TRIBUNE // Dance Your Self!
„Hands Up“ | Agnietė Lisičkinaitė (Lithuania)
What kind of Protest Baby will we raise? Will it be a symbol of freedom or aggression? We have less and less time to choose.
“Hello, I’m Agniete and I invite you all to raise your hands up.” “Hands Up” is a physical body position reflected in many different cultural, social, and religious contexts. The chosen topic is a protest culture. “The embodied protest” is the result of an artistic research. In Lithuania, protests are identified with the strongly romanticized era of the Reform Movement, but in the context of recent world events, from a sociological perspective, it is worth questioning the notion of protest culture as a virtue in itself. Non-constructive protest is a convenient form for anarchy to take root. A dance performance inspired by the protest culture examines the fragile distance between surrender and devotion, reconciliation and resistance. Raising such questions as: what kind of Protest Baby will we raise? Will it be a symbol of freedom or aggression? This is a research in which only one truth and one answer do not exist here.
Agnietė Lisičkinaitė graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater with a bachelor’s degree in contemporary dance and received a master’s degree in choreography. She is an independent contemporary dance artist, choreographer and teacher. Since 2016, Agnietė has been a member of the Contemporary Dance Association, and the chairwoman of this organization from 2020. She is well-known as a dancer from the dance theatre AIROS and Vilnius City Dance Theatre LOW AIR. In 2019, together with her colleague Greta Grineviciute, founded the organization BE COMPANY. Agnietė Lisičkinaitė is also a teacher who gives lectures at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre to students of contemporary dance, and leads regular lessons for professional dancers organised by the Contemporary Dance Association.
„Raum“ | William Cardoso (Luxembourg)
Sometimes I feel like throwing myself against a wall to externalize the mental pain and turn it into physical pain.
“Raum” is a place of encounter with our demons, our fears and our forgiveness. It is a place of confrontation and a search for inner balance in order to move forward in peace. This performance seeks to accept the darkness that sometimes dominates us, and to soften it by creating a space without judgement and without fear. “Raum” is a space for liberation and speaking out, it is a stifled cry that we have held inside us for too long.
Dancer and young choreographer from Luxembourg, of Portuguese origin, William Cardoso started dancing at the music conservatory of Esch-sur-Alzette before joining the professional dance school of Anne-Marie Porras – EPSE Danse in Montpellier. During his training, W. Cardoso explored the choreographic material of Pina Bausch, Hofesh Shechter, Akram Kahn, Anne-Marie Porras, Thierry Malandain, Virgile Dagneaux, Cours Florent, which allowed him to explore the world of theatre. In 2018, W. Cardoso started his career as a performer on the international scene as well as on the Luxembourgish scene for Florence Peake and Eve Stainton, Olivier Dubois, Anne-Marie Porras, Clara Villalba, Giovanni Zazzera and other productions. In 2018, he won first place in a choreographic competition “A Pas De Loup” in St Gély du Fesc set up by the Communauté des Communes du Pic Saint Loup, allowing him to create his very own first work “Verdura”. W.Cardoso continues to develop his works as a young creator. At the beginning of 2022, William was nominated for the Reumert Prize in Denmark as the best dancer 2021.
Project “TRIBUNE // Dance Your Self!“ is developed in partnership with “Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022” and “Esch-sur-Alzette European Capital of Culture 2022”. Partners TROIS C-L Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois, Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, Kaunas Cultural Center, “Kultūros platforma”.