Dovydas Strimaitis

Dovydas Strimaitis – A Duet (Studio Residency 2022)

In contemporary Western society, more and more people are radicalizing their relationship to tradition either by following it blindly or by seeking to annihilate it. A middle ground no longer seems desirable. How can we rely on tradition while remaining critical of it?

In A Duet, this tension is explored through dance. Ballet appears as both the beloved mother and the despised father of Western dance tradition. In the piece, the performers confront classical dance and it strikes back. Yet the aim of this battle is not to defeat one another, but to elevate each other. Ballet compels the performers to seek the essence of a classical worldview, while the performers urge it to speak in the voice of the present day.

As witnesses to this endless struggle, the audience is invited to reflect on their own personal and societal role in defending, dismantling, or neglecting tradition, and on its relationship to the present.