Baltic Dance Platform 2022: House of Labrys

“House of Labrys” is an immersive soundscape made by artist duo IevaKrish in collaboration with Latvian composer Jēkabs Nīmanis. It is a dance of four voices that isn’t offered to be experienced visually. Visitors will be asked to blindfold their eyes upon entrance and then escorted to an individual seat placed in a grid. Each and all will be surrounded by a composition of spatial sound carried and played by geometrically moving dancers. “House of Labrys” is a humanly attempt to create an imagined, architectonic constructions through movement and sound. In this attempt a notion of human imperfection and fragility is revealed.

For “House of Labrys” IevaKrish and Nīmanis in collaboration with software and hardware designer Pāvils Jurjāns have invented a new mobile instrument: a kinetic contra-point sampler. Four of those are carried in backpacks and simultaneously controlled by each dancer. 38 prerecorded sound samples are controlled, moved and composed into music by dancing performers. In result music written by Nīmanis follows live the rules and decisions of choreographic material invisibly manifested in space. Nīmanis has provided tools that enables IevaKrish to choreograph sound. In turn choreography itself next to Nīmanis will become the second composer of “House of Labrys”. The context of “House of Labrys” is designed for (but not limited to) visitors with visual disabilities.

Artist duo IevaKrish consists of internationally working dancers/choreographers and set designers Ieva Gaurilčikaitė-Sants (LT/LV) and Krišjānis Sants (LV). Their practice uses a hybrid of choreography and scenography to create implicitly immersive and tacit experiences. Communication plays crucial role and is the content of their work which varies in a wide range of form and media – from direct guided experiences between artist and an individual audience member, to elaborate interactive events that bring together larger groups in installations and spectacles of dance, choreographed sound, food, collective massage and breathing workshops. Their works have been presented in Latvia and abroad. In 2021 IevaKrish received Latvian Dance Award as Best Choreographers. In 2016 Krišjānis received Latvian Theatre Award for his performance “Whirl”. Both run a performance art company TUVUMI that aims to create a shared art environment between Latvia and the Baltic as well as the Baltics and Europe.