Vērpete. Dance performance

On Sunday, October 12, the cultural venue Hanzas Perons in Riga will host the contemporary dance performance “Whirl”, created by the choreographers and dancers' collective Tuvumi.

In Whirl, its authors and performers Krišjānis Sants and Erik Eriksson use the rotational movement of partnered dances found in folk and ballroom traditions to create a contemporary dance piece characterized by precision, speed, trust, and emotional charge. Hand in hand, spinning through the space, the two performers split and reconnect the freely moving audience, forming dynamic patterns of repeated motion.

The movement in Whirl demands a paradoxical commitment — to support one another while constantly diverging — collaborating through resistance and holding on. The performance is accompanied by a dense, immersive soundscape performed live on vibraphone and guitar by Mārtiņš Miļevskis and Rihards Lībietis.

Many who have experienced Whirl — sharing space with the dancers — describe it as being inside a natural force, something felt through the body more than the mind, overcome by an inexplicable sense of elevation.

Whirl premiered in 2015 at the International Contemporary Theatre Festival Homo Novus and received high acclaim from both critics and audiences. In 2016, it was awarded the Latvian Theatre Award Spēlmaņu nakts for “Achievement of the Year in Contemporary Dance”.

The piece was revived and re-premiered at the HOROS dance festival in 2022 and has since toured Sweden, Latvia, and Lithuania. In 2024, Whirl was presented at the Baltic Dance Platform and selected for Sweden’s Dansnät national touring network.

Choreographers, dancers: Krišjānis Sants, Erik Eriksson
Musicians: Mārtiņš Miļevskis (vibraphone), Rihards Lībietis (guitar)
Costume stylist: Ieva Gaurilčikaite-Sants
Producers: Tuvumi (2022), New Theatre Institute of Latvia (2015)
Co-financed by: Creative Europe Programme [DNA], Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, Swe-Lat Foundation

Limited number of tickets available. Price: 25.00 EUR. Prices will rise closer to the event date.
Doors open at 16:00.

Supported by: Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation, Riga City Council, Latvian Dance Information Centre, Choreographers Association, NGO House, Konventa Sēta Hotel & Pillar.