The spectacle takes place behind the curtain. A magician saws his assistant in half and we gasp. A writer hides one word behind another and we gasp. The lights are turned on and no one sees. A white horse is not a horse. We speak in the language of gestures. This here is a figure, this here is a proverb, and that in the corner there is a metaphor. These are the first fragments of an unfolding mystery, the sweet slaps of the unknown. What was hidden in one place comes to light in another, only for you, children of learning and knowledge.

The starting point of “Enigma” is riddles. A riddle consists of two parts: a question (task) and an answer (solution). Simple in form, inexhaustible in nature: the first riddle preserved in writing, 3,000 years old, is still unsolved. The second starting point is choreography as a linguistic system. A movement is a word, a sequence is a sentence and the body is full of meanings. In “Enigma” cryptic language and symbolic body meet. It is a dialogue between two riddlers who cannot answer any question directly, who bathe in secret meaning-making, who struggle with truth and logic.

Riddle me this…

Elle Viies graduated from the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, majoring in dance art. Viies has performed solo formats at inklingroom events and Loora Kaubi’s exhibition “One never sees the sun in a dream”. She has participated as a performer in productions in Tallinn and Tartu (Ruslan Stepanov’s “Floor on fire”, Sigrid Savi’s “Troopika”) and as a choreographer in the choreographer’s debut series PREMIERE at STL with the production “Pastoral”. She is currently a resident of TantsuRUUM for the 2024/2025 season and a teacher of the performing arts course at the Estonian Dance Agency's dance school.