Contemporary Dance Performance WHEN A FACE APPEARS

Contemporary dance performance WHEN A FACE APPEARS

The international contemporary dance performance When a Face Appears will have its premiere at Hanzas Perons.

On 9 December 2026, the cultural venue Hanzas Perons will host the premiere of choreographer Artūrs Nīgalis’s contemporary dance performance When a Face Appears, created in collaboration with the Lithuanian Šeiko Dance Company. The performance explores the relationship between time, movement and the meeting of two people. At the centre of the performance is the pyramid sculpture Mi amore by sculptor Matīss Daudziņš, which will be inhabited in motion by the choreographer himself and Lithuanian dancer Ugne Kavaliauskaite.

Two beings, one slanted pyramid and no straight place to stop. On the sloping surface, every movement makes balance, effort and the pull of gravity visible. Balance becomes continuous work, threatening to turn into codependence. At times the movement flows evenly like hours, at others it thickens into a decisive moment where order and chaos meet. At times both beings are in the same spacetime, at others each in their own. Can the right moment be awaited, or can it only be avoided at all costs?

The collaboration with the Šeiko Dance Company is an important step in developing a Baltic contemporary dance cooperation network. The artistic consultant for the performance is Agnija Šeiko, the internationally renowned director and choreographer of the Šeiko Dance Company. The Lithuanian premiere of the performance is planned for 2027.

Artūrs Nīgalis is a contemporary dance artist of the younger generation, whose solo performance Silhouette Letters was selected for the European dance platform Aerowaves in 2025. For his work during the 2023-2024 period, he also received the Dance Award in the category Contemporary Dance Choreographer. With When a Face Appears, Nīgalis continues his collaboration with Hanzas Perons, where his solo performance Silhouette Letters was previously presented to a sold-out house.

Creative team

Choreography: Artūrs Nīgalis

Set design and set concept by: Matīss Daudziņš

Costume designer: Marta Madara Grantiņa

Assistant to the choreographer: Anastasija Čornaja

Performance: Artūrs Nīgalis and Ugne Kavilauskaite (LT)

Dramaturgy: Jānis Golubovs

Music: Evija Vēbere

Lighting designer: Nikola Suhareva

Graphic identity by: Marta Madara Grantiņa

Producer: Anna Ulberte

Artistic consultant: Agnija Šeiko (LT)

Co-producers: Association of Choreographers, Šeiko Dance Company and Hanzas Perons

The performance is created with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation and the Riga City Municipality.