The choreographic performance ‘ME TWO / WE, THE CLIQUE’ by Low Air Vilnius City Dance Theatre will take place on November 5, 2024, at 6:30 pm at Frac Sud – Cité de l’art contemporain (20 Bd de Dunkerque, 13002 Marseille, France). Admission is free of charge.
After the Paris Olympics 2024 it is imperative to reflect on how sports, beyond their competitive nature, can foster renewal. This reflection resonates with Marija Gimbutas’ ideas on regeneration and her interpretation of female body symbolism in ancient art. Gimbutas argued that the female body in late Neolithic drawings should be seen as “philosophical, rather than sexual or pornographic.” We aim to extend Gimbutas’ proposal to all bodies that are inadvertently sexualized on screen while competing.
The dance performance ME TWO / WE, THE CLIQUE by Low Air embodies an attempt to resolve the tension between demonstrating empowering movements and the necessity to shed objectification and competitiveness. This performance conjures a space for collective action and conflict resolution. Echoing Gimbutas’ ideas of harmony and regeneration, it explores identity through the lens of hip-hop dance—a social and ritualistic practice—and breaking, the newest Olympic sport, proposing a new empowered identity through ritualistic athletic practice.
Aligned with the Global Neighborhood concept emphasising unity, mobility, empathy, and coexistence in the increasingly globalised yet divided world, central to the Lithuanian Season in France, the performance delves into the heritage of hip-hop. It envisions a competitive yet empathetic world without borders, using cultural links to discuss common rituals and the migration of art and cultural forms.
*In the oeuvre of American-Lithuanian scholar Marija Gimbutas (1921–1994) we encounter the proposal of a harmonious, nature-venerating matristic society that flourished during the late Neolithic era in the Mediterranean. This hypothesized culture, revolving around female deities, distinguished itself through its sophisticated sign language, intricate ceramics, and far-reaching trade networks, operating peacefully and without wars.
Project supporters: Lithuanian Culture Institute, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Institut Français, Lithuanian Season in France 2024, Baltic Culture Fund, Vilnius City Municipality, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Estonian Embassy in Paris, Estonian Culture Ministry
Project partners: Frac Sud – Cité de l’art contemporain, La Traverse, Art-O-Rama
Curated by Merilin Talumaa and Justė Kostikovaitė from the agency Roots to Routes. Produced by Laurynas Žakevičius from the Low Air. Choreography by Airida Gudait
“Dryads of Cosquer” is a tripartite project featured in the Lithuanian Season in France 2024. The programme includes a performance at Frac Sud – Cité de l’art contemporain (November 5), an exhibition (August 30–October 31) and artist residency (throughout April) at La Traverse, a screening followed by a discussion at Art-o-rama (September 1). It highlights works by Baltic and international contemporary artists influenced by the heritage of Marija Gimbutas.
*Graphic design: Gailė Pranckūnaitė, 2024.
