Traditional Dance

Sutartines dances are some of the earliest traditional dances in Lithuania. The polyphony of the text and music, as well as the repetition of onomatopoeic words, define them. Simple dance moves like walking, stamping feet, gliding, switching places, coming, and turning are used to accompany the sutartine (song).

Rateliai, a sort of circular dance, is a different genre of Lithuanian folk music. Fiddles, lumzdelis, a type of whistle similar to the clarinet called the birbyne, and kankls, a type of zither that accompanies sutartines, rateliai, waltzes, quadrilles, and polkas are among the instruments used. More recent imports, starting in the late 19th century, include the concertina, accordion, and bandoneon. Sutartin is accompanied by wooden trumpets (ragai and dandyts) and the skuduiai, a type of panpipe performed by a group of people. The kankls is a very significant folk instrument, with variations in string count and performance style across the nation. Other traditional instruments include the sekmini ragelis (bagpipe), the vilpas (whistle), drums, and tabalas (a percussion instrument similar to a gong).