because the Soviets manu-factured weapons there. Much of thecity was bombed during WW II, somost of the architecture is in the So-viet post-war style. Yet some beautifulold buildings remain and most have been restored with care and are quite asight. The city also has many parks, public art, and a thriving downtown.

The university does not have a cam- pus but the buildings are spreadthroughout the city. Yet everything is within walkingdistance in the city center and it was a great place to be if youdidn’t have a car. The four malls (inside and outside thecity) look like every other mall, including the American pop music blaring at you all the time.

I visited the capital city of Vilnius which is beautiful,very international, and very elegant. It has its Old Townwith winding streets, its early 20th-century wide streetswith lovely buildings, and its modern city with skyscrap-ers on the other side of the river. In the Middle Ages they

built a hill to put the castle on and today the views fromup there reveal dozens of church steeples, each one witha slightly different style and with different colors. It isyour idyllic picture of an Eastern European fantasy city.

PEOPLE During the Soviet occupation, thousands of Lithuanianswere rounded up and sent to Siberia to work. Most never returned. Artists, radicals, writers, and professors werethe usual targets because they were considered a threat.The Soviets then imported thousands of Russians to work in the factories in Lithuania. Only Russian was taught andspoken in schools and in business with the idea of erasing

the Lithuanian language and culture. Of course people stillspoke their native language at home but there were noLithuanian newspapers, books, etc. for four decades.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Lithuaniawas left in an unusual state. The Lithuanian language re-turned to public use and to schools, but there were (andstill are) thousands of citizens who still speak only Russ-ian. Anyone over the age of 40 knows Russian, so thereare theatres, television stations, books, and newspapers

still in Russian. The younger genera-tion is learning English in school (aswell as on the internet, Youtube,movies, etc.) so the generation gapthere is one of language as well as

differing attitudes.

It was interesting to note duringthe international theatre festival thatthe students from different countriesspoke to each other in English whileteachers from Lithuania and Latviaused their only common language:Russian.

I noticed that today the Lithuaniansare rather tall. (No wonder this littlecountry loves basketball and areranked fourth in the world.) Many of the women are blonde in the Scandi-navian manner but the guys have dark

hair and more Eastern European looks. They are afriendly people (I never encountered a rude or brusk waiter, salesman, secretary, etc.) and very helpful, but notdemonstrative like the Italians or Greeks. They alsoseemed very patient about things, ranging from hot water to waiting in lines. It must be all those years of Sovietrule.

LANGUAGE Lithuanian is one of the oldest languages in Europe.Although it now uses our alphabet, many of the lettershave multiple pronunciations based on the accent marksattached. For a foreigner without a strong linguistic sense(like myself), it is very difficult to pronounce because of the proliferation of vowels. The city of Siauliai, for example, is pronounced as either “shoe-lay” or “sou-lay.”(I heard both frequently during my visit.) After a few daysone gets used to the words on signs and billboards andyou start to recognize familiar terms. But to pronouncethese words is a different matter altogether. Most young people understand English very well even if they are hes-itant to speak it. My suggestion is to go to the youngestclerk or cashier or waiter. The younger the Lithuanian,

the better their English!

THEATRE My acting workshop was part of the international studenttheatre festival at Siauliai University and I saw a half dozen of the productions. Theatre is very big there. Stu-dents start doing live theatre in the classroom in thefourth grade, so you can imagine that by the time they arecollege students they are pretty experienced. I saw juniorsand seniors from Lithuania, Latvia, Netherlands, and

The Hill of Crosses, Lithuania’s most

visited site, lies twelve kilometers outsideof S ˇ iauliai

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6 o c t o b e r 2 0 1 1

Portugal perform, and the Lithuanian college studentswere the most impressive. They receive a lot of vocal(singing and speech) training and sound more like theRoyal Shakespeare Co. than American students. They allsing, and most plays include singing of some kind or another. No musicals, but the use of folk songs and such.

Because Lithuanians tend to be rather tall, many of thestudents looked like post-grads to me but were are not.They do a lot of movement in their performance but verylittle dance. (There was a folk dance solo in a Chekhov piece that was pretty remarkable.)

Going to the theatre is serious business. Plays run twoand two-and-a-half hours with no intermission. Theaudience at the festival (mostly theatre students) wereattentive (though I did see one student text messaging soI knew they were human) and you could hear a pin dropat times in the theatre. They find humor in the plays andare not afraid to laugh. A production of Brecht's GOOD

WOMAN OF SETZUAN was the liveliest Brecht pro-duction I've ever seen: wildly comic at times, other timesvery forceful and dynamic. Aside from Lithuanian plays, there were works by Chekhov, Jarry, Dostoyevski,Beckett... the tough ones. Thank goodness for the folk comedies to lighten things up.

