“Expansion. The universe enters my body”. Photo by Nerijus Juras

The older generation dancer, choreographer and educator Vytis Jankauskas (b. 1968) is considered to be one of the most interesting contemporary dance artists in Lithuania. Although he graduated in dance education from the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences only in 2010, Jankauskas has been studying the art of dance since his youth and took part in various international seminars in Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Germany and Austria.

Jankauskas’ career began with breakdancing, and with the dance company, Three from Vilnius (Trys iš Vilniaus) founded in 1991, whose composition Triptych won great acclaim in Lithuania and abroad. In 1997, the Vytis Jankauskas Dance Company was established, for which the choreographer has created fourteen one-act dance productions.

In the dance productions Songs of a Medieval Fellow (Viduramžių bernelio dainos, 2000), The Drowned Valley (Nuskendęs slėnis, 2003), Vigil (Budėjimai, 2008) and Flames Beyond the Cold Mountain (Liepsnos virš šaltojo kalno, 2010), the choreographer searches for a balance between form innovation and emotional effect, while his choreographic expressions always reflect philosophical foundations. Jankauskas cares little about giving his productions the features of outright modernity, however, he increasingly chooses to reflect on the present. For a decade now, the choreographer has been moving in the direction of social critique. In the productions Moving Targets (Judantys taikiniai, 2011), Arrhythmias (Aritmijos, 2013), Blind Spot (Akloji dėmė, 2015) and Agony (Agonija, 2017), he analysed the relationship between the individual and society, emphasising poignantly the destructive element of the social environment’s influence.

Jankauskas’ artistic and creative experience is complemented by long-term educational work.

Alongside the Vytis Jankauskas Dance Company, the choreographer was running a dance studio for a couple of decades that for many years was the only professional dance studio in Vilnius. Jankauskas currently teaches at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre and holds the position of associate professor.

Productions by Jankauskas are not only often performed in Lithuania but have also been shown in Poland, Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Sweden, Germany, Egypt and China. He has twice been a recipient of the top professional theatre award in Lithuania, the Golden Cross of the Stage, for best choreography, for The Drowned Valley (Nuskendęs slėnis) in 2004, and for Vigil (Budėjimai) in 2009.

Jankauskas’ dance performance Expansion. The universe enters my body (Ekspansija. Visata įeina į mano kūną, 2019) is a dance performance consisting of a female dancer, a tape recorder and an inflatable bubble. This minimalist piece, unusual in its form and content that is not easy to grasp, is atypical of Jankauskas’ work so far. Performed by a young contemporary dancer Viltė Švarplytė, Expansion. The universe enters my body is the first mono-performance created by Jankauskas. The work explores critical approach to contemporary pragmatism and imposed, forced creativity. However, these themes are studied through extremely abstract, meditative forms of expression, and the movement here is not constructed, but rather explored.

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