The Legend

A guest performance by Klaipeda State Music Theatre on December 3rd, 2025 in the Vanemuine Theatre small building

A ballet in two acts by Lithuanian composer Antanas Jasenka and Slovenian choreographer Gaj Žmavc

This new full-length ballet by Slovenian choreographer and Artistic Director of Ballet with the Klaipeda State Music Theatre, Gaj Žmavc, set to the original orchestral score written by Antanas Jasenka, draws inspiration from the legacy of Herkus Monte, an iconic Baltic Prussian hero and one of the most revered leaders of the Great Prussian Uprising against the Teutonic Order in the 13th century. But instead of a linear retelling of Herkus’s life story, the historical narrative is distilled into powerful visual symbols and neoclassical dance language, focusing on themes of light, hope, and love, as opposition to darkness, despair, and loss. This production invites the audience to reflect on eternal but actual themes, such as people’s strife for liberty and the fragility of historical memory.

The set design for Legend earned Sigita Šimkūnaitė the Mask of Gratitude award for the best set design of the year 2024.

“It is evident that this is yet another work in the recent repertoire of the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre that confirms the consistently high artistic pulse of the ballet company.”

– Art critic Helmutas Šabasevičius