Ukraine platform: Marharyta Slyzska (Rita Lira) – THE WAY FROM / TO

Duration: 55 min.

Solo performance reflecting the experiences of Ukrainian people since February 24.

“Is there an instruction on how to abandon your whole life and leave?  Suddenly. How to pack a suitcase when you don’t know where and how long you are going for. Because you are not going TO, but FROM”.

Director and performer, Rita Lira, who was forced to move from Ukraine, created a performance based on interviews from real people who are from or have been to the deoccupied territories after the invasion of russian soldiers. The majority of the sounds for this performance are documentary recordings.

Rita recorded on her phone almost everything that happened around her during her stay in Ukraine in the first days of the invasion. All music for this performance was created without the use of professional equipment or studios. Composer Maryana Savchenko recorded vocals for a choir in a hotel bathroom in China. Singer Pavlo Moskalenko recorded his vocals on a telephone recorder in Ukraine.

The movement of the performance is always in a free form, which makes each showing of this performance unique. Rita decided not to work with exact choreography because this performance is not about beautiful dance. “This is a real story of real people, and for me only improvisation at the moment of each part can create and convey true emotions”. The performer conveys the feeling from the first emotions of absurdity, confusion and horror through pain and loss to the present strength, pride and insurmountable struggle for life, peace and freedom!

Rita Lira (born 1996) graduated from Kyiv Boris Grinchenko University in Contemporary choreography in Ukraine. From 2013 Rita began to learn street dance styles such as: hip-hop, house, popping.

Her teachers: ZULU (Mad State), Maximus (Mad State), Nastya (The Vibe), Anrey (The Vibe), Nikkipop, Boogaloofreak and etc.

In 2017 she became a member of G. Dance Theater in Ukraine. Rita was in the team more than 2 years. Choreographer – Maria Korosteleva. They worked with live performances and dance video: “G-effect”, “Phases”, etc. Rita started to take part like independent dancer in 2018. First performances were “Pistok” and “Pistok. Turning”. Idea: Oksana Rozumna; concept and production: Anton Ovchinnikov. Ukraine/Africa

Since 2019 Rita started to teach contemporary and street dance: Worked as a choreographer-director at Splash Theatre-Studio 2019-2020. Work as an teacher at MyWay Dance Centre, style: “Experimental contemporary” 2021-2022.

Director and performer: Rita Lira, Ukraine

Сomposer, sound producer: Mariana Savchenko

Mastering: Viacheslav Shevchenko 

Video editor: Pavlo Lykholat

Light designer: Helena Caixeta

Project manager: Anita Avakian

Illustration for poster: Oleksiy Samovarov

Interviewees: Alyona Kazanska, Anton Topchiy, Inna Demkovych, Valera Simonchuk, Maksym Kotskyi

Music: «Молитва за Україну» (“Prayer for Ukraine”) – Church of the Holy Martyr Ludmila of Bohemia church choir, Orthodox Church of Ukraine, director: Pavlyuk Oleksandr 

«Через поле широкеє» (“Through the wide field”) – arrangement for choir: Pavlyuk Oleksandr , soprano: Mariana Savchenko, first and second tenor: Pavlo Moskalenko, baritone and bass: Oleksii Fishchuk

Supported by: La Briqueterie – CDCN du Val de Marne, Paris, Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris, Mille Plateaux – Centre Chorégraphique National La Rochelle, Centre Intermondes, La Rochelle

Instagram: @_rio_rita_