Walking through the streets of Vilnius: the name Sophia Gulewicz

It is one of the newest and so far the humblest streets. Located on the edge of the beautiful Cologne Vilnius (Pavilnys) and it is only a few villas. But after some time, when all the parcels will be built, it will certainly charming, immersed in the green corner of the district.

Enjoy should be noted that given the street name of a great man, a talented choreographer, co-founder of the Song and Dance “Christmas Eve”. Not without significance is the fact that the street name of late. Sophia is just Gulewicz Cologne Vilnius, where Zofia spent nearly half a century. Like all of the inhabitants was very attached to her.
In the book, Teresa Klimšauskienė titled “Vilnius Cologne Railway” section is a poem written by a former resident of this district, and later – Warsaw, Dr. Alexander Davidovich medicine. Here is an excerpt of the song:

There is no place of greater beauty. / There is no color palette so noble, / How marvelous Kryniczna Valley / In the heart of the forest as old as the world.

Zofia lived in a stacked, beautifully situated wooden villa, which has more than a hundred years. It was built by her father in law Dmitri Gulewicza. Several generations of this family lived here. It so happened that several years ago became the owner of the house-Gulewicz Alexander Vasilyev, the world famous fashion historian, journalist and writer, who arranged a whole series of great fashion exhibitions in museums of different eras of Vilnius. He is a man with a rich and extraordinary individuality, moreover, as all the inhabitants of this beautiful and always hospitable home. In it was born the son Dmitri – Arseny, Vilnius known engineer, and before the war m. In. builder cable car to Kasprowy in the Polish Tatras. To the house during the war came his very young wife, Sophia of Wernickich, Varsovian, Grand Theatre ballet dancer. Here were born of her children: Vladimir and Lyudmila.

“Practically at home now that I do not live, but we are with my wife, I would call, his guardians. Several times a year come here from Paris now the rightful owner, Alexander Vasilyev-Gulewicz, my father’s sister’s son Arseniusz, and my cousin. Then our family home alive, “- said the” Courier “Vladimir Gulewicz, Vilnius known photographer, a longtime employee of the news agency ELTA.

Alexander is very attached to this place, here arranges interesting meetings with prominent personalities of the world of culture and art. “Just as in former years, when my parents lived there, he begins to flourish artistic and cultural life. Often met in our house members of the team, “Christmas Eve” – ​​said the son of Mrs. Sophia.

To “Neris” Zofia came when the team put only the first steps. The fast pace thanks to its rich choreographic knowledge, dedication and great love of dance, dance group began to flourish, and so continued for many years. Vilnius journalist Krystyna Adamowicz in his booklet Fri. “Zofia” writes: “The desire further training was simply amazing in a person who knew so much and she could. Before coming to the test, fan a lot of literature, atlases, costumes, work out on paper drawing of dancing. Each trip to the Polish, (and these trips was not as much as it is now) always had a single goal – to gain knowledge of Polish folklore and move it over the Neris River. Meeting with “Mazowsze”, the “Silesia” friendship with Mira Ziemińska, Edward Ciukszą – is also in order to draw something for “Neris”. Zespolacy joke that they can not understand or Zofia looking for difficulties or difficulties were looking for her. Sure there was one that did not rest on his laurels after exposure to one or two, or even three or ten dances. Made them more than three hundred “.

Group dance “Neris” under the direction of Sophia Gulewicz was second to none. And she was still very modest person and even timid.

“Since 1978, I was a neighbor of Zofia in Lower Cologne. I met her when I moved here to świekrów. We literally over the fence, the house next to the house. As a neighbor’s hard for me to say something. From the train went into the house and disappeared there. There was never any dispute “of bounds”. It was like a cloud, kindly welcome, and that’s all. I always admired her boundless modesty, and yet she was a person of very high professional level, “- says in an interview with” Kurier “one of the leading dancers of the Neris River, now a choreographer song and dance ensemble” brook “in Cologne Vilnius Lidia Norejko-Wojtkiewicz.

Teaching dance Zofia apply its own method.

“I showed no movement and pace. She spoke only his name. As we had to learn a new, but what is explained to be a combination of old and new. She had a unique gift to express yourself and we understood each other with half a word. It was a great psychologist. I remember that no one ever said outright that he is doing something wrong. Gently but underlined that maybe something is wrong and everyone knew what was going on, “- said Lidia Norejko-Wojtkiewicz.

One of the dancers team yet remembers Zofia once walked, gently took her hand and stroked. It was only then that she noticed that he has a hole in the sleeve.

“We attended willingly to” Neris “. We depend on our choreographer sentence. Remained in my memory as a man who is my role model “- added Mrs. Lidia.

Street name Sophia Gulewicz was founded in 2008.

He said her son Vladimir, the proposal to give the street name of his mother came from representatives of the Polish community in Vilnius, for which he is grateful to her.