We invite you on May 14 to a work-in-progress showing of the dance performance “The Eternal Return” by Rita Lira and Daria Koval. During the performance, the dancers explore various models of cyclicality to understand whether it’s possible to find a weak spot in the cycle of conflicts, break it, and create a new story.
“Eternal Return” is a duet dance performance where two Ukrainian dancers, in collaboration with a theoretical physicist and French visual artists, explore the concept of cycles in nature and human history, with a focus on the recurring nature of wars. At its core, the performance aims to use dance as a ritual to break the eternal cycle of war and conflict. By integrating movement, scientific theory, and visual art, the interdisciplinary work highlights the profound impact of historical repetition and the urgent need for transformation.
“The desire to create this project stems from my personal experience of war and the attempt to comprehend it. In my childhood, grandma would often tell World War II memories; back then, they seemed like simple stories to me. Not until I saw the war with my own eyes. In just three generations, we have come full circle. This is why I want to explore the nature of cyclicality from various scientific perspectives and create a ritual that will break the cycle of wars repeating in the world.”
— Daria Koval
The work is inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of “eternal return,” which suggests that events in the universe repeat endlessly. This principle serves as a lens to examine how wars and conflicts persist throughout human history. Through dance, the performers reflect on how we might disrupt this cycle to create a new, hopeful future.
France, as a nation that endured numerous wars before achieving lasting peace, serves as a historical example of breaking destructive cycles. The research incorporates insights from French scholars who have significantly contributed to the study of cyclical patterns in history, economics, and society. Fernand Braudel, a renowned French historian, introduced the concept of “longue durée” (long duration), emphasizing the role of long-term economic, social, and ecological structures that repeat over time. His ideas guide the dancers in visualizing and embodying the cycles, creating choreography that reflects these recurring processes.
The performance also draws upon the work of Louis de Broglie, a French physicist whose discoveries in quantum mechanics and the wave theory of particles revealed the cyclical oscillations of matter in time and space. De Broglie demonstrated that elementary particles exhibit properties of both particles and waves — a concept that profoundly impacts our understanding of cyclicality in nature. These scientific principles are integrated into the choreography to represent the fundamental cyclical processes that permeate the universe, from microscopic scales to cosmic dimensions.
The first work-in-progress presentation took place on November 15 in Paris, at the National Theatre of Chaillot, as part of the “Chaillot Fabrique” residency, with the support of the Ukrainian Institute in France and the Ukrainian Contemporary Dance Platform.
Performance and choreography: Rita Lira, Daria Koval
Visual artist: Sébastien Mercier
Visual artist and technical director: Fabrice Starzinskas
Composer and sound artist: Yana Shliabanska
Physics, scientific consultant: Dmytro Zharov
May 14 at 7:00 PM
Lviv, 124 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St. (Novo 1 Hall)
Free admission with registration. Limited seating.