Dance your way through Lithuania’s socialist modernist buildings

Debunking the myth that it’s hard to dance about architecture, a new film series explores Vilnius’ socialist modernist architecture through movement and choreography.

Set against music that ranges from classical to electronic, each dynamic sequence is inspired by the atmosphere and the lines of five historic buildings in the Lithuanian capital, raised between the late 1960s and the early 1980s.

They include the headquarters of the Finnish-inspired Lithuanian Composers’ Union, the sinuous balconies and luxurious chandeliers of the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre, and the headquarters for the Cooperative Union of Lithuania which interprets Vilnius’s Old Town baroque heritage with its careful contrasts of light and darkness, and expansive frescoes. The Vilnius Palace of Culture, Entertainment and Sport, designed to provide a bold counterbalance to the Baroque-style Church of Saints Peter and Paul on the other side of the river, and the Seimas Palace, the seat of Lithuania’s parliament, also feature.

“Working with these creative dancers, I wanted to reveal my own sense of architecture through the camera,” said director Jevgenij Tichonov. “I believe that these clips will reveal new and sometimes unexpected perspectives, lines, and energy of familiar buildings.”