Dance from the birth of a dance piece
The two-colour fugue is an abstract dance piece by Carl Knif to the music of Dmitri Shostakovich.
What does the name of the show mean?
“The starting point is Shostakovich’s preludes and fugues, which I became acquainted with about ten years ago. Since then, they have spoken to me. The idea of dichotomy was based on the idea that music has two faces, i.e. the compositional pairs of preludes and fugues.”
Does that mean there are only two dancers? And did you dance in the work yourself?
“I’m not on stage myself, but I choreograph and direct. There are seven dancers in total. Four of them are from the Carl Knif Company and three from the Helsinki City Theatre, so this is the first time this kind of collaboration.”
Have you choreographed classical music before?
“I haven’t. It brings a certain respect to music, which is not just any sound, but has its own history. Although I do not use all of Shostakovich’s 24 pairs of compositions, they must be thought of as a whole with its own laws and rules. Because the dance work speaks on the move, improvisation is also evident in the performance situation.”
Does improvisation mean that the performance is a little different every night?
“Yes. Improvisation is always the starting point in everything I do. Shostakovich’s music is inspired by its precise form. Whether dance can express music in some other way than just by imitating or illustrating it, and whether dancers can express the present, even though music is history. The idea is that music can sound different through movement. The work is
I.e. there is no text in it.”
Even though there is no text, is there a story?
“I find myself needing a story or a plot to find a common thread for myself. The theme here is the different experiences of the performance. By that I mean, for example, a dancer’s experiences of being a dancer and being part of a work and maybe also someone else’s view. And the viewer’s experience of the performance and why they come to see it.”
Is it also a representation of the birth of the performance?
“Yes, and about the performance situation and its aftermath when the performance ends. In this work, the scenery and the auditorium are also places for the performance. The