Theatre is ranked above music and dance here(though all are important). Vilnius has 34 professionaland semi-professional theatres. (One of them performsonly in Russian.) Looking at the marquees they do every-thing from Moliere to Ionesco. I asked about American plays and only an occasional O'Neill, Miller or

Williams play is done. But they sure have our moviesand television everywhere.

STUDENTS

My classes were about American musicals (stage and film),

an unknown thing to the students except for a few movies

like SWEENEY TODD. I also taught our more

recent playwrights (August Wilson, Wendy Wasserstein,

Tony Kushner). The students were attentive and apprecia-

tive but all students in the Baltics tend to be shy about

asking questions or socializing with teachers. There is a

very clear line between the two groups. Yet they were

always very friendly and at the end of the two weeks gave

me a gift book which they signed with enthusiasticcomments.

I observed one acting class for 3rd year collegestudents and it was taught by an old grande dame of an actress who mostly gave line readings rather thandirection. More interesting was a rehearsal of highschool students between the ages of 14 and 18 who were preparing a program of three Lithuanian folk tales. Thekids were very lively, fearless, expressive. This younger

generation was not so afraid to ask me questions andtheir English was so good I thought they were Americanteenagers.

FOODYou will not encounter a Lithuanian restaurant in citiesoutside of the country because the food is hearty, unex-

citing, and practical. The entire diet is based on simplefarm food, so it consists of local produce and differentways to disguise the same few ingredients. Potatoes arethe most common food. Beets are also popular (thoughnot with me) and are usually served cold as a side dishor in the famous cold soup borsht. After that expect tofind cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, and other vegetables at every meal. And I mean EVERY meal.Breakfast looks (and tastes) exactly like lunch and din-ner. There is always meat but it is usually in small por-tions and is inside something, from a potato pancake to a pasta shell. The national dish is the cepelinai (also called

a zepplin because it is shaped like one) which consists of a thick potato-paste with meat inside. The texture is a bittoo glutinous for most foreigners (I compare it to tryingto chew glue) but the Lithuanians love them. One student boasted to me that he had devoured a dozen of them in azepplin-eating contest. Well, I suppose our hot dogs mustseem just as strange to Lithuanians. On the more positiveside, their hot soups are very good (even though theyhave these same ingredients) and the food really sticks toyou. I was so full for so many hours after each meal Inever snacked between meals. Instead I felt like goingout and plowing a field.

FINAL THOUGHTS Lithuania is a land still going through tremendouschange. It has such old and beloved traditions yet thecountry is reinventing itself every day. My guess is thatin twenty years it will be as radically different as it istoday from the days of Soviet control. The sad truth isthat many young Lithuanians are leaving the country tofind better jobs in other European countries. (With their knowledge of English, this is possible.) The nation’s pop-ulation has decreased in the last ten years. Perhaps manyof these people will return to their homeland once theyhave made their bundle. My guess is that many will. After only two weeks I could feel the strong hold the countryhas on one. Whether in America or Europe or wherever,many Lithuanians realize where “home” really is.

Thomas Hischak is Professor of Theatre at the State University of New York College at Cortland and the author of twenty-four bookson theatre, film, and popular music. He has also taught in Greeceon a Fulbright grant.

Photos by Thomas Hischak

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One in a series of articles introducing folk dance groups that will be participating in the XIV Folk Dance Festival.

S ˇ ALTINIS - Detroit, Michigan

* About 75 folk dance teachersfrom Boston, Hartford, New Jersey,

New York, Philadelphia, Hamilton(Canada), Detroit, Chicago, Toronto

(Canada), Los Angeles, Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco,Madison, Cleveland, West Virginia and San Diego a ttended aweeklong dance camp in August at Camp Dainava in Michi-gan. The Folk Dance Festival’s artistic directors presented andtaught the entire festival repertoire to the assembled teachers.

* Upon returning home to their respective communities, thedance teachers will begin teaching the dances to eager andwilling candidates. Contact your local group and join in thefun if your feet keep tapping to hearty Lithuanian folk dancemusic.

* Many different age groups can participate in the festival.There are groups for Children, ages 8 to 11, Youth, ages 12-17, Students, ages 18-30, Young Veterans, ages 30-49 andVeterans, ages 50+.

* Each participating group comes to the festival with its ownunique t-shirt that is representative of its group, city, or state.It is lots of fun to see the rainbow of colors and ingeniousdesigns portrayed on the shirts.

* More than 1000 dancers will participate in the festival. Un-like dance groups from Lithuania that wear identicalcostumes, groups from the United States and Canada dazzlethe viewer with beautiful costumes in a variety of colors andweave designs.

