German premier

A young girl has to live with her father’s guilt, for family ties cannot be broken. Our souls are always searching for guilt and guilty ones, and this search brings with it violent, destructive forces. Society will exclude the individual who does not conform to the accepted norm.

The dance piece, »Hangman’s Daughter«, was created by the famous Latvian author, Karlis Skalbe (1879-1945), from the fairy tale of the same name. The hangman and his daughter are a metaphor for guilt and atonement – Santa Grinfelde found this material appealing for her choreography, precisely because of its contradictory nature: terms like shame, disgrace and forgiveness seem to be disappearing from our ordinary vocabulary, yet they remain extraordinarily relevant.

Santa Grinfelde, born in Jelgava in 1975, studied dance, educational theory and Russian culture in Riga. Since 1992, she has performed as a dancer and choreographer at the AnAnša Rūtentāla kustību teātris (Ansis Rutentals Movement Theatre) and since 2003 she has also been a member of the artistic directorate. Ansis Rutentals Movement Theatre (also known as ARMT) is one of only two independant dance companies in Latvia. With a semi-professional ensemble, youthful freshness and spirited acting, the company performs modern ballet, contemporary dance and pantomime.

Ansis Rutentals (1949-2000), teacher and director, founded ARMT in 1979 and directed the company for over 20 years. After his death, Dzintars Krumins, an ARMT actor of many years, took over as director. The company has made guest appearances both at home and abroad, in countries including Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Austria, Armenia, Great Britain and the Baltic states. It took also part in EXPO 2000 in Hanover, with the project »Ars Baltica«.