Review: HDC2
Kellokumpu’s simple cannon
Helsinki Dance Company’s double-night Finnish work, Simo Kellokumpu’s Daydream Junkies, leaves a strange sense of déjà vu. The work had the same atmosphere as Kenneth Kvarnström’s songs written in the 1990s for the HKT dance group of the same theatre: it was both visually and expressively simplified, urban, movement-oriented gunfire. This feeling was further strengthened, for example, by the custom in which the group lifts one dancer up on their hands.
I saw the performance the day after the events in Jokela. The work begins with Unto Nuora’s solo, in which an anxious man in a black hoodie is unable to calm down until another person touches him. The scene seemed to talk about this very day. The six dancers in the work were sometimes nervous, ecstatic, and sometimes completely out of bounds. But even though they moved in their own worlds, the group played an important role. Its power comes into play, for example, in the subtle unison scenes.
Daydream Junkies is technically demanding, which was sometimes reflected in the lack of finishing of the movements. The movements were influenced by both Eastern and traditional Western techniques, but above all it was flowing. The world of the work was rugged, even clinically elegant – it moved in the area of grey, black and white.
Kellokumpu’s work was skilfully constructed, but still felt quite long. Finally, the question came to mind: junkies, so what? But perhaps that was the message of the book.
Norwegian Ina Christel Johannessen’s Something Spooked the Horses introduced brown, softer tones. It was like an old photograph – a look back, where the best had been polished, but surprising movement. Sofia Hilli did brilliantly nuanced work on it, which overshadowed the talented Valtteri Raekallio and Jenni-Elinan Lehto . Hill’s old woman sees herself and her relationships in the dance of others. On the other hand, the work can also be interpreted as a triangle drama. Wandering among the flower vase bottles, breaking them, throwing flowers and picking them created strong dramatic images. However, the work was contemporary dance and not “dance theatre”.
Jukka Huitila was responsible for the set and lighting design of both works of the evening, and Riitta-Maria Pirtilä was responsible for the costumes.