THEY SHOOT EXHAUSTED HORSES

Based on motifs from the novel by Horace McCoy

NODZĪTUS ZIRGUS NOŠAUJ

Movement performance

Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes

Age restriction: 16+

Premiere: September 6, 2024

Gunshots are heard in the performance.

The performance features text in Russian, with Latvian translation in subtitles.

America during the Great Depression. Unemployment and poverty prevail everywhere. People are ready to do anything to earn even a little money. Even to take part in a dance marathon lasting several days, which the spectators greedily follow every moment, long since no longer seeing the participants as people. Lies, fear, betrayal, and ambition saturate the air of this show. The contest becomes a fierce struggle for a place in the sun, and those who cannot give up the dream of the big win must sacrifice more than they had thought.

Some will choose to fight so as not to turn into an animal, an exhausted horse; some will nevertheless become an exhausted animal, unable to fight for themselves; some, unwilling or unable to continue fighting, will end their existence, seeing in such an escape an alternative to losing their humanity.

A synthesis of dance, stage movement, vocals, and acting in a performance based on motifs from Horace McCoy’s novel They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, which tells of a struggle with one’s own weaknesses and insurmountable circumstances.

Choreographer and librettist: Irina Bogeruka

Artistic director of the performance: Oleg Shapochnikov

Set and costume designer: Inga Bermaka

Lighting designer: Sergejs Vasiļjevs

Featuring: Aleksandra Koguce or Anna Blakunova, Jevgenijs Mihailovs, Vadims Bogdanovs, Marks Šelutko, Vanda Gibovska, Miroslavs Blakunovs, Luiza Prokofjeva, Artjoms Afanasjevs, Natālija Kotona, Sofija Šakalova, Nikolajs Gedzjuns, Eduards Beļnikovs, Darja Šakalova, Alisa Matvejeva, Raimonds Paegle, Alina Kaļina, Jegors Korobkovs, Kristīna Zaharova, Vladislavs Vasiļjevs, Ritvars Gailums, Inese Ivulāne-Mežale, Viktors Jancevičs, Irina Kešiševa, Žanna Lubgāne, Jūlija Ļaha, Zanda Mankopa, Mihails Samodahovs, Milena Savkina, Kristīne Veinšteina, Egils Viļumovs, Sofija Eglīte

"Spēlmaņu nakts 2024/2025" award

"Choreographer or movement artist of the year" - Irina Bogeruka

DEJAS BALVA 2023–2024 nominations

Contemporary dance production or event

Contemporary dance choreographer(s)