The Great Unknown

Zuga United Dancers
"The Great Unknown"

Often the stories in our lives are serious or even deadly solemn, final! Live carefully, walk along the string, do not get cold, you will get sick and an icicle will fall on your head, you will break your neck and find your end. But what if that end isn't the end? If all this has no sad ending? Just as the starry sky seems endless, enchanting and endless to us. What if all those who say that we are going to a better place, where green and moist meadows are awaiting, are right?

What if we burn away all our pain and go on a flight like fiery birds. Light and free?
Wouldn't it be nice to do some rituals together, wash your face, dress up and put on our best coat, and dance some bold group dances? Touch the soil with our hand, throw our ashes into the wind. And give away our heart, not hold on to everything with our ten nails that we think belongs to us.

There is no point in making a face that we know everything, that everything is clear to us. It would be better to admit we don't know. There is a great, deep unknown before us. And it is up to us to determine the color we add to this depth. Either black, dark blue or light blue. Whether our lack of knowledge is heavy and burdensome or light and airy. Or both.
Long live the great unknown, may our future be deep, beautiful, and all-encompassing. Let it be. What may come, may come.

"The Great Unknown" is a physical contemplation by Zuga United Dancers about letting go, sending someone off, and rituals that cleanse and prepare us for meeting with a new space and a new world.

Zuga United Dancers is a collective of dancers and choreographers that has been working together since 1999. They are one of the few dance unions in Estonia that create dance performances in such a consistent and regular way. Their ensemble has received attention and several theater and dance awards (Estonian Good Theater Award, Salme Reek Award, The Estonian Theatre Annual awards, Independent Performing Arts Award, etc.) and they have performed both in Estonia and abroad (Finland, USA, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Palestine, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Croatia, Poland, UK, China).

Authors, choreographers and performers: Tiina Mölder, Kärt Tõnisson, Helen Reitsnik, Ajjar Ausma, Päär Pärenson
Artist: Keili Retter
Lighting artist: Oliver Kulpsoo
Composer: Lauri-Dag Tüür
Dramaturg: Andri Luup
Technical support: Marko Odar

Duration of the performance: approx. 1 h
Premiere: March 10th, 2022 at Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava

https://stl.ee/en/lavastus/the-great-unknown/
https://www.stl.ee