Let the Body Speak:
Rebuilding the Community
Let the Body Speak:
Rebuilding the Community
A series of dance events in Riga, Tallinn, and Sofia
A series of dance events in Riga, Tallinn, and Sofia
With the support of the Ukrainian Institute, a series of key events took place in Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), and Sofia (Bulgaria) during September and October 2024 as part of the international project Let the Body Speak: Rebuilding the Community. Organised in collaboration with local partners, these events aimed to unite dance communities, explore themes of identity and cultural cooperation, and support contemporary dance.
About the Project
Let the Body Speak is an initiative of the Contemporary Dance Platform, designed to create an online space for Ukrainian choreographers and dancers. It serves to document their work, share information about the community with national and international audiences, and explore contemporary dance themes in the context of wartime. The project also supports creative exploration and new forms of self-expression.
Programme
The programme across the three countries featured the following works:
- Dance performance Dance Macabre. Immortal Dance – director Bohdan Polishchuk, choreography Oleksandra Magera
- Dance performance Footprints – Tetiana Znamerovska and Kateryna Pogorelova
- Video Dance Wings – Anastasia Lapko
- Video Dance Dreams That the Winged Ones See – Anastasia Pelek
- Video Dance Imaginary Time – Larisa Venediktova
Photo 1: Dance performance Footprints. Photo by Kateryna Skraglenko.
Photo 2: Dance performance Dance Macabre. Immortal Dance
Events in Riga
On 24–25 September 2024, the Ukrainian Platform held its first meeting with Latvian artists and audiences in Riga. The event featured contemporary dance performances, discussions, and video dance premieres, fostering professional connections among Ukrainian and Latvian artists.
The programme on 24 September opened with a discussion hosted by curator and dance writer Inta Balode. The discussion explored themes of identity and nationality, highlighting how nationality shapes visibility and perception within the international dance community and how it can be conveyed through creative expression.
Participants in the discussion included:
- Agate Bankava – choreographer, dancer, and editor of Dance.lv magazine
- Agnese Borjukova – choreographer and head of the Latvian Choreographers Association
- Tetiana Znamerovska – choreographer, dancer
- Anton Ovchinnikov – president of the NGO ‘Contemporary Dance Platform’
- Olexandr Manshylin – project manager of the NGO ‘Contemporary Dance Platform’
Open Panel Discussion ‘Art as a way to survive’. Photo by Julia Zhitluhina
Events in Tallinn
On 29 September 2024, the Ukrainian Platform was presented in Tallinn (Estonia) in collaboration with the Estonian partner Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava.
The event began with a round-table discussion involving Ukrainian and Estonian artists and producers, focusing on collaboration and the development of dance projects.
The programme also featured two contemporary dance performances:
- Insomnia – a collaboration between Maria Salo (Ukraine) and Petras Lisauskas (Lithuania)
- The Traces – Tetiana Znamerovska and Kateryna Pogorelova
Additionally, there was an open-air performance titled The Trap by Rita Lira.
Events in Sofia
From 23 to 25 October 2024, the Ukrainian Platform held its next meeting in Sofia (Bulgaria), organised in collaboration with the regional centre for contemporary art, TOPLOCENTRALA.
The event’s programme included several key elements:
- A three-day workshop, where Ukrainian and Bulgarian dancers and choreographers exchanged practices, working methods, and approaches in contemporary dance.
- A discussion on ‘Community Resilience’, which focused on support and collaboration among dancers and artists. Participants explored how art can contribute to resilience, mutual aid, and the preservation of communities. Both Ukrainian and Bulgarian artists and producers shared their experiences and practices.
- A presentation of the project ‘Speak with Your Body: Databases of Current Contemporary Dance Performances’ was held for the professional community, along with the premieres of three video dance works by Ukrainian choreographers – Wings, Dreams That the Winged Ones See, Imaginary Time.