Review: Riemukupla

BUBBLES ARE WAITING TO POP

The Helsinki City Theatre’s Dance Group’s Joy Bubble , consisting of six choreographies, was not yet danced under the most favourable stars even at the later premiere. Previously, the premiere was cancelled after dancer Unto Nuora injured his knee, now it was actress Helena Haaranen who fell ill.

If you didn’t know anything about the changes, you couldn’t see these gaps in Thursday’s presentation. It is just amazing how amazingly dancer Valtteri Raekallio had taken over the choreography made for Nuora in a week.

Raekallio feels even more appealing as a dancer, his obvious pruning and the precision, sensitivity and power of his movement expression capture the viewer. This was particularly evident in Harri Kuorelahti’s Western-inspired, cinematic work Act of Unknown.

Bob Dylan’s ballad and Harri Ahponen’s rich soundscape transport the viewer to tough conditions where both men and women are pitted against each other. Sofia Hill and Raekallio’s overwhelming duet is a mixture of rage that is tearing from within, helplessness, and the difficulty of getting close. Hilli is wonderfully unrestrained and crazy, recognizable in her emotional state. An intense duet with Mikko Lampinen , on the other hand, leads thoughts somewhere in the atmosphere of Ang Lee’s film Brokeback Mountain .

In addition to Kuorelahti’s work, Eeva Muilu’s Work on What Is becomes my favourite of the whole. The female workers, played by Sofia Hill and Kaisa Torkkel , ponder the wonders of being in life in an absurd and self-indulgent genre that Muilu masters well. Muilu has recognizable things to say about our world, vision, courage and wisdom to grasp the essentials. Hilli and Torkkel make a credible impression.

The joint work of the dance group and Kari Heiskanen , which was seen as a prologue, the blasphemous Bollywood bubble that gave its name to the entire evening, remains a separate TV sketch for me. Teemu Kyytinen’s Urges has freshness and raucous emotions, but the idea feels unfinished. Inka Tiitinen’s Two Parts, the first of which is presented depicts a worn-out relationship in an unnecessarily one-dimensional way.

Danced in Mammu Rankanen’s siloed light and the meditative noise of yoga breathing, Kajo is a good choice for the end of a somewhat fragmented whole. Rankanen, who seeks both mental and physical balance, creates wonderful lines for her dancers, a smooth and strong flow of movement.