For a long time... For too long, there was a pause in my dance love affair with the music of Peteris Vasks. Back in 2008, I premiered my ballet Underground to the music of his brilliant violin concerto. After 16 years, I decided to touch Vasks' work again - this time it was his cello concerto. The lower and deeper sound of the cello will emphasise these years that have passed unnoticed, in which I have grown older, which have brought so much to my life. And it is not only the horrors of war, but also myriads of bright moments of love, friendship, warmth, jealousy, despair, secret touches, flickering hope and everything that made up my life. And I will try to share all of this with the characters in my new ballet, Friends. Four people, two women and two men, will live the stunning music of Peteris Vasks in dance as sincerely as the distance between the stage and the auditorium, between the space of theatrical existence and everyday life, will allow them to do so. 

This is my gift to Peteris on his birthday. With a sinking heart and more than ever, I will be waiting for the last seconds of the ballet to see if I have met the Maestro's expectations and if I have been able to find the semantic accents in his concert in my own way.

Happy birthday, dear Genius!