State Holiday Concert. Latvia 106

Dance is a symbol of endless circulation – it embodies movement and life. Regardless of singing, it seems that (especially in recent years), perhaps we are becoming even more a nation of dancers.

"Oh, my little feet,

I want to dance, I want to dance!

Where are my little partners,

Why didn't they lead me to the dance?"

In 2024, we will celebrate Latvia's birthday with symphonic dances. Ainars Rubikis will stand before the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, presenting a series of Latvian composers' orchestral dances with diverse roots.

There will also be a story, twofold: the first part of the concert will be intertwined with etudes written by Orests Silabriedis about dance in Latvian and Latvian destinies, while in the second part of the concert, we will witness how music interacts with the fantastic videography and color choreography of -8.

-8, a video artist for Liepāja Theater and a lecturer at Liepāja University, now a freelance artist, has created videos for many performances at Liepāja Theater, Dailes Theater, Latvian National Opera, Richard Dubra's opera "Suitu Saga," Liepāja amateur artists' concert "Saules Pielijuši" (2023), multiple nominations for the "Spēlmaņu Nakts" award, and the title of "Liepāja Citizen of the Year 2015."

The classic stage dances include Jurjāns Andrejs' four-part cycle, featuring the famous couple dances "Jandāls" and "Ačkups." In a similar style, Jānis Ķepītis composed the suite crowned by the well-known melody "I Could Lead a Dance." Inspired by Emīls Melngailis, Edmunds Goldšteins has depicted colorful scenes from the Mērdzenes Fair in Latgale. Also, our notable composer born in Liepāja, Tālivaldis Ķeniņš, acted in a national spirit by creating his "Folk Dance and Fugue No. 2." With his characteristic humor, Pēteris Plakidis crafted the "Singing Prelude and Dancing Fugue," concluding with a smile of a rural deity and the motif "Tūdaliņ, Tagadiņ."

Elegant ladies and gallant knights meet in the glow of a thousand candles in the airy dance of Imants Kalniņš' Sixth Symphony III part "Ball at the Castle." Jāzeps Mediņš created his "Fantastic Waltz" with shimmering crown chandeliers and playful midnight shadows. Ģederts Ramans composed the "Impromptu Waltz" with the freshness of first love. Lastly, Romualds Kalsons presents a cinema classic – the "Tango" from Dzidra Ritenberga's film "Those Dangerous Balcony Doors."

Participants:

Liepāja Symphony Orchestra

Conductor Ainars RUBIKIS

Video Artist -8

Orests SILABRIEDIS – Texts