Hold Me Gently

Hold me gently – I trust you. You can throw me, catch me, and I’ll catch you too. Dive into the unknown with me.

The production was selected for the repertoire through the 2026/2027 open call and is being created as a co-production by Tartu Uus Teater and Orbit Dance Collective.

The contemporary dance production “Hold Me Gently” explores trust and its physical expressions. In an abstract movement language, everyone can find something familiar in themes that are universal and widely shared. The dancers explore how to accept another person as they are, how to entrust your body to someone else and be trustworthy yourself, finding joy and room to play in sharing.

Ten dancers take the stage, bringing their differences with them. Different life and dance experiences meet, creating new stories and endless playfulness and possibilities before the audience. What is seen on stage is inspired by the performers who step before the audience. Each performance differs from the one before and the one after it; a new story takes shape on stage each evening and is never repeated. But the idea remains: caring for one another and trust.

*Choreographer and director Maarja Eliisabet Roosalu has a dynamic style that highlights dance as a physical art form. In addition to directing, Roosalu teaches dancers of different ages across Estonia, and her shorter works have appeared at all of Estonia’s major dance festivals and competitions. Roosalu has extensive experience as a dancer in various productions and has shared the stage with a range of Estonian artists, including nublu and SADU.

“Hold Me Gently” is the second production by Orbit Dance Collective, founded in 2023, but the company has not performed in Tartu before. The collective’s debut production, “Compositions,” was performed in Tallinn in autumn 2023. Now it is time to tell new stories.

Director-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
Supporters: Tartu city, Eesti Kultuurkapital
Premiere: 11 December 2026
Duration: 50 minutes

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