Liza Baliasnaja, a choreographer from Kaunas who creates between Lithuania and Germany, says that she became interested in the topic of fear after observing the strengthening of political movements that create a sense of fear in Western Europe and beyond. Having graduated from contemporary dance and philosophy, the creator decided to investigate fear as a universal social phenomenon in more depth and to raise the question of how fear moves in the body of society, through which images and metaphors the frightened body can be understood as a political entity.
“Emotions, especially today, seem to be a very big part of political life. The word “emotion” comes from the Latin word receiver – to move, so it already encodes a relationship with movement, something physical. This led to the desire to understand the relationship between fear and movement, body and voice”, says L. Baliasnaya.
The work is inspired by the aesthetics of the Baroque period and is called a painting technique chiaroscuro, which is characterized by a strong contrast of light and dark in the representation of reality. The choreographic material interprets the elements of baroque art: the symbolism of hands and faces, the brutality of bodies and the lingering sense of threat.
“I turned to the Baroque as an inspiration, because in the paintings of that period the bodies are grotesque, at the same time very human and completely inhuman, because we are no longer used to looking at people in an exaggerated emotional state. This is the drama that characterizes the feeling of fear in public space. An emotional, frightened body creates fear by itself,” shares L. Baliasnaya.
“Chiaroscuro” is characterized by expressive resolution and bright images, enhanced by the original sounding texts of L.Baliasnaya. The performers of the performance are five dance artists of three different generations from Lithuania, Peru, Great Britain and Belgium, who engage with each other in a power game based on the tensions between collective archetypes – the aggressor, the victim and the savior.
Nicola Airo nuotr./„Chiaroscuro“
Its creator calls the nuance between fear and discomfort the key aspect of the performance. According to L.Baliasnaja, it is extremely significant in reflecting the prevailing attitude towards conflict in society – we are often quick to call conflict and the feeling of discomfort caused by it violence, so we lose the opportunity to constructively experience the conflict, which can bring us closer, help us understand the other or realize the limits of our thinking.
“It is most comfortable to live when everyone around us thinks and behaves in a way that seems right and normal to us. Meanwhile, contact with people who think differently than us can create a feeling of discomfort. In the relationship between generations, different cultures and attitudes, it seems important to embrace this feeling as a fairly normal part of life in a pluralistic, free society and not equate it with insecurity. Just because people live or think differently, they do not become dangerous for us”, L. Baliasnaya thinks.
The premiere of the dance performance “Chiaroscuro” will take place during the performing arts festival “ConTempo” on August 7 and 8. 8 p.m. In the booksellers’ garden next to the sculpture “The Sower” (K. Donelaičio str. 66, Kaunas). The performance is open and free.
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2024-08-01 10:08:58
