Jurgita Dronina seeks to raise Lithuanian National Ballet on its 100th anniversary

Jurgita Dronina, the new artistic director of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theater’s ballet company, marked the troupe’s 100th birthday in Vilnius with a world‑premiere staging of Coppélia and plans to raise the company’s profile to rank among Europe’s best. Dronina, who became artistic director in January, has introduced changes to daily life at the company — lengthening company class, insisting women take class on pointe and teaching a separate pointe class herself, and moving rehearsals to a 10 a.m.

to 5 p.m. day — while programming ambitious centenary events. The new Coppélia, staged by Martynas Rimeikis with a revised score by Jievaras Jasinskis, leans into E.T.A. Hoffmann’s nightmarish story “The Sandman.” The season’s anniversary plans also include a student showcase from the M.K.

Ciurlionis School of Art and an international gala on Dec. 20 and 21 featuring dancers from major European companies. The company is operating amid a broader cultural shift: since 2022 Lithuania’s major performing arts institutions have stopped performing Russian content under what the ministry of culture called a “mental quarantine,” a change that has removed works by Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Stravinsky from the repertoire.

Key Topics

Culture, Jurgita Dronina, Lithuanian National Ballet, Vilnius, Coppélia, Martynas Remeikis