* To be part of the XIV Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival inBoston on July 1, 2012 , start making your plans now. It’s nottoo early to make hotel reservations if you want to be in theheart of all the activity.Please see the festival website at www.sokiusvente 2012or www.lithuanianfolkdancefestival.org.You can email [email protected] or call 781-784-8491 forany information you may need.

Prepared by Gloria Adomkaitis, Member, Festival Organizing Committee

XIV LITHUANIAN FOLK DANCE FESTIVAL JULY 1, 2012 - BOSTON, MA

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

The late 1940's brought an entire wave of immigrants fleeingthe oppression of communism in their beloved countries tothe freedom of a new life in America. Among these “displaced

persons” were Lithuanians from various cities or villages hop-ing to find employment, shelter and a new beginning. TheDetroit area offered all of these and soon a large Lithuanianethnic community was actively involved in keeping their

beloved native language and traditions alive and a part of theireveryday lives. Many organizations were established wherefamilies could participate in academic , spiritual, physical andcultural events.

Lithuanian folk dancing was a large part of this culturalaspect with its beautiful music, intricate dance patterns andtraditional colorful native costumes. The dance group“Silaine” was formed and led by Galina Gobiene in 1949. Thedancers were primarily university students and as the yearswent on, many hung up their dance shoes and made room foryounger, eager students who gladly joined the ranks. How-ever, the love and excitement of Lithuanian folk dance nevertruly died and so, many dancers did return as veterans per-

forming at folk dance festivals along with friends from otherdance groups in many cities across the United States andCanada. In 1987, the “Silaine” dance group went into re tire-ment to the dismay and disappointment of its veteran dancers.

As a result of this, a new dance ensemble was formed inlate 1987 under the leade rship of Victoria Viskantiene whowas already teaching folk dancing at the Lithuanian schooland preparing for the upcoming Eighth Lithuanian Folk DanceFestival in Hamilton, Ontario.

This new ensemble was named “Saltinis” and consisted of

seasoned veteran dancers of various ages from manydifferent professions. All had a common bond – the love of folk dancing. Although there was less than six months to

prepare, the “ Saltinis” dancers were determined to perform inHamilton and accomplished their goal with flying colors.By 1992 the ranks had grown and once again the “ Saltinis”veteran dancers joined in at the Ninth Folk Dance Festival inRosemont, Illinois.

With the fall of communism, it was with great anticipa-tion and excitement that “Saltinis” prepared for the unbeliev-able treat of dancing in Lithuania. For some, it was ahomecoming to the land of their birth. For others, it was ahomecoming to the land of their roots. For all it was a trulyinspirational, never to be forgotten experience. For this festi-val, the veterans were also accompanied by a student groupand were able to repeat this experience twice more.

“Saltinis” has now gone on to dance in all the LithuanianFolk Dance Festivals since it's beginning in 1987. Theensemble has swelled to include not only the veteran andstudent dancers, but also the young adult and youth groups aswell. The student group has also performed on several occa-sions in the local Detroit area but it is never easy when yourdancers are away at university or involved in various athletic

programs. But somehow, everyone manages to reshuffleschedules and put some things on the back burner to be a small

part of the great big picture. Once again, “Saltinis” will be onthe floor, in their square, in their costumes waiting for that in-troductory music at the XIV Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival.

See you in Boston!!

Article written and submitted byVictoria Viskantas, Director, S ˇ altinis Folk Dance Group



20 o c t o b e r 20 1 1

Calendar of Events for October, November and December 2011Please verify all events as places & times are subject to change.

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OctoberOct. 7 - 9, 2011 - Elizabeth-Newark areaConvention of LAC Boardof Directors with interest-ing evening programs towhich all will be invited.Oct. 8, 2011 - 5:00 pmAnnual Fall Ball - MarineCorps Air Station OfficerʼsClub, Miramar, San Diegohttp://www.lithsd.orgSan Diego Chapter of LACOct. 18, 2011 - 7-9 pmAnnual Sing-a-Long. -Dedicated to the memoryof Mr. Bronius Krokys who was active in manyLithuanian organizations &had a love of Lithuanianmusic which he enjoyedsharing with others. We willinclude childhood songs.Lithuanian Music Hall,2715 E. Allegheny Ave.,

Phila., PA.Use side door & downstairs.Info.: 610-497- [email protected]: Amber Roots ClubOct 22, 2011 - 6 pmSt.Martin's Eve HalloweenParty & Fundraiser -Latvian Center,11710 3rd Ave. NE,Seattle, WA 98125Come to the harvestfestivities in your best dressor disguise.Indulge in thecostume parade, the singing,the dancing, the games.Feast on great food, beer,wine, & soft drinks. Music:Baltic All Star Baltic Band.Fundraiser Admission: $25per person, $70 per family,college students $15.Admission includes dinner.Seattle Chapter of the LAC

