Review: Destruction Song II

Helsinki Dance Company
his home crowd irrefutably

Dance, regardless of the genre, can be experienced as a performance as a close relative of the visual arts. Its aesthetics, as well as its roughness or ruthlessness, the restraint or eruption of emotions, are reminiscent of the flight and depressions of a brush on the canvas or the perception of a sculpture from matter. This kinship is perhaps most clearly expressed in contemporary dance, which is naturally paired with abstract expression. Just like a picture, dance was not born today or yesterday, everything it “tells” is about an age-old restlessness, the movement of waves, wind, fire and the human mind.


“Song of Destruction” is not so much remembered for its dark destructiveness as for its dark blaze, which every body in the group reaches and reaches. The keywords of the movement language are purity and softness, they lubricate the technique, they eliminate the irrelevant. Sensuality is strongly present, not as an intrinsic value, but as a clear choreographic message. Kenneth Kvarnström’s art requires an insightful and high-quality group. Over the years, Helsinki Dance Company’s reputation has grown international. The audience got their experience at its most appealing this time as well.

The stage design of Destruction Song is effectively minimalistic, with “ash” covering the ground. From there, dancers emerge who, with their faces covered at first, are like a threat from an alien planet. Resistance, submissiveness, the attraction of intimacy – the map of explanation is great for those who need it. Where the atonality and roughness of the music create frames, the costumes are stylishly positioned to support the dance transitions.

The skilful use of the light background leads to thoughts of silhouette art and vase paintings, while the sculptural boundaries of the stage touch on constructivism. The obvious and wonderful “yoga part” can also be picked up from the whole. The motifs thus borrow inventively from many quarters, and weaving the threads together remains an exciting task for the followers of the performance.

The airiness of the music towards the end fills the melancholy expression of Janne Marja-aho and Sofia Karlsson. Both the duet in question and the solo performances within the group, in their acrobatics and exact timings, create a clear outline for the work and the excellent team.

The color of today’s world is often so black that it hurts. But it doesn’t have to be the color of ruin, does it.