Jadvyga Jovaišaitė

Jadvyga Jovaišaitė-Olekienė (8 February 1903 – 22 October 2000) was a Lithuanian ballet dancer and teacher.

Biography

Jovaišaitė was born on 8 February 1903 in Tbilisi, Russian Empire. In Tbilsi, she trained at Maria Perini's private ballet studio in the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts.

After her family moved to Lithuania, Jovaišaitė studied dance under Olga Dubeneckienė, reviving classical ballets. She began her professional career dancing in opera productions, performing classical ballet alongside folk dances such as the Italian tarantella and Hungarian csárdás.

In 1925, Jovaišaitė was a founding member of the first Lithuanian ballet company at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. That year she danced in the first ballet at the theatre, Coppelia, composed by Léo Delibes and directed by ballet master Pavel Petrovas.

Jovaišaitė taught dance at the Kaunas Conservatory from 1929 to 1935.

Jovaišaitė was married to opera singer Petras Oleka [ lt]. She died on 22 October 2000 in Vilnius, Lithuania, aged 97.