Alkiukai
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The children's and youth folklore ensemble "Alkiukai". Leaders of the Folklore Ensemble: Elena Šalkauskienė and Ingrida Žmijauskienė
The children's and youth folklore ensemble "Alkiukai" was founded in 1994. The idea originated from the family folklore ensemble "Alka." Since the participants of "Alka" often brought their children to rehearsals, it was decided to form a separate children's ensemble. To this day, "Alkiukai" has maintained the tradition of a family ensemble, as most of the members are siblings aged 4 to 18 years. The ensemble was founded and is led by Elena Šalkauskienė, with Ingrida Žmijauskienė joining as a co-leader in 2016.
The ensemble's repertoire mainly consists of songs, dances, and traditional instrumental music from the regions of Lithuania Minor and Samogitia. Over its 30 years of existence, "Alkiukai" has developed many interesting thematic programs, such as "Martynas papartynas," "Mažas mūsų ratelis," "Čyru vyru pavasaris," "Klaipėdužėj girdėjos," "Apie žuvis ir vandenį," and others. The children in the ensemble are not only taught to sing, dance, and play instruments but are also introduced to customs, traditional crafts, and celebrate calendar holidays.
"Alkiukai" are regularly invited to present the folklore of Lithuania Minor at various events, including the Lithuanian Song Festivals, ethnic culture camps "Vėlungis," and children's folklore festivals such as "Aš pasėjau veina popa" and "Ant smilgelės krantelio." They have also participated in international folklore festivals like "Skamba skamba kankliai" and "Sėlos muzikantai," among others. The ensemble has represented Lithuania at international festivals in Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, and Latvia. The musicians of "Alkiukai," who are skilled in playing various instruments, have repeatedly become diploma recipients and laureates at the Lithuanian children's and students' folk creativity competition "Tramtatulis." In 2021, "Alkiukai" was recognized as the best children's and youth folklore ensemble and was awarded the highest national amateur art award, the "Aukso paukštė".
Daržų st. 10, LT-91246, Klaipėda
