About us

Latvian folk dance group “Bitite” (The Little Bee) - that means two hundred willing to dance children of age 3 and young people till 30 from suburbs of Riga – Mangalsala and Vecmilgravis. The group was established in 1985.

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In 1990 the children team was joined by their parents and other adults over age of 25, who were formed as a separate senior folk dance group “Auda”. This dance group is rather large as well and it is also actively performing individually or together with “Bitite”.

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The founder and the Artistic Director of both dance groups is Mrs. Indra Filipsone. She is a professional choreographer and a dancer herself. The dances designed by Mrs. Filipsone several times have been included in the programs of The Schoolchildren Song and Dance Festivals in Riga/Latvia.

Dancers are regularly participating in the cultural life of the country. Every year the group takes part in the competition of newly choreographed dances held in Valmiera/Latvia, receiving the jury’s recognition. The dance groups “Bitite” and “Auda” have established a nice tradition to give a yearly Gala performance at the Latvian National Theater on the 1^st of May each year. From the foundation day of the group, the dancers of “Bitite” have been taking part at the all of The Latvian Folk Song and Dance Festivals witch is held in the capital of Latvia - Riga every four years. They actively perform in Riga and in the others regions of Latvia as well as abroad. The dancers have taken part in the XII American Latvian Folk Song Festival at Seattle, WA, USA. Dancers have given concerts at many dance festivals in U.K., Finland, Macedonia, Germany, Scotland, France, China and other countries.

For last ten years the both groups are taking part at The International Art and Culture Festivals of Europe called “Europeade” which every year takes place at the different country of Europe. This year (2003) “Bitite” and “Auda” are going to “41. Europeade” at the sunny island of Italy - Sardinia.

In this interesting, creative, but also rather difficult job, Mrs. Indra Filipsone has good and reliable helping hands: the private tutor she has brought up - her daughter Miss Nadine Neimane and Arleta Rudzīte, a dance step teacher Miss Arta Laupace, a pianist Mrs. Gunta Liepina and Miss Olga Fedorenko who is together with a group from the day it was founded.