The history of Rasa ensemble
With dances, songs and music, we have entered the new millennium, the era of new hopes, achievements and possibilities. Nationality, being one of the ways to express our nation's identity, is especially important to retain in the intensive process of globalization.
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Every instant, our future becomes the present and every instant the present turns to the past. It seems that „Rasa“, one of the first folk dance ensembles in Lithuania , got its birth only yesterday. Actually, it happened in November 1967, and not long ago we celebrated our 35th anniversary. New and old melodies resound, wind blows up smiles and sounds of dances, one generation replaces another, but the group is still young and joyous. If we could bring all our dances and songs back, the performance would last for several weeks.
„Rasa“, the folk dance ensemble, is a combination of folk-instrument orchestra, dancers and groups of singers. The mild quavering of birbyne (reed), wonderful sounds of kankles, contagious liveliness of armonika (accordion) and trills of lumzdelis merge perfectly with songs and inspire for a dance. The perfect harmony of sounds, colors and movements makes the ensemble famous not only in Lithuania , but all over the world as well.
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The success of „Rasa“ program is based on the national pieces applied for performance on the stage at a high artistic level. Lithuanian dances and songs applied for the stage are like a connection between the past and the present, serving as one of the ways to preserve one's identity on the wave of cosmopolitan culture. This was instinctively noticed by the „Rasa“ creators 35 years ago. Numerous ensembles existed in the countries of the Central Europe , as the majority of them performed dances created on the ethnographical basis. The dances performed by „Rasa“ are rich of ethnography, Lithuanian traditions, colors, forms, some classical elements and reflections of our daily life.
Most of the members in the ensemble are dancers. There are three groups of dancers: the youth are mischievously pushing and joyous, the middle aged are youthful and exuberant, the seniors are winsome and prudent. The dancers perfectly execute all Lithuanian folk dances and rounds.
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In time running, Lithuanians created numerous authentic musical instruments, which, although modified slightly, are still very popular in Lithuanian folk music orchestras. „Rasa“ has all the basic instruments as well: reeds, kankles, skrabalai (bells), lumzdeliai, skuduciai. A cappella with such typical instruments as accordion, violin, clarinet, drum and contrabass is also performing next to the orchestra of national instruments.
The singers assist the dancers and also sing many beautiful songs, which impart liveliness to our performances and enrich the everyday life of the ensemble.
The ensemble has been a very harmonious family for almost four decades already, yet every year it is reinforced by new members and open for everybody: school pupils, students, people of different professions. Those who leave the ensemble still remain members of this family. Names of the ensemble members as well as all small and grand meeting with the audience are registered in thick manuscripts of the ensemble.
„Rasa“ arranged concerts in such countries as England, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Luxembourg, Moldavia, Holland, Portugal, France, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Finland, North Korea, Scotland, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Vietnam and Germany .
