Snøhetta co-produces dance performance for Lascaux IV
Bringing contemporary dance to the heart of prehistoric art
In connection with the European Heritage Days on 19 September, a brand-new dance performance honoring movement, myth, and memory was premiered at Lascaux IV – International Centre for Parietal Art in Montignac, France.
Entitled Hidden, the performance is a collaboration between the Norwegian National Ballet, Know Nation, and Snøhetta. It was created by internationally acclaimed choreographer and dancer Daniel Proietto, and features the celebrated principle dancer Yolanda Correa alongside Proietto.
Hidden is specifically developed for the monumental spaces of Lascaux IV, a center
seamlessly integrated into the landscape of the Vézère Valley, designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with SRA Architectes and scenographers Casson Mann. Opened in 2016, Lascaux IV stands as a landmark of contemporary architecture and museography, while offering an immersive experience and a faithful reconstitution of the original cave and cave paintings discovered in the area in 1940.
Watch a teaser of the performance below:
The performance merges film, live dance, and music, designed to unfold across both architectural and natural environments. It evokes a ritual space filled with presence and ancestral memory, where movement becomes a vessel for timeless expression.
"Around 17,000 years ago, humans gathered at Lascaux in reverence, not to conquer, but to carve their dreams into stone," says Proietto. "They understood something we are still trying to remember: that making a mark is not an act of power, but an act of belonging. Hidden honors their efforts and asks what kind of ancestors we are becoming."
The performance journeys through the labyrinthine spaces of Lascaux IV, guided by the shadowy figure of the Minotaur, whose mask serves as a bridge between human and mythic forces. Dances inspired by prehistoric rites unfold in flickering light, bringing the cave walls to life and conjuring the presence of the unseen. In this setting, cave art is reimagined as the first cinematic act—a primal fusion of image, movement, and ritual.
"Bringing dance to Lascaux IV, at the heart of prehistoric art, is a profound honour for the Norwegian National Ballet, says Ingrid Lorentzen, Artistic Director at the Norwegian National Ballet."
"This collaboration reminds us that art and movement have always been part of our shared human identity. Once again, Snøhetta unites nature and culture – as they did with our own opera house and so many other iconic projects. In the meeting between the ancient and the contemporary, a deep resonance emerges, and we are proud to contribute a choreographic work that explores this intersection – created by Daniel Proietto and performed by him alongside our principal dancer Yolanda Correa.”
Hidden’s vision of art as presence and offering is elevated by the collaboration with Tana Quartet, performing music by Belgian composer Jean-Paul Dessy, whose work blends contemporary classical language with a spiritual dimension.
The performance resists spectacle in favor of ritual and remembrance, returning dance to its ancient roots as a space of listening, embodied time, and ethical reflection. It explores themes of life, and mortality through the bodies of Correa and Proietto, inviting audiences to contemplate what endures, what must be reclaimed, and what we carry forward.
"Dance is the most beautiful expression of human movement — it is poetry and body in one. When performed within a physical space, a magical connection emerges between the audience, the dancer, and the surroundings," says Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, Founding Partner of Snøhetta, who initially proposed the idea for the performance.
"To honor the history and myths of Lascaux, we invited the Norwegian National Ballet and choreographer Daniel Proietto to interpret the spaces through dance. The result is a magnificent artistic performance by Proietto and Yolanda Correa, adding a completely new dimension to experiencing the wonder and history of Lascaux and the stories painted on its walls."
The complete conception and creation of the work were developed by Daniel Proietto in close dialogue with the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Know Nation and Snøhetta. All photographs and film were created by OiOiOi at Lascaux IV.
While Hidden was performed live at Lascaux IV, a short version was premiered on social media through the Norwegian National Ballet & Opera, Know Nation and Snøhetta's social media accounts.
A full-length version of the performance will be available at www.know-nation.com in October 2025.
Hidden was also performed live during the opening of the Artonov Festival in Brussels on October 3rd.
For inquiries regarding future live performances, please contact Daniel Proietto at +4745068565 or daniel@danielproietto.com.
Film for download
Download teaser
Film by OiOiOi
© 2025 Know Nation / The Norwegian National Ballet / Snøhetta
Images for download
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Or click on images below to download, please credit OiOiOi / Snøhetta.
CREDITS FOR HIDDEN
Choreographed by Daniel Proietto
Featuring Yolanda Correa and Daniel Proietto
A collaboration between The Norwegian National Ballet, Know Nation and Snøhetta
Photographed and filmed by OiOiOi at Lascaux IV, Montignac, France
Lights by Hugo Bellemin
The film features music by Jean-Paul Dessy
Performed live by Tana Quartet
Mask by Tamae Hirokawa and seamstress Eli Ploompuu Kask
© 2025 Know Nation / The Norwegian National Ballet / Snøhetta
BIOGRAPHIES AND CREDITS
Daniel Proietto
Daniel Proietto is an internationally acclaimed Argentinian dancer, choreographer, and director known for his explorations of identity, memory, and embodiment. Trained in multiple disciplines — including classical ballet, Japanese traditional dance, and contemporary dance — Proietto has collaborated with artists across fields, from Alan Lucien Øyen and Aurélie Dupont to Snøhetta and Nick Knight, creating works that merge movement, film, ritual, architecture and nature.
