Dance performance Shield is a Weapon

2nd Lithuanian Performing Arts Platform Vilnius International Theatre Festival "Sirenos"

Dance performance "Shield is a Weapon"

In a world depicted as dangerous, processes of self-preservation are intertwined with our daily lives. When a simplified narrative replaces a differentiated discourse, conflicting perspectives are easily interpreted as an attack. Shields are raised, walls are built, gates are closed, and boundaries are increased in an effort to separate and protect the inside from a potentially threatening outside. In the solo dance performance "Shield is a Weapon", movement, voice, and text are used to choreographically explore the boundary between inside and outside, between self and other. The mouth becomes both a shield and a gate, which, once opened, speaks in different voices and expresses the polyphony of the individual subject.

What otherness manifests through me? What invasive voices vibrate within me? Who is watching in my throat?

In this work, choreographer and performer Liza Baliasnaja continues her artistic research into how the emotions of fear and disgust shape our political imagination. This time, the focus is on the symbol of the shield, which offers protection while simultaneously warning of an impending conflict. The work examines the contradictory interactions of vulnerability and aggression, cover and confrontation. By shifting the point of view between the one behind the shield and the one in front of it, the work reflects on themes of polarization, (self-)censorship, and defense.

Creative team

Choreography and performance: Liza Baliasnaja

Sound and musical composition: Pablo Garreton

Dramaturgical consulting and text co-author: Rūta Junevičiūtė

Scenography and objects: Liza Baliasnaja together with Jara Vlaeminckx / "Cachet"

Lighting designer and technical director: Julio Ernesto Escobar Mellado

Costume: Laura Stellacci; Outside eye: Amanda Barrio Charmelo; Vocal mentor: Britta Tekotte;

Management: Alexandra Schmidt

Representative of the work in Lithuania: "Be kompanijos"

Funded by: "Kunststiftung NRW", the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, "NRW Landesbüro Freie Darstellende Künste". The dissemination of the work in Lithuania is funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture.