Dance + City

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In Between

Arvo Pärt Centre, Laulasmaa, Estonia

4 min

Available until 10 March 2026 at 23:59

only 9 days left

Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, France and Ukraine: Across five European countries, Dance plus City builds a bridge between contemporary dance and architecture. A unique way of looking at the interaction between the fluidity of the body and physical structures which, despite their omnipresence, are too often ignored in everyday life.

In this episode, we head to Estonia, to the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasma.

The Arvo Pärt Centre houses the personal archives of the composer from whom it takes its name, a library, and exhibition spaces. Founded by the musician and his family with the aim of preserving his legacy and encouraging research into his works, it is also a monument to the Estonian language, a symbol of national resistance during the Soviet era. Just a few kilometres from Talinn, Laulasmaa is situated by the seashore on a beautiful island covered in pine forests. Open to musicians, researchers and all those who are interested in music from near or far, the centre is a unique forum for discussion and exchange of ideas.

The architecture gives the impression of being both inside and outside, the building seems almost transparent. These qualities are also reflected in the performance. It would be strange to say where the dancer is moving, whether she is dancing or whether it is rather nature that imprints her movement. To this must be added the mystery that emanates from this architectural structure, oscillating between reality and illusion.

 

This place of contemplation appears as a transposition of the motifs and rhythms emblematic of Arvo Pärt's oeuvre, some of which are part of an immemorial substrate that seems to have accompanied the Estonians at all times. A living composer among the world's greatest, this master of perfect harmony and a return to the sources of tonality produces music that is as beautiful as it is profound and of a spirituality that borders on the mystical.

 

Filmed in June 2024 at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia.

Country

  • Lithuania

  • Lithuania

Year

2023

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