On February 26 and 27, 2026, the Big Stage of the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre will host Tragédie, a dance performance by Olivier Dubois, one of France’s most prominent choreographers. The first and most important work of the 2026 NEW BALTIC DANCE (NBD) contemporary dance festival program will be presented to audiences not in spring, during the festival’s usual season, but in February — a timely response to this year’s cultural field tensions, protest, and the need for solidarity.
“I created “Tragedy” from a simple and terrible sentence: “To be human does not mean to create humanity — and that is our human tragedy.” It still resonates, with undiminished violence. In the current Lithuanian context, this sentence takes on a new intensity. But tragedy does not carry only disaster. It also carries hope — the hope born from what unites us, not from what makes us alike. It is an individual struggle offered to a fight greater than oneself, a gesture of defiance, a challenge thrown to the gods. I would be honored if “Tragedy” found its place as the manifesto of the NEW BALTIC DANCE festival — as a symbol of the fight for dignity, freedom, and culture. With respect and solidarity to the Lithuanian civil society, Olivier Dubois.”
Gintarė Masteikaitė, the director of the NEW BALTIC DANCE festival, says that the decision to present Tragédie was made in September, as if the future had already been foreseen – its relevance to the current moment is simply astonishing: “The Lithuanian cultural community is going through a difficult period – people are protesting the value-based stance of those working in the cultural field, the funding situation, and the need for a free and dignified cultural ecosystem. In dance, the body is always political. And Tragédie is a rare work that, without using words, speaks about struggle, fragility, and resilience. I believe it is very important that audiences can experience this performance right now, as it touches on essential questions: who we are and how we preserve our humanity.”
Tragédie embodies next year’s festival mission – to explore the body as a form of communication and resistance, and to look at the contemporary world through dance. Presented in February, the work in a way extends the cultural discussions taking place in an atmosphere of protest.
The remaining performances of the contemporary dance festival program will take place at the usual time – in April 2026.