Oblicus weaves together intimacy, vulnerability, and artistic ambition. It is a self-portrait of two individuals navigating the tensions of togetherness and separation, exploring the longing to merge while preserving one’s sense of self. This work emerges from a desire to inhabit a shared space—a time that is neither mine nor yours, but ours. Inspired by the Lithuanian polyphonic tradition of sutartinės, Oblicus transforms that logic into movement: layered, asynchronous, and interdependent.
The title, derived from the Latin word oblicus—meaning slanted or skewed—reflects the aesthetic and emotional core of the piece. Neither parallel nor converging, the performers exist in an in-between state. This oblique relationship is expressed through polyphonic choreography, where counterpointed movement chains embody multiple temporalities and perspectives. The work challenges linear time, offering instead a fragmented and evolving experience of duration—highlighting how love, like time, is rarely synchronized. Dance and sound create an immersive world of asymmetrical rhythms and emotional complexity.
Oblicus is both an intimate duet and a broader reflection on the contemporary condition: the impossibility of complete fusion, and the beauty of trying.
Authors, performers: IevaKrish
Music: Kārlis Tone
Lights: Jūlija Bondarenko
Light objects: Jānis Bukovskis / Those guys lighting
Costumes: Ieva Gaurilčikaitė-Sants
Producer: Tuvumi
Photo: A. Zeltina
Oblicus was created with the support of the State Culture Capital Foundation, Riga City Municipality, Latvian Dance Information Center, The Association of Choreographers and NGO Centre, and some stages of the development took place within the HOROS Dance Residency.
Performance is followed by opening drinks for Baltic Take Over.
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Artist duo IevaKrish consists of internationally working dancers/choreographers and set designers Ieva Gaurilčikaitė-Sants (LT/LV) and Krišjānis Sants (LV). Their practice uses a hybrid of choreography and scenography to create implicitly immersive and tacit experiences. Communication plays a crucial role and is the content of their work which varies in a wide range of form and media – from direct guided experiences between artist and an individual audience member, to elaborate interactive events bringing together larger groups in spectacles and installations of polyphonic dance, choreographed sound and shared food. Their works have been presented in Latvia and abroad. In 2021 IevaKrish received Latvian Dance Award as Best Choreographers. Both run a dance organisation TUVUMI that aims to create a shared art environment between Latvia and the Baltic as well as the Baltics and Europe.
Baltic Take Over is a performing arts festival that takes place in a different city each time. On 8-10 May 2026, Baltic Take Over will map its way through Stockholm. Initiated and co-curated by New Theatre Institute of Latvia, Kanuti Gildi SAAL (Estonia), and Lithuanian Dance Information Centre since 2023, the festival presents performances by artists primarily working in Baltic countries. In Stockholm, Baltic Take Over comes to life in collaboration with STHLM DANS, Konträr, höjden studios and Tranströmer Library.
Konträr is a venue for contemporary performing arts in Stockholm.
