Review: Gravity
Dance review: The magnificent Gravity pulsates with urban energy and the power of movement Helsinki
Dance Company’s and Kinetic Orchestra’s collaborative work, Jarkko Mandelin’s Gravity on the small stage of the City Theatre, is a good way to leave you speechless. Especially because, for once, all the analysis that one would like to say about the performance, its choreography and movement language has already been said in the text of the script.
It is rare to read the choreographer’s forewords describing his own work so clearly without mystical frills, which are still realised and visible in the performance itself.
Gravity is a wonderful, topical and completely new kind of work in HDC’s history, with a focus on diverse and physical movement and its brilliantly executed dancers.
The performance is not really placed anywhere in terms of time or space, but the concrete-gray and dirty-brown open milieu created by William Iles with its skateboard ramps forcibly takes your thoughts to the mazes of the big city and the various groups moving there.
This is supported by the very street-credible and basically anonymous outfits designed by Elina Kolehmainen , which could just as well be the dancers’ own basic clothes.
The choreography itself also speaks the same urban language. It is strongly based on Mandelin’s contemporary dance pair technique, where the essential thing is to use your own and your partner’s weight. There are a lot of throws, spins, lifts and rotations in the movements. There are influences from capoera to oriental fighting techniques. The movement language is extremely physical and tough, and it is also allowed to show in breathing and short rest periods. The dance itself is super energetic, fast-moving, and organically flowing.
Dancers in action
The eighth group of dancers, Heidi Naakka, Mikko Paloniemi, Jyrki Kasper, Justus Pienmunne, Anni Koskinen, Sanni Giordani, Kalle Lähde and Oskari Turpeinen, is incredible. The working pairs are constantly changing. Mutual contact and the trust required by acrobatic movements work seamlessly. This work cannot be performed without being one hundred and ten percent present, and this is perfectly realized.
There is no actual course of events in Gravity, but in the frequently changing scenes, you can find echoes of a street dance battle, clashes between groups, and even momentarily slightly calmer and more poetic pairings. The soundscape of the performance is a fine sound compilation created by Janne Hasti , which breathes a strong urban pulse with dark hums and the rattle of shattered glass.
Gravity, which is performed in an almost full arena, is a staggering and sometimes quite concretely close sight of this time and its intensity. I almost feel like saying that if you’re only going to see one dance performance this autumn, this 45-minute show is a must.