The exhibition title is a phrase describing ballet, taken from A Glossary of Foreign and Incomprehensible Words,compiled by Jurgis Šlapelis and published in 1907. Over more than a hundred years, this art has become familiar and widely understood in Lithuania.

Although the continuous history of ballet in Lithuania officially began on 4 December 1925, with the premiere of Léo Delibes’s Coppélia at the State Theatre in Kaunas, the art of ballet had been known in the country long before that. This exhibition invites you on a journey through the history of Lithuanian ballet: from opera stagings at Vilnius’s Lower Castle in the 17^th century, through court and school theatre in the 18^th century, to the stage of the Vilnius City Theatre in the 19^thcentury. The early forms of dance are brought to life in the introductory gallery through documents, artworks, and their carefully crafted reproductions.

The exhibition focuses in particular on the first professional ballet performance – Coppélia – staged by the choreographer Pavel Petrov, as well as on its subsequent productions by Nikolaj Zverev, Vytautas Brazdylis, and Kirill Simonov, highlighting the evolution of the ballet’s artistic forms over time.

The century-long history of Lithuanian ballet is presented primarily through productions created in Lithuania that, for shorter or longer periods, delighted ballet audiences at the State Theatre in Kaunas and, following the company’s move to Vilnius, at the Lithuanian State Academic (now National) Opera and Ballet Theatre. The latter initially operated in the old theatre building on Jono Basanavičiaus Street and, from 1974, in its current premises on Antano Vienuolio Street. The exhibition also showcases ballet performances staged at the State Musical Theatres of Kaunas and Klaipėda, along with their creators.

The artistic lives of ballet soloists and performers are evoked through the costumes they wore in performances and concerts, international tour posters, and artworks capturing the artists – pieces rarely seen in exhibition halls. Highlights include the large-scale portrait of Genovaitė Sabaliauskaitė by Irena Trečiokaitė-Žebenkienė, witty caricatures by Romualdas Džiugas, and graphic works by Vida Insodienė.

Among the most frequently staged Lithuanian ballets is Eduardas Balsys’s Eglė, the Queen of Serpents, to whose stage and screen interpretations an entire exhibition gallery is dedicated. Visitors can explore not only photographs, posters, and sketches of scenography and costumes, but also video recordings of productions by Vytautas Grivickas, Egidijus Domeika, and Martynas Rimeikis.

The history of Lithuanian ballet is inseparable from the tradition of dance education, which in the country predates ballet itself. It began as early as 1921, when Olga Dubeneckienė founded her ballet studio in Kaunas. Since 1952, ballet training has been centred at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art; in recent decades, however, this field has also been actively developed by numerous private schools and academies operating in Lithuania’s major cities. The panorama of ballet education in Lithuania is explored in a dedicated exhibition space, which also presents non-state ballet theatres engaged in educational work.

Created specifically for the exhibition, the photographer Martynas Aleksa presents a work offering visitors a rare glimpse behind the scenes of rehearsals for a new staging of Coppélia, prepared to mark the centenary of Lithuanian ballet. Premiering on 4 December 2025, the choreographer Martynas Rimeikis’s production will open the path for Lithuanian ballet into its second century.

The majority of the exhibits presented in the exhibition are held by the Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum. The exhibition also features documents, artworks, audio and video recordings, stage costumes and their accessories from other Lithuanian memory institutions as well as from private collections.

Exhibition team:

Curator – Prof Dr Helmutas Šabasevičius

Project Manager – Aušra Endriukaitienė

Architect – Sigita Simona Paplauskaitė

Graphic Designer – Ona Vėliūtė

Lighting Designer – Audrius Jankauskas

Editors – Lolita Petrašiūnaitė and Dalia Cidzikaitė

Children’s Interactive Elements Designers: Ona Barbora Šlapšinskaitė, Eglė Špokaitė, Emilija Višinskaitė

Communications Officers: Simona Stalilionytė, Austėja Mikuckytė-Mateikienė, Eglė Radavičiūtė, Deimantė Čekavičienė.

Technical Implementation Managers: Baltic Art Force, UAB, Audrius Janulevičius, Evaldas Narkevičius, Paulius Steponavičius, Saulius Steponavičius, Vytenis Lukšys

Organiser:

Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema Museum

Project Sponsor:

Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania

Partners:

Lithuanian Culture and Research Institute

Lithuanian National Museum of Art

The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences

National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art

1. K. Čiurlionis National Art Museum

Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania

Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre

Lithuanian Central State Archives

Lithuanian Archives of Literature and Art

Lithuanian National Radio and Television

Lithuanian Music Information Centre

With thanks to: 

Theatre Museum in the Court Theatre (Copenhagen), The New York Public Library (USA), Munson Museum of Art (USA), Kaunas City Museum, Mažeikiai Museum, Anželika Cholina Dance Theatre A|CH, Choreographic Project Theatre Vilnius Ballet, Baltic Ballet Theatre, Lithuanian International Ballet Academy, Neli Beliakaitė Ballet Academy, Nerijus Juška Ballet School, Academy PRO Ballet, Olga Konošenko Ballet School, Ballet Institute of San Diego (USA), Kaunas Mikas Petrauskas School of Stage Arts, Klaipėda Ballet School, CODA Dance School, Loreta Bartusevičiūtė-Noreikienė, Rasa Drazdauskaitė, Jurgita Dronina, Vida Insodienė, Jurga Katakinė, Aurelija Pulauskaitė, Inesa Vinge, Voldemaras Chlebinskas, Petras Skirmantas, Ugnius Juodišius, and Algirdas Vileikis.