In 2023, the International Contemporary Dance Festival “New Baltic Dance” served not only as a platform for showcasing the most prominent performances by foreign and Lithuanian artists but also as a space for Ukrainian artists, international experts, and the Lithuanian contemporary dance community to connect and familiarize themselves with each other’s work and the local context of contemporary dance. The festival spanned three weeks (26 April – 14 May) across four stages in Vilnius, and two stages in Ukmergė and Žagarė. 74 dancers participated in 24 performances, drawing an audience of 7900 spectators.
The festival opened at the National Drama Theatre with Roommates, a programme by the Ballet National de Marseille and (LA)HORDE.
On 28th of April, New Baltic Dance moved to the National Gallery of Art with the performance Fandango & Other Cadences – study 4 created by dancer, choreographer and performance artist Aina Alegre.
The festival then proceeded with Daniel Mirablanca’s exploration of gender transformation through the language of dance in 71Bodies 1Dance.
Sensitively responding to the most relevant events of the current time, “New Baltic Dance” gave space to Ukrainian dance creators. Alongside choreographer and curator Anton Ovchinnikov, the festival presented the Ukrainian dance programme “Let the body speak”. The featured dance performances were crafted by artists currently based in Ukraine or temporarily absent from the country, including Bohdan Polishchuk and Yana Reutova, Violetta Matyushenko, Maciej Kuzminski Company, Marharyta Slyzska/Rita Lira, Anton Ovchinnikov. These performances reflected on the aftermath of the Russian invasion, expressing the most profound experiences through the language of dance and the body.
On May 2-5, the first Lithuanian Performing Arts Platform, in preparation for the 2024 Lithuanian cultural season in France, took place in Lithuania. Non-governmental performing arts organizations – Lithuanian Dance Information Centre (festival New Baltic Dance), Theater Information Centre, Operomanija, and the Lithuanian Culture Institute – collaborated with the French Institute in Lithuania and the French Office for Contemporary Performing Arts Circulation (Onda). Together, they pooled their professional expertise and teams to curate the platform programme. During the platform, foreign professionals from Finland, Norway, Great Britain, Switzerland, Poland, Germany, Israel, Sweden, France, Latvia, Ukraine, Italy and the United Kingdom visited the festival “New Baltic Dance”.
Alongside the works of world-famous contemporary dance artists, the festival featured a program showcasing Lithuanian dance artists. Choreographers such as Grėtė Šmitaitė, Dovydas Strimaitis and Lukas Karvelis, Liza Baliasnaja, Be kompanijos, Erika Vizbaraitė, Elena Kairytė, Rūta Jekentaitė, who are active in the field of dance both in Lithuania and abroad, presented their works. This programme not only presented the latest performances by these artists but also offered sketches of upcoming premieres.
At the Art Printing House, A Sensoral Lecture by a Swedish dancer and choreographer with visual impairment engaged the audience through dance, dialogues, and movement exercises.
At the National Drama Theatre, the young and promising Canadian choreographer Catherine Gaudet presented The Pretty Things, a performance that stands out for its uniqueness.
At the Arts Printing House, Marco da Silva Ferreira, a dancer, choreographer, and artistic director of Pensamento Avulso, presented Bisonte, a fiesta of hysteria and melancholy.
The yards of the Ukmergė Regional and MO museums as well as Žagarė stud farm came alive during the festival with the unique work Alien, created by the Finnish choreographer Taneli Törmä in collaboration with Lithuanian dancers.
In the 2023 edition of the New Baltic Dance festival, Northern Ireland-based dance artist Oona Doherty presented the performance Hope Hunt for the second time in Lithuania, building on its positive reception by the Lithuanian public in 2019.
Oona Doherty also showcased a performance titled Navy Blue, emphasizing dance as a symbol of problematic freedom. This ‘invitation to dance and a contemplation on what steps should follow’, was selected as the closing piece of the festival “New Baltic Dance”. The lyrics of the performance and Oona Doherty’s voice became the soundtrack of the festival video.