Dovydas Strimaitis – Still Waiting HAIRY (excerpt) | Tanssivirtaa Tampereella

Hairy is a choreographic piece for 3 dancers and their hair.

Hair is one of the few parts of the human body that one cannot move voluntarily and directly. Choreography and dance, on the other hand, can be seen as an art of physical (self-)control. Choreographing hair, thus, carries in itself a dramatic tension – how to control the uncontrollable. This tension is the starting point of Hairy.

Because of its uncontrollable nature, hair can be seen as an entity separate from our body, yet dependent on it. Hair is a boundary, limit both separating us from and connecting us to what is physically outside of us. A choreography made for hair thus raises ontological questions about our identity, our body and its autonomy.

Loose long hair has strong symbolic meaning in the Western society. It invokes freedom, romanticism, naturalness, and liberation from tradition or oppression. Strimaitis uses all these symbols as a formalist tool in order to develop counterpoints not only in timing and space, but also in meaning. 

Warning This performance contains strobe lighting effects for a duration of 2 minutes.

Duration 37 minutes

Concept Dovydas Strimaitis

Choreography Dovydas Strimaitis with the dancers

Performance Line Losfelt Branchereau, Hanna-May Porlon, Dovydas Strimaitis

Lights Lisa M. Barry

Music original composition by Julijona Biveinytė, Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 4 played by Yo-Yo Ma, Sarabande from Bach’s Cello Suite No. 2 played by Jean-Guihen Queyras

Technical director on tour Povilas Laurinaitis

Production Alix Ruyant for Still Waiting

Premiere 30.4.2024, New Baltic Dance festival

Pictures Dmitrij Matvejev