snøhetta’s lascaux IV caves in france host site-specific contemporary dance work

Lascaux IV by Snøhetta, Through the Language of Dance

Snøhetta’s Lascaux IV, the International Centre for Parietal Art in Montignac, France, becomes the setting for a contemporary dance performance that seeks to reawaken the prehistoric imagination. Conceived by choreographer and dancer Daniel Proietto in collaboration with the Norwegian National Ballet, Know Nation, and Snøhetta, Hidden unfolds across the monumental spaces of the museum and its surrounding landscape, where the memory of cave art still lingers.

For Snøhetta, the project was an extension of longstanding concerns. ‘To honor the history and myths of Lascaux, we invited the Norwegian National Ballet and choreographer Daniel Proietto to interpret the spaces through dance,’ describes founding partner Kjetil Trædal Thorsen. ‘The result is a magnificent artistic performance… adding a completely new dimension to experiencing the wonder and history of Lascaux and the stories painted on its walls.’

all images and video by OiOiOi

proietto’s hidden Unfolds in the Shadows of Prehistoric Art

Hidden was shaped specifically for the labyrinthine architecture of Lascaux IV center, designed by the international architecture firm Snøhetta with SRA Architectes and scenographers Casson Mann. Since opening in 2016, the building has been recognized as both an immersive reconstruction of the caves discovered in 1940 and as a landmark of contemporary museography.

The performance was led by Daniel Proietto and principal dancer Yolanda Correa, who moved through flickering light and shadow guided by the spectral presence of a Minotaur figure. Their choreography drew on echoes of prehistoric rites, reframing cave painting as an early cinematic act. ‘Around 17,000 years ago, humans gathered at Lascaux in reverence, not to conquer, but to carve their dreams into stone,’ Proietto reflects. ‘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 work resists spectacle, positioning dance instead as an act of remembrance and presence. Correa and Proietto’s movements, accompanied by Belgian composer Jean-Paul Dessy’s score performed live by Tana Quartet, explore mortality, continuity, and the fragile threads of cultural memory. ‘Bringing dance to Lascaux IV, at the heart of prehistoric art, is a profound honor,’ notes Ingrid Lorentzen, artistic director of the Norwegian National Ballet. ‘In the meeting between the ancient and the contemporary, a deep resonance emerges.’

Snøhetta’s Lascaux IV becomes the setting for a contemporary dance performance