{"id":30732,"date":"2024-10-25T12:35:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T09:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lowair.lt\/?post_type=tribe_events&p=30732"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:12:11","slug":"symposium-2024","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/lowair.lt\/en\/event\/symposium-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban Essentials | Symposium 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Urban Essentials | Symposium 2024<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\tLithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t Gedimino av. 42, Vilnius<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t2024.11.16<\/span>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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November 16, 2024<\/p>

Venue: Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Julius Juzeli\u016bnas Spatial Sound Sphere (Gedimino pr. 42, Vilnius, 3rd floor).<\/p>


The symposium \u201cHip Hop \u2013 The Groove of Intertwined Cultures\u201d invites participants to explore hip-hop dance as a multicultural form of movement expression, drawing on practices from both academic and non-academic communities to reflect upon, create, and renew knowledge.<\/p>

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10:00 AM Audience registration<\/p>

10:30 AM Opening remarks<\/p>

Symposium moderator: Andrius Katinas (Head of the Department of Dance and Movement, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, LMTA)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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More information:<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Presentation<\/p>

10:35\u201311:10 Frieda Frost (Ph.D. candidate and lecturer at the Department of Arts and Music, University of Cologne. Germany\/Morocco)<\/p>

| Borrowed Steps and the Flow of Movement. Transnational Breakdance Movements and Cultural Influences |<\/p>

Dancers use their bodies to tell stories from the past, offering a glimpse into the heritage of the practice and its origins. The cultural heritage of breakdancing becomes visible through movements in circle improvisations and dance battles, mediated and passed on from one dancer to another. But what cultural and historical references can be traced in breakdance moves? How might they migrate within the global breakdance community? And how can breakdancers\u2019 practical knowledge of performing breakdance moves enrich academic research?<\/p>

Frieda Frost presents her doctoral research project on breakdancing, breakdance moves, and its cultural heritage.<\/p>

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Presentation<\/p>

11:10\u201311:40 Airida Gudait\u0117 (Doctoral student in the Department of Theater and Film, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater)<\/p>

| The Transformation of Hip-Hop Dance as an Artistic Practice in Urban Contexts |<\/p>

This presentation examines the transformation of hip-hop dance as an artistic practice in urban contexts from the perspective of contemporary art theory and practice, looking back to the origins of hip-hop dance and bringing street dance back to urban neighborhoods and spaces distant from the city center. Based on the \u201cCity as a Body \u2013 Courtyard Games\u201d event in the Justini\u0161k\u0117s neighborhood, the presentation analyzes the perspective of dancers who took to the spaces of the apartment complex neighborhood, as well as the social dynamics of these spaces in relation to the dancers\u2019 physical and emotional experiences.<\/p>

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11:40\u201312:00 Coffee break<\/p>

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12:00\u201313:00 Discussion session with urban anthropologist Dr. Jekaterina Lavrinec, Frieda Frost, Airida Gudaite, and active dancers from the Lithuanian hip-hop community: Rokas \u0160altenis \u201cbboy Rukus,\u201d Monika Popping \u201cKozo\u201d \u010cibirait\u0117, Gabija \u010cepelyt\u0117, and Marius Eidrigevi\u010dius \u201cArni.\u201d<\/p>

The symposium is free; registration is below.<\/p>

The presentations will be recorded. If you do not want to be filmed, please let us know during registration.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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About the Participants<\/p>

Symposium Moderator:<\/p>

Andrius Katinas \u2013 a dance artist based in Finland who creates performances and choreography. Andrius Katinas studied theater arts at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater and dance at the Finnish Theater Academy. He is currently the head of the Dance Department at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater. Since 1999, as a performer, choreographer, and collaborator, he has created more than 40 works. His artistic practice focuses on the poetics of communication in dance, constantly seeking new choreographic methods and ways of collaboration. His work reflects a sensitivity to personal life changes and the \u201cquiet\u201d rhetoric of the artist\u2019s role in society.<\/p>

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Speakers:<\/p>

Friederike \u201cBgirl Frost\u201d Frost is a researcher in the fields of dance, sports, and hip-hop. She is a research assistant at the Cologne Hip-Hop Institute at the University of Cologne and is writing her doctoral dissertation on breakdancing at the Institute for Dance and Movement Culture at the German Sport University. As a breakdancer herself, she researches the transnational flows and cultural influences of breakdance movements and has published book chapters and articles on gender negotiations, the sense of belonging, and the \u201ccall and response\u201d principle in breakdancing.<\/p>

Friederike Frost lives between Germany and Morocco and works as a freelance dancer, choreographer, and cultural manager. She teaches breakdancing in schools and universities, participates in social and gender equality projects, and in 2020 won the Digital Teaching Award from the German Sport University Cologne. She creates dance theater performances with her dance company \u201cCie Chara,\u201d implements art and dance projects in collaboration with, for example, the Goethe-Institut in Morocco, and judges breakdancing competitions such as the \u201cBreaking for Gold\u201d qualifiers and the 2024 Paris Olympics.<\/p>

Friederike Frost is the founder of the European Hip-Hop Studies Network and created \u201c@hiphopstudysunday,\u201d which provides dancers, students, and scholars with access to hip-hop studies and literature. She is the 2019 German B-Girl runner-up and a member of the advisory board for \u201cNeue K\u00fcnste Ruhr\u201d\u2014a funding program for urban and digital arts run by the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia.<\/p>

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Airida Gudait\u0117 is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and doctoral student in the arts at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In her professional work, she explores Western culture and social dance, focusing on their movement structures, which are always open to transformation and improvisation. In her dance practice, she develops movement by combining hip-hop and contemporary dance forms, supported by her personal research. She collaborates with choreographers living in Europe and beyond, and organizes educational workshops and events. Since 2012, together with her creative partner Laurynas \u017dakevi\u010dius, Airida Gudait\u0117 has established the first independent arts organization in Lithuania based on street dance, \u201cLow Air\u201d Dance Theater and School, which fosters creative dance processes, mentors young dancers, and cultivates a young audience. In 2017, \u201cLow Air\u201d was granted the status of a Vilnius City Dance Theater and School.<\/p>

Together with Low Air co-founder Laurynas \u017dakevi\u010dius, Airida was awarded the \u201cYoung Creator Award\u201d by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania in 2017. That same year, she received the \u201cBoris Dauguvietis Earring\u201d award for her successful exploration of new forms of stage expression by combining street dance and theater in her performances, as well as for her pedagogical work that is transforming the face of contemporary dance in Lithuania. She was honored with an award established by the Contemporary Dance Association for her most memorable creative work.<\/p>

Recipient of three Golden Crosses of the Stage in 2014, 2017, and 2022 for the productions *Home Trip*, *Game Over*, and *Me Two\/We, the Cligue*, as well as numerous awards for her creative achievements. Having performed in and created over 15 productions, Airida Gudait\u0117 travels with her dance works from Greenland to South Korea, from the U.S. across all of Europe, accumulating knowledge and experience in dance while sharing it and putting Lithuania on the global map.<\/p>

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Guests of the discussion session:<\/p>

Dr. Jekaterina Lavrinec \u2013 an urban researcher, curator of community initiatives, and practitioner of public space revitalization, who employs participatory art forms as a method for analyzing and developing urban spaces. Together with like-minded individuals, she founded the urban games and research laboratory \u201cLaimikis.lt,\u201d which has been carrying out initiatives in non-formal education and the revitalization of neighborhoods and public spaces since 2007. As an associate professor at Vilnius TECH and a visiting lecturer at other universities, she has been teaching urban studies courses since 2007 and curates the annual \u201cpriARTink!\u201d week of public space studies and interventions, during which students explore and revitalize forgotten urban spaces. In 2020, together with cultural organizations and institutions operating in the Baltic Sea region, she founded an international network dedicated to cultural urban planning. Her research and creative projects focus on the experiences of urban space users and their physical and emotional connection to the urban environment.<\/p>

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Active dancers in the Lithuanian hip-hop community:<\/p>

Monika \u201cKozo\u201d \u010cibirait\u0117 \u2013 a professional street dancer and teacher. Monika holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in contemporary dance from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, as well as a minor in education. She began her dance career in 2012 and continues to represent the popping dance style. Monika Kozo has performed at major street dance events around the world, where she has been recognized by the international popping community, and has also won prestigious street dance competitions.<\/p>

She currently works in Sweden at \u00c5sa Folkhogskola, where she teaches popping and curates street dance classes. She also co-founded the street dance school \u201cUnderground\u201d in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 2023.<\/p>

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Gabija \u010cepelyt\u0117 is a professional dancer specializing in hip-hop, house, and popping. Her diverse practice includes dance classes, performances, event organization, and dance theater production. In 2019, Gabija graduated with first-class honors from the University of Surrey in England, where she studied classical and contemporary techniques, Bharatanatyam, and contemporary African dance. Since completing her studies, she has trained and worked internationally, spending most of her time in London, where she became a student of the first generation of the \u201cIndahouse UK\u201d collective and collaborated in various ways with renowned street dance theater companies such as \u201cBoy Blue\u201d and \u201cFar From The Norm.\u201d Gabija has also participated in numerous international street dance battles and competitions, gaining valuable insights from respected mentors in North America, Europe, and Asia.<\/p>

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Rokas \u0160altenis, better known on the Lithuanian and international breakdancing scene as \u201cRukus,\u201d began dancing in 2000. Since then, Rokas has participated in numerous local and top-tier global breakdancing events\u2014from dance battles to stage dance-theater performances; he has continuously sought knowledge from legends of street dance culture and today\u2019s talents; and sharing his accumulated experience by leading workshops and regular classes for dancers of all ages and skill levels. After returning to Lithuania following a long hiatus, Rokas has spent the last few years engaged in educational activities and is returning to dance theater with the Low Air dance performance \u201cVienudu.\u201d<\/p>

Marius Eidrigevi\u010dius \u201cArni\u201d is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and active advocate for street dance. Throughout his career as a dancer and teacher, Marius has contributed to the growth and flourishing of street dance culture, inspiring a new generation of dancers and encouraging some of them to pursue a career as creators. In 2018, he began his journey onto the professional dance theater stage by creating the street dance solo performance \u201cVyrsmas.\u201d Marius Eidrigevi\u010dius has worked on various artistic and social projects and collaborated with various musicians. He currently teaches at Vilnius College, where he instructs future Lithuanian dance educators in street dance and is establishing new international partnerships with universities in Portugal and Latvia.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Registracija<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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