A Guest Artist with the Norwegian National Ballet — the first contemporary dancer ever invited in this role — and an Associate Artist with the Maison de la Musique de Nanterre in Paris, Proietto is an award-winning artist (UK Critics’ Award for Best Male Dancer, Dance Europe’s Dancer of the Year) whose career bridges institutional and experimental worlds. His solo Cygne became a global signature piece; more recent works such as Hidden and Goddamn Beauty deepen his inquiry into dance as a site of resistance, remembrance, and political presence.Founder of KNOW NATION, Proietto produces films and performances that challenge spectacle and reclaim the body as a space of presence and ethical urgency. His work has been presented at leading venues worldwide, including BAM, Sadler’s Wells, and Théâtre National de Chaillot, blending virtuosity with a profound commitment to vulnerability, political consciousness, and poetic force.
Yolanda Correa
Originally from Cuba, Yolanda Correa is widely celebrated for the strength, elegance, and depth she brings to both classical and contemporary roles. Since joining the Norwegian National Ballet in 2010, she has captivated audiences in principal parts such as Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet), Tatiana (Onegin), Kitri (Don Quixote), and the dual role of Odette/Odile (Swan Lake). In 2013, British choreographer Liam Scarlett created The Firebird for her, earning critical praise.
Correa has also excelled in modern repertoire, performing in works by Jirí Kylián, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Alexander Ekman, and George Balanchine, among others. Her versatility and stage presence have made her a sought-after guest artist across international stages.She began her training at the Vocational School of Art in Holguín and later at the Cuban National Ballet School in Havana. Before relocating to Norway, she danced as primera bailarina with the Cuban National Ballet. Her artistry has been recognized with awards including the Positano Prize (2012) and the Tom Wilhelmsen Opera and Ballet Prize (2014).
https://www.operaen.no/en/persons/the-norwegian-national-ballet/yolanda-correa/
The Norwegian National Ballet
The Norwegian National Ballet is the only classical ballet company in Norway. Besides classics like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, the company's repertoire covers works by the international masters like Jiří Kylian, William Forsythe, George Balanchine, Sol León and Paul Lightfoot, Natalia Makarova and Mats Ek. The Norwegian National Ballet also focuses greatly on new works created especially for the company by choreographers like Alexander Ekman, Marit Moum Aune, Cina Espejord and associate choreographers Jo Strømgren and Alan Lucien Øyen.
The company has around 70 dancers, a second company with 13 young dancers: The Norwegian National Ballet 2, and a ballet school. Ingrid Lorentzen became artistic director in 2012, after being a principal dancer with the company.
In 2019 the company launched The Choreography Development Programme Artemisia, with the goal that next generation of creative dance artists will have equal opportunities – regardless of gender. So far it has led to 30 new works.
The company tour both in Norway and internationally. The Ibsen ballets Ghosts and Hedda Gabler have become signature works for the company, with tours to Shanghai, Berlin, Hong Kong, Moscow, Vienna and Paris.
https://www.operaen.no/en/
KNOW NATION
KNOW NATION is a pioneering multidisciplinary platform founded by Daniel Proietto to explore the intersections of dance, film, music, visual arts, architecture, philosophy, and healing. Its work reclaims the body and movement as radical tools for presence, memory, and resistance in an increasingly disembodied world.
In collaboration with Snøhetta, the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, Maison de la Musique de Nanterre, Ecole Jeannine Manuel, Winter Guests, M12 Kultur, Oioioi, and other visionary partners, KNOW NATION creates performances and films that dissolve boundaries between the physical and the poetic — staged in theatres, architectural landmarks, and natural landscapes alike.
Rooted in presence rather than spectacle, its productions foreground the raw intelligence of the body — embracing vulnerability, relational depth, and ethical urgency — and advancing a vision of art and culture as a vital space for reflection, remembrance, and resistance. This vision is sustained by a spirit of collaboration, a deep commitment to diversity, and a dedication to meaningful outreach.
Daniel Proietto
Founder and Director, Know Nation
+4745068565
daniel@danielproietto.com
Snøhetta
For over 35 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world's most recognized public and cultural projects. The practice began its journey in 1989 by winning a competition for the new Library of Alexandria in Egypt. Since then, it has taken on numerous notable commissions, including the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion in New York, the redesign of public spaces in Times Square, the Le Monde Group Headquarters in Paris, Europe's first underwater restaurant, Under, Lascaux IV: The International Centre for Cave Art, the energy-positive building Powerhouse Brattørkaia, the design of Norway's new banknotes, and the Beijing Library, among many others.
From its inception, Snøhetta has embraced a transdisciplinary approach, often combining architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, product design, graphic design, digital design, and art in its projects. This collaborative nature among the various disciplines is a fundamental driving force behind the practice.
Snøhetta's working method explores both traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge digital technology. At the core of all its work is a commitment to social and environmental sustainability, shaping the built environment and design with a focus on humanism. Every project is conceived with strong, meaningful concepts that reflect the ethos of its users and their context.
Among its numerous accolades, Snøhetta has received the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – the Mies van der Rohe Award for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, as well as the Aga Khan Prize for Architecture for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
Snøhetta has a global presence, with studios located in Oslo, New York, Innsbruck, Paris, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen.
Press contacts at Snøhetta
Line Aandal Røijen
Camille Henry