Laurynas Žakevičius is a certified social pedagogue, bullying prevention program instructor, dancer and teacher. In the Lithuanian and international dance community, he is better known as Lau. Having first tried dancing in kindergarten, Laurynas began dancing seriously in 2001. Since then, he has participated in numerous local and global dance events – from competitions, judging and workshops to stage dance theater performances. Being persistent and self-aware, Laurynas still pays great attention to self-improvement and gaining knowledge from the pioneers, innovators and creators of urban dance, as well as representatives of other art fields and cultural phenomena. The most memorable dance events and achievements, not only related to victories, have shaped Laurynas and encouraged him to grow. The contribution of the “Left City 54” break dance team helped him become a winner in events such as “Top Fint”, “Urban Dance”, “IBE 10th Edition”, “Juste Debout”, etc.
Laurynas improved his skills and competencies in internships, residencies and workshops around the world: U.S. International visitors leadership program, Marina Abramovič “Cleaning the House” workshop, Ohad Naharin “Gaga Movement Lab”, “B12”, “ImPulsTanz”, “Summer Dance Forever”, “SDK” and others.
In addition to teaching regular dance classes, he devoted a lot of time to organizing events and festivals (Urban Essentials, Dance Colony – Dance Meeting, etc.). Laurynas gained greater recognition after appearing in the TV project “Tu gali šokti / So You Think You Can Dance”, winning the LRT project “Dance” and being a member of the commission in the TV dance project “Dance revolution”. In 2012, together with Airida Gudaite, he founded the first theater in Lithuania based on the principles of urban (hip hop/street) dance, which expanded Laurynas’ creative possibilities and approach to art.
Together with the co-founders of the Low Air troupe, Laurynas has won several of Lithuania’s highest performing arts awards and several prizes for creative achievements. He has produced, created and/or performed 14 dance performances, with which he has traveled from Greenland to South Korea, from the USA to all of Europe. This experience has allowed him to accumulate knowledge about dance, share it and make Lithuania famous in the world. Today, dance for Laurynas is a tool to be emotionally and physically healthier, to communicate and talk to people, to express himself to everyone through breakdance, house and improvisation forms, to be visible and discovered, to discover art and himself in it.
Between pedagogy and creativity, Laurynas develops international dance networks and curates international projects. Since 2021, he has been a member of the board of the National Association of Creative and Cultural Industries, and since 2024, a member of the council of the Lithuanian Contemporary Dance Association. As a cultural producer, Laurynas has prepared and implemented more than 60 national and international projects, thanks to which Lithuanian cultural projects and creators have been presented in 21 countries around the world. He is also a member of the European dance network Studiotrade.
THREE KEY EVENTS:
– The moment I saw the “Music Instructor ft. Flying Steps” music video “Super Sonic” on the music TV channel Viva, in which the dancers were spinning on their heads and otherwise surprising with breakdancing. This left an indelible impression on me, which made me push the furniture out of the living room and start trying. Physical and creative tests and trials have been going on since 2001, and the dancer’s journey has given me a creative and life partner, best friends – the Left City 54 team, trips to see the world and the eyes of curious viewers full of emotions.
– Social pedagogy studies and work with disabled people and elderly people as a personal nurse in Great Britain. This stage of life formed the qualities of empathy, courage, and listening, which today, combined with dance, destroy many stereotypes, give birth to creative, educational, and socially inclusive projects.
– The birth of a sustainable and boundary-expanding Low Air dance phenomenon. Low Air is ideas, activities, acquaintances, communities, opportunities, transformations. The joy when the troupe’s performances travel around the world, when foreign dancers and choreographers get to know Lithuania and its dancers, when dancers from the Low Air dance school enroll and continue their studies in Lithuania and abroad, when an 86-year-old person dances optimistically.
