In her dance solo “Glass”, choreographer Lina Puodžiukaitė-Lanauskienė deals with the process of exhaustion – the process when self-deceptions fades. It is often perceived as negative and destructive, but it can also be the beginning of a transformation: a bursting away of illusions, of shells and armor. Instead, something new emerges, becomes visible, is set free. 

“Glass”, is the latest choreographic research by Lithuanian choreographer Lina Puodziukaite-Lanauskiene, created with the accompaniment of German dance dramaturg Thomas Schaupp. The research is made possible through the support of the Lithuanian Cultural Council.

Lina Puodžiukaitė-Lanauskienė was born in Kaunas, where she began her dance career at the Aura Dance Theatre. She later studied contemporary dance in the United States, undertook an internship and worked at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York, and danced in troupes in Atlanta and New York. Upon returning to Lithuania, she continued her career dancing, teaching, and creating at the Aura Dance Theatre in Kaunas.

 Currently, Lina dedicates a significant amount of her time to pedagogical work: she works as a teacher and curates the contemporary dance programme at the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art, and also leads seminars both in Lithuania and abroad. Yet, she can still be seen creating and performing in shows and interdisciplinary projects.

Thomas Schaupp is a dance dramaturg and curator out of Berlin. Shortly after completing a state examination as a medical laboratory technician in Frankfurt am Main, he embarked on new paths and completed a bachelor’s degree in theater studies and art history in Berlin. In 2010 he interned for Sasha Waltz & Guests in Berlin and Paris, as well as for the National Center for Dance in Bucharest. Soon after, he discontinued his master’s degree in dance studies and devoted himself fully to freelance work as a dramaturg and curator. Currently he is co-curating an ongoing series of analog and digital seminars and podcasts on ‘Contextualizing Dance’ in collaboration with Bora Bora Dans & Visuelt Teater Aarhus.