Alvydas Soraka
Associate Professor at the Department of Dance of the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty. Subjects: Social Dance, Basics of Classical Dance, Basics of Latin Dance. Languages: English (A2), German (B1), Russian (C2).
Alvydas Soraka has a degree from Klaipėda University (1998) along with the qualifications as a sports dance teacher, a coach, and an ethics teacher. In the same year, upon his graduation, he joined the staff of the Department of Sports Dance at his alma mater as a teacher assistant. In 2016, Alvydas Soraka was awarded the pedagogical title of associate professor and in 2019, was elected to the Council of the LMTA Klaipėda Faculty.
Alvydas Soraka has considerable practical dancing experience as a Latin American dance dancer (1982–2000) at the Klaipėda University sports dance ensemble Žuvėdra, where later he became the captain of the group (1995–2000). The dancer has received awards at numerous European Dance Championships such as the 4th place in Bremerhaven (Germany) in 1992; Cologne (Germany) in 1993; Dortmund (Germany) in 1994; Germany, the 3rd place in Budapest (Hungary) in 1998; the 2nd place in Bourge (France) in 1995; Bremerhaven (Germany) in 1996; Warsaw (Poland) in 1997), and the 1st place in Gomel (Belarus) in 1999.
Alvydas Soraka has also been among the winners of the World Dance Championships: he took the 4th place in Vienna (Austria) in 1992; Stavanger (Norway) in 1993); the 3rd place in Bremen (Germany) in 1994; Berlin (Germany) in 1995; Munich (Germany) in 1997; and Gothenburg (Sweden) in 1998); the 2nd place and the 1st place in Vilnius (1996 and 1999, respectively). He also took the 1st place at Open Sports Dance Championships in Italy (1993) and Germany (1993, 1994), and is the winner of the 1st place of Open Norwegian Classical Sports Pair Dance Championship (1993).
Alvydas Soraka’s interests go far beyond dance and dance education: he is also interested in movement therapy and dance therapy as an educational tool for the disabled. Alvydas is among the first in Lithuania to apply dance therapy to the patients suffering from multiple sclerosis and depression as well as to the wheelchair-bound patients after spinal cord injuries during their rehabilitation process. Alvydas Soraka is the initiator and manager of the project Integration of the Disabled into the Society (2008). He is the author of two methodological publications Social Dance (1999) and Social Dance 2 (2007) and has taken part as a speaker in several national and international conferences on dance and art therapy.
The awards received by Alvydas Soraka include certifications of appreciation by the Faculty of Arts of the Klaipeda University for his diligence and achievements during his studies; the 1st-degree medals (1994–1996, 1998) for outstanding achievements in sports; the 3rd-degree medal (1998), a commemorative medal (1999) — all awarded by the Department of Physical Education and Sports under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; the Medal of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania for achievements in European and world championships (1999), and the Medal of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas of the Fifth Class (1999).