Review: Jemina – The Great American Show
Voluptuous and suitably raunchy Jemina
What is bra rotation? And what are those female balls?
We found out on Friday evening at the Cable Factory’s Pannuhalli, when the joint production of the Helsinki City Theatre, Helsinki Dance Company and the New Dance Centre Zodiak Jemina — The Great American Show premiered. The work, conceived by dancer-choreographer Jyrki Karttunen, is a sequel to the performance Jemina’s Many Lives, which premiered in 2012.
Right from the start, I have to say that I didn’t see the praised first part at the time, and that’s a bit of a shame. Of course, it would have been a good basis for what I saw on Friday, but I still got a pretty sweet experience this way.
Jemina – The Great American Show is voluptuous and plush, suitably raunchy and mischievous. Its exuberant femininity is like candy, captivatingly glowing pink.
The groundbreaking interdisciplinary performance combines dance and theatre, drag show and stand-up. So quite a package, but functional in all its quirks. In its introduction, it describes itself as “complete rubbish — something between the Las Vegas show and Agatha Christie’s murder mystery.”
While the first part was a depiction of the growth story of the patinated drag diva, Jemina, the sequel takes the viewer on the star’s journey to conquer America. There will be speed, great emotions, hilarious comedy and dramatic twists.
For example, the performance features such a real falling down the stairs that the audience is shocked. Skilful in itself.
Even though Jemina is a collage of a little bit of everything, it doesn’t give a messy impression. Everything is controlled and carefully considered. And the fact is that the work does show its unwavering love for dance; Dance plays the main role. The performance features dance performances that are more impressive than each other.
One of them is the fatal flamenco of the women in the ammunition factory. The merciless bang of high heels hammering the stage drills into the hardest corners of the soul.
The thing that makes the performance smell long is gender. On the other hand, it also plays with it. In high heels, you can see both smooth-cheeked women and bearded men. Men take care of female roles and vice versa completely sovereignly, because it doesn’t matter at all.
On the other hand, attention is also drawn to drag; to the fact that it is the man in the dress.’
Jyrki Karttunen is the show’s star in its own right, Jemina, who is even more magnificent than magnificent. Karttunen has mastered the slight mischief and dramatic gestures characteristic of drag performance.
In addition, the performance consists of nine dancers, who appear in more charming roles than each other. One of the funniest scenes in the work is the dance teaching session, which the audience can also participate in if they wish. Our Hitler-like dance teacher (Karttunen) is absolutely amazing.
The high space of the boiler hall has been utilised in a surprising way. There are stages here and there and the audience sits at round tables in the middle of everything that is happening. Jukka Huitila’s lights are spectacular, mostly using the color pink.
Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila’s costumes, together with the camouflage designed by Henri Karjalainen, serve eye candy in all its spectacularity. Especially stunning is the fashion designer’s creation seen above Karttunen.
Tuomas Fränti, who is responsible for the sound design, has conjured up a plush soundscape. The volume is strong, and so it should be. The adaptation of Madonna’s Vogue heard in the fashion show scene sounds stylish.
During the intermission, I heard a gentleman agonizing over the fact that the performance was a bit too special. Of course, it is nothing ordinary.
However, I think Jemina’s interdisciplinary approach is very fresh and invigorating. Of course, I can’t say that something hasn’t gone over the top, but perhaps the essence of the proposal is that you don’t have to worry about it. So even if something doesn’t open, it’s more essential to surrender to the pleasure of watching high-quality dance (and so on).
Because that’s just the way it is, this show is delicious.