November

Nov. 5-6, 2011 - Lithuanian Festival ( Muge )Lithuanian Music Hall2715 E. Allegheny AvePhila., PA Time each day 12 to 5Lithuanian food, music,vendors & much more.Nov. 6, 2011 - Lithuanian

Fall Picnic in PhoenixBeer Garden opens 11am -Picnic & Food begin 1 pm -South Mountain Pavilion,Tumbleweed Park,745 E. Germann Rd.,Chandler, AZ 85286Details to followhttp://www.lithaz.orgNov. 15,2011 - 7-9 pmAmber Roots LithuanianHeritage Club - JoannePoset will give a presenta-tion on her ancestor,St. Barbara Umiestauskas& the old church in Zagare.

Lithuanian Music Hall,2715 E.Allegheny Ave.Phila.PA.Use side door to CultureCenter downstairs hall.Refreshments will beserved. For info: call [email protected]: Amber Roots

Lithuanian Heritage Club.December

Dec. 13, 2011 - 7-9 pmAnnual Ku- cios.Lithuanian Music Hall,2715 Allegheny Ave.Phila., PA.Please bring a meatless dish,Lithuanian if possible. No feeis charged. Use side door toCulture Center to downstairs.For info:Call Millie 610-497 [email protected]: Amber Roots Club,

Lithuanian Heritage ClubDec. 17, 2011 - 3:00 pmChristmas Social -Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall1151 S. Galena S.(just west of Mississippi & Havana)Denver, CO 80247For info.:contact CO-LACBoard Members.Dec. 17, 2011 - 4-10 pm“Kaledu Vakaras”-Christmas Party DavisHall at Wyandotte County Lake91st & Leavenworth Rd.Kansas City, KSInfo.:http://www.kclith.org/ eventCalendar.htmlDec. 17, 2011Ku- cios ir Kaledine EgluteLithuanian Christmas EveMeal & Childrenʼs program.Latvian Hallhttp://portlandlithuani-ans.com/ pages/renginiai-events

"Dagilelis" important and significant achievements:

The Šiauliai Boys' andYouth Choir "Dagi le lis"

is one of the most prominent choirs inLithuania. Each year "Dagile lis" holds anumber of concerts in various towns inLithuania and abroad. The young singersrejoice the hearts of the audience by their

perfect performance, emotionality and theirvibrant sounding voices.

The choir has toured Italy, Germany,the Czech Republic, Spain, Poland, Russia,Estonia and Belarus. They have participatedin the St. Kristupas and Ch. Frenkelis Palacesummer music festivals, Lithuanian Musi-cians' Festival, Grand Music Parade inVilnius, 3rd International Latin Music

Festival "Fundamentum Collegii" in Kraziaiand International Sacral Music and CharityProject "Pax et bonum".

Headed by Remigijus Adomaitis since1990, the choir continually participates invarious international choir competitions andfestivals, achieving many awards including:

1st. prize in the International Childrenand Youth Choir Competition in Giessen(Germany, 1997)

1st. prize in the International Childrenand Youth Choir Competition "Dainu˛versme 98" in Vilnius (Lithuania, 1998)

1st. prize in the International ChoirCompetition "Guido d'Arezzo" in Arezze(Italy, 1999)

1st. prize in the International ChoirCompetition "Music World" in Fivizzano(Italy, 2000)

GRAND PRIX in Lithuanian Childrenand Youth Choir Competition "Mes Lietuvosvaikai" in Klaipeda, (Competition "PragueChristmas" in Prague (the Czech Republic,2002)

1st. prize in the International ChoirCompetition "Premio Valentino Bucchi" inRome (Italy, 2004)

GRAND PRIX and two Gold Medalsin the International Choir Competition"Mundi Cantat" in Olomouc (the CzechRepublic, 2006)

GRAND PRIX in the InternationalSacral Music Competition "CantateDomino" in Kaunas, (Lithuania, 2007)

In October 2008, the choir participatedin the 8th International Festival of Boys’Choirs and European Football Champi-onship of Boys’ Choirs.



PERIODICALPOSTAGE

bridgesL I T H U A N I A N A M E R I C A N N E W S J O U R N A L

V O L U M E 3 5 I S S U E 8

The 14th

LithuanianFolk Dance Festiva

is coming to

Boston, MA July 1, 2012

S ˇ altinis from

Detroit, MI is one of the dance groups that

will be participating

in the Dance Festival.

bridges - october 2011

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