"Ačkups and Folk Costumes: Latvian Folk Costumes Through the Lens"

If you are active followers of our social media channels, you have most likely already noticed our photo project "Ačkups and Folk Costumes: Latvian Folk Costumes Through the Lens."

The photographer behind the project is the talented German photographer Jeb Inge. At the end of 2023, Jeb reached out to us and invited us to take part in his photography project exploring the traditions and customs of wearing folk costumes across Europe. So, at the beginning of last summer, we brought this project to life together, and in the autumn it reached you as well.

As part of the project, dressed in our stage costumes, we travelled through five historical regions of Latvia. The project offers a wonderful opportunity to become part of the long-term preservation of European cultural heritage while also highlighting the beauty of Latvia’s own cultural legacy.

With great care and his distinctive artistic vision, photographer Jeb captured the members of our dance ensemble, revealing not only the richness of our costumes but also the spirit and energy of Latvian folk dance, while at the same time emphasizing their natural and authentic elegance.

No matter how beautiful and extensive our costume collection is, at the beginning of the photo sessions we realized that we wanted to showcase an even wider range of costumes, including several variations of costumes from the same region. Therefore, we borrowed a few costumes and costume details from our dear friends - the folk dance ensemble Austris.

A heartfelt thank you to them!

Latvian folk costumes reveal the artistic spirit of our people and our love for our homeland. Each region tells its own story, and when we look at this diversity, it becomes clear that folk costumes are not merely clothing - they are a symbolic thread connecting generations, as well as the beauty created by Latvia’s nature and its people.

The folk costumes of Kurzeme are among the most colourful in Latvia. Our costume collection proudly includes costumes and costume details from Nīca, Rucava, Alsunga, Ventspils, and the magnificent Virga. These are also the costumes you most often see us wearing on stage. It is no coincidence that people say that proud and dignified people come from Kurzeme. We feel this same sense of pride and honour every time we put on the costumes of this region.

Kurzeme

Alsunga

Rucava

Ventspils

Virga

Nīca

The vibrant folk costumes of Kurzeme reveal richness and splendour. The folk costumes of Zemgale stand out with their understated beauty, while Sēlija gracefully carries influences from the surrounding regions, creating a unique blend of its neighbouring traditions. Vidzeme embodies a refined sense of balance and elegance, whereas the brightness and richness of Latgale are expressed through its striking contrasts.

Zemgale

Zemgale

While the colourful Bebrene skirts and richly embroidered Latgalian men’s shirts catch the eye as they swirl through the most lively dances, we also could not miss the opportunity to capture a few beautiful photographs in the proud, white costumes of Abrene.

Madona and Piebalga, on the other hand, reveal a sense of majestic dignity. Our dancers also wear the floral skirts and matching-coloured waistcoats of these regions. Amber bead necklaces rest elegantly around their necks, while embroidered metal crowns shine proudly on their heads.

Today, these golden costumes are proudly brought to the stage by the ladies of our middle-generation dance group.

Sēlija

Nereta

Bebrene

Latgale

Abrene

Vidzeme

Krustpils

Piebalga

Madona

Kosa

Liepupe

The project has given us the opportunity to take a closer look at our costume collection and truly appreciate how diverse and beautiful the costumes we have gathered over the years from both the newer and earlier periods of our ensemble’s history.

Like many dance ensembles, our current stage costumes have been created over several decades, beginning in the 1970s and onwards. Other costume elements were made later, during the past decade, and we continue to expand our collection with increasingly accurate and authentic folk costume elements by working with professionals in this field.

It is important to acknowledge that the folk costumes and costume elements included in this photo project represent the costume-wearing traditions of Latvia’s historical regions. However, we would also like to emphasize that these are stage costumes created during different periods, using the materials and costume-wearing practices of their respective times. Therefore, some differences from the traditions of wearing ethnographic folk costumes may occur.

We would like to express our gratitude to all the professionals in this field who have shared their kind words and praised the details of our costumes. We truly appreciate every positive comment and have shared them with the photographer as well. We are also grateful to the experts who have shared their professional knowledge, accumulated over many years, on how we can bring our stage costumes as close as possible to the authentic traditions of folk costume wearing.

We have created a new mission for ourselves - because only by learning, educating ourselves, and evolving together can we improve and pass on the traditions of wearing folk costumes to future generations of dancers.

Thank you to all the dancers who took part in the photo sessions, thank you to Jeb Inge for creating this wonderful photography project, and thank you to everyone who followed our journey as we travelled through all of Latvia’s historical regions wearing our treasured traditional costumes!

Photo stories created by Jeb Inge featuring other European dance and folklore groups can be viewed here - https://www.jeb-inge.com/folklore