Hold me gently: contemporary dance performance

Hold me gently, I trust you. You may throw me, catch me, and I will catch you too. Let us dive into the unknown together.

The production entered the repertoire through the 2026/2027 open call and is being made as a co-production of Tartu Uus Teater and Orbit Dance Collective.

The contemporary dance production “Hold Me Gently” is about trust and its physical forms. In an abstract movement language, everyone can find recognition in themes that are universal and familiar. The dancers explore how to receive another person just as they are, how to entrust your body to someone and also how to be trustworthy yourself, finding joy in sharing and room for play.

Ten dancers are on stage, and their differences come to play with them. Different experiences of life and dance meet and create new stories in front of the audience, with endless playfulness and possibilities. What is visible on stage is inspired by the ensemble standing in front of the audience. Each performance differs from the one before and after; every evening a new story arises on stage that will never repeat. But the idea remains: caring for one another and trust.

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Choreographer and director Maarja Eliisabet Roosalu has a lively style that puts dance forward as a physical art form. Besides directing, Roosalu teaches dancers of different ages across Estonia, and shorter works from her output have reached all the major Estonian dance festivals and competitions. Roosalu has long experience as a dancer in various productions and has shared the stage with several Estonian artists, including nublu and SADU.

“Hold Me Gently” is the second production of Orbit Dance Collective, created in 2023, but the company has not previously been seen in Tartu. The collective’s debut production “Kompositsioonid” was staged in Tallinn in autumn 2023. Now it is time to tell new stories.

Director and choreographer: Maarja Eliisabet Roosalu

Sound design: Israel Bañuelos

Dancers: Anastassia Meri, Kai-Riin Tomera, Karoline Suhhov, Katrin Tani, Lotta Laureen Loo, Mari-Liis Martin, Maria Schotter, Marta Jamsja, Melani Mõtlik, Saara Lotta Krusell

Co-production: Tartu Uus Teater

Supported by: City of Tartu, Estonian Cultural Endowment

Premiere: 11 December 2026

Runtime: 50 minutes