Shards (2026)

How often does one not say what one truly means? How often does one repress seemingly negative emotions or stay quiet in the face of injustice? When enough moments like this pile up inside and one lashes out at the people around them, it seems like “that wasn’t me, I’m not like that.” Sweeping these moments under the rug little by little one creates a house where one can’t take a single step without cutting themselves on the shards of the past.

The creative team of Shards invites the audience on an embodied journey contemplating the roles we consciously or otherwise play in our daily lives. By combining inspirations from personal experiences growing up and the ideas present in the Japanese art of Kintsugi, Aigars reflects on the role of the “good son” he’s been given since early childhood. How does one live with, break, and reconstruct a role one hasn’t chosen for themselves? What to do with it, when it’s become as restrictive as a pair of old boots? In tandem with music by Kaspars Niklasons, dramaturgy by Edgars Niklasons, and lighting design by Julija Bondarenko, the dancer moves through these questions in an athletic collaboration and tension with his fragile, unforgiving partner - a ceramic bowl.