Review: XPSD

Kenneth Kvarnström’s latest work for XPSD Helsinki Dance Company lives up to the expectations set for it. It is exactly the kind of performance that we are used to seeing from him in a positive sense.

A dance work that is finished down to the last detail, rehearsed to certainty and contains a lot of movement, in which the different components of the whole are both artistically independent and in balance with each other.

The stage is as simple as possible, only the white rectangle of the floor in an otherwise black space. Emptiness, to which the variation of light and shadows, boundaries and form are brought by Vesa Ellilä’s white and yellowish lights.

The same minimalism continues in Erika Turunen’s costumes, which, with the exception of the white sleeves of Valtteri Raekallio’s mythical female figure, are completely black. But by no means boring black. The decorative patterns of the costumes and, above all, the dancers’ bird-like collars contain references to the Baroque.

The same decorativeness and abundance of 17th-century court dances can also be found in Kvarnström’s movement language. There is a lot of movement, sometimes even cascading. It is both strongly physical and polished with soft sensuality at the same time. This combination creates a certain sense of mysticism or threat. As if under the surface, something other than what is shown is meant all the time.

Hypnotic atmosphere

The endless but tightly controlled flow of movement, in which certain gestures and movement phrases are repeated from time to time, creates a hypnotic atmosphere, a suction that captures the viewer. This hypnotism is enhanced by Jukka Rintamäki’s dark-sounding carpet that fills the entire space and rolls forward with irresistible force.

Even though XPSD (eXPoSeD), revealed and shared, is basically a plotless, purely movement-based work, there are very strong contents in its various scenes. One of the most beautiful is the rough duet between Inka Tiitinen and Kai Lähdesmäki, which depicts giving up and coming to an end.

Otherwise, all the dancers are absolutely brilliant. The compact performance, which lasts just over an hour, is physically demanding and technically demanding.

Sofia Karlsson, Heidi Naakka, Mikko Lampinen as well as Tiitinen, Lähdesmäki and Raekallio are all great in their presence and finishing their movements. Their dance has power and the darkness inherent in the work, but also the clarity of movement and the certainty of a whole internalized deep into the core. They are effortlessly one with the work and the performance.