Un/Heard, the politics of listening | Ne/Dzirdētāis, klausīš
.
The second stop on the Moving Kinship® tour was in collaboration with Initium Fundation and presented at Festival Laiks Dejot. By presenting the site-specific installation and performance outdoors, Moving Kinship® creates a dialogue between the human and more-than-human modes of listening, demonstrating the enduring power of embodied art as a response to ecological kinship and collective action.
*
“When we take project on the board to work with, our priority is not only to achieve artistic results, but to make sure that we amplify silenced or unheard voices. "Ne/Dzirdētais, Klausīšanās politika" is the case where these elements line up perfectly. Incredible team locally and internationally, a true pleasure to create side by side with Beatrice and her wonderful colleagues as well as vibrant Latvian communities and talented dancers, artists and crew.”
Ieva Niedre, producer, creative director of INITIUM
Un/Heard | Ne/Dzirdētāis blends dance, installation, spoken word, signing and music—co-created with people living with hearing impairment and Deafness whose lived experiences shape its choreographic score. Their stories call for beyond words—where gestures, silences, and sensations reveal multiple truths often left unspoken.
"It was a joy."
Alla, performer
Featuring voices from across generations, Un/Heard | Ne/Dzirdētāis shows how the individual can power the collective-- uniting, engaging, and cultivating spaces of care, courage, and mutual attention. It reminds us that listening is not passive—it is a radical, political act of bodily presence.
"I felt shame about my hearing problems...but today I felt brave."
Agnes, performer
Confronting themes of patience, vulnerability, curiosity, equality and resistance this work invites audiences to hear the world anew—challenging assumptions and inspiring action. As Beatrice Allegranti asks, “How do our bodies listen—across silence, distance, and division—and move toward kinship and justice?” Un/Heard | Ne/Dzirdētāis responds—through dance as embodied activism.
Site-Specific Installation & Performance
Rītausma Dance Group for Hearing Impaired and Deaf Adults
"I felt for these 30 minutes like in another world... not like reality, but like we are in a dream."
Mārtins, performer
"Emotions were dancing in me. Like carousel."
Lillita, performer
“I felt rhythm and emotions. Like a storm was in me for a moment. But when the performance ended, I went home peacefully.”
Madara, perfomer
"Important for me and for us – is that sign language is like visual language in the public space."
Jolanta Znotina, actress
“Silence—or more precisely, the inability or refusal to listen—is a major issue of our time. And when a person’s senses are affected, the threshold of silence can feel completely insurmountable. The poet in me rejoiced at such a precise and embodied portrayal of silence through dance; the school principal and politician in me was glad to contribute by providing space for the rehearsals. The audience member in me was deeply moved—it even seemed as if the heavy downpour became part of the performance, adding yet another barrier to communication that had to be overcome.”
Iveta Ratinīka (principle of the Riga Agenskalns State Gymnasium)
In the Ruin
"It was nice to notice how you [Beatrice] saw our bodies... and found some interesting things from both of us and put it in a very interesting way."
Laura, dance artist
"There’s little space to drift off and to not be present because of the very real environmental factors."
Aigars, dance artist
Credits: Un/Heard, the politics of listening | Ne/Dzirdētāi
Choreography & Artistic Direction
Beatrice Allegranti
Performers
Laura Gorodko, dance artist
Aigars Larionov, dance artist
Jolanta Znotina, actress
Rītausma Dance Group for Hearing Impaired and Deaf Adults
Dramaturgy & Text
Beatrice Allegranti
Music & Composition
Robert Howat
Installation Voiceover
Ieva Nedre
Beatrice Allegranti
Videography
Alexander Lopera
Costumes
Kristians Aglonietis
Producer
Initium Foundation
Graphics
Nee Nee Creative
Signing & Interpreting
Dana Kalpina
Zane Bondare
Technical Support
Initium Foundation
Livestream Videographer
Mārtinš Brūns
Photography
Sandis Lazda