Costumes. Kirill Safonov www.kirillsafonov.com
Choreography Olga Zitluhina and dancers
Dancers: Olga Privis, Helen Reitsnik, Tiina Ollesk, Argo Liik, Simo Kruusenment, Richard Beljohin
Lighting: Ants Kurist Music and sound: Valentin Siltsenko Consult and support: Renee Nõmmik
Photos: Julia Zhitluhina
Fine5 Dance Theatre “I WAS HERE” 2019 Sakala Theatre, Tallinn"
This performance is about physical and mental/spiritual communication and touch. Olga Zitluhina, Latvian choreographer and author of the concept, acknowledges that life is running very fast and questions, are we able to feel the real touch or the only communication we know is with the touch screens? Are we capable to value real touch between human beings, both physical and mental? In this piece the communicative aspect is transferred and projected into the deeper communication - through the real time touch between humans we aim to reach to touch our own spirits and minds. Inspiration for the works comes from human hands, arms, fingers - all the good and bad done through our sensuous upper limbs, led by our instincts, feelings, thoughts.
Olga Zitluhina is one of the most influential figures in Latvian contemporary dance. She is pioneer in the field, an educator, teacher, organizer, choreographer. Between 1996 and 2012 she led her contemporary dance company, created 20 works and performed in 18 countries around the world. Today she leads the Latvian Cultural Academy contemporary dance curricula and runs international dance festival "Laiks Dejot" in Riga.
"There is a strong image from real life that is almost haunting me: I saw my mother and father holding hands for the first time in their lives only when they were 70 years old. Even if they had been together for a long time and shared their lives, their way of communicating with each other was influenced by the time and place they were born and raised. They did not talk about it. I saw how important is just a simple human touch, how powerful it is and what is it speaking about us as humans. In "I was here" I wanted to speak about this - through movement and motion of human hands and arms and about movement in wider spectrum."
Duration: 70 min and some more minutes
Supported by: Eesti Kultuurkapital, Eesti Kultuuriministeerium, the Nordic Council of Ministers`Nordplus for Higher Education´s Fine 5 Dance Theatre is one of the best-known and the most influential contemporary dance companies in Estonia.
The company has performed in USA, Canada, Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden, Norway, South-Korea, Cyprus, Armenia, Finland, Poland, Baltic States, Russia and Belorussia. As-well has been nominated several times to Estonian Theatre Awards (laureate of dance award 2008 & 2015).
More information: www.fine5.ee, www.kirillsafonov.com