About organisation
Folk group “Dijūta” is one of the oldest and most acknowledged (Category A) groups in Vilnius founded in 1979. The main objective of the group is to preserve and propagate Lithuanian folklore as one of the major parts of the national identity and disseminate national cultural. The group has prepared many programmes representing different Lithuanian regions, songs of Lithuanians in exile, instrumental music, traditions, enriched with fairy tales, stories, legends, proverbs told in dialects. The ancient traditional folklore genres, as sutartinės, archaic polyphonic music performed with archaic musical instruments, different kind of whistles, pipes and horns and a string instrument – kanklės forms a major part in the group’s repertoire. The group also focuses on instrumental music of more recent times. The “Dijūta” instrumental group plays fiddle, bass, accordion, Petersburg’s accordion, and drum. The group has released sound records: “Dijūta” (1993), “Unksti rytėlio” (2000), a double CD “Dai lakštava lakštuote” (2017), has produces a music video film “Dijūta” (Director and DOP Saulius Beržinis) (2003). In 2011 “Dijūta” and its leader dr. Rūta Žarskienė were recognised as the best folk group and leader of the city and handed the “Gold Bird” prize for the preservation, dissemination of authentic folklore.
Projects
In 2013–2014 commemorating the anniversary of the 1863–1864 Uprising the programme presenting folklore of Lithuanians exiled to Tsziornaya Padina (Saratov Oblast, Russian Federation) complimented with historical comments by Gražina Kadžytė. In 2014 the programme “Letters from America, folklore in exile, 1949–1951, recorded by dr. Jonas Balys from Lithuanians in USA” was prepared for the Folklore Day “Laimė laimužė” of the World Lithuanians Song and Dance Celebration. In 2017 the programme of literary and ancient folk songs, which used to be sung in the Bradūnai family, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of poet Kazys Bradūnas, was broadcasted by the National TV (Broadcast “Ryto suktinis”) and many times performed in Lithuania in 2017. In 2018 concerts, radio broadcasts to present the CD “Dai lakštava lakštuote” were rendered. The group participated at the World Lithuanian Song and Dance Celebration’s Folklore Day “Didžių žmonių žemė”. In 2019 the programme “A song in the life and family of Kazys Bradūnas” was recorded in the professional sound records studio (sound director Giedrius Klimka), the group also took part in the National TV broadcast “Duokim garo”, took part in the St. John’s Day Celebration in the Ardennes (France) organised by the Lithuanians of Benelux.
