Navigating queerness on a skateboard
Lukas Karvelis
Location: Podium Mozaïek
Dates:
- GENRE: Dance, Performance Art
- THEME: Connection, IdentiWho?, Queer Stories, Speaking Bodies
- LANGUAGE: Language No Problem
- Toilet for wheelchair users: yes, Wheelchair accessible: yes
“Yet Another Day in Paradise” is a contemporary dance performance that analyses how the past influences our way of forming current relationships. The two protagonists are trying to find their own individual axis while being dependent on each other. They embrace each other very closely—closer and tighter than kissing distance—as they try to stay balanced atop a single skateboard. They are circling in endless motion, experiencing both acceptance and rejection. Their movements become a manifestation of resilience of the human spirit, a poignant reflection of the intricacies of intimacy, and the eternal quest for connection.
Biography
Lukas Karvelis (1997) is a Lithuanian dance artist currently based in Amsterdam. Upon graduating from Codarts in 2019 on a Jiri Kylian Foundation scholarship, he began collaborating with Royal Danish theatre, Münich Kammerspiele, Dansatelier’s crew and Korzo Theater.
In his artistic work, Karvelis seeks to find this crucial point at which change occurs within the body as it diverges away from trauma within society and oneself. This point leads to research within the movement as he examines these moments with a curiosity about the past. He is currently linking this movement exploration to the social phenomenon of addiction, correlating to the body and mind. Alongside his work as a performer and choreographer, Karvelis developed a movement exploration practice that examines the motion of free fall, which challenges the mover to feel the freedom from gravity in order to find weightlessness.
His own choreographic work has received multiple residencies at Atelier de Paris/ CDCN, the Arts Printing House, Cetro Coreografico Gomera and Teatri Di Vita. Karvelis was nominated for the Piket Kunst Award in 2020 and received young artist award from Lithuanian ministry of culture in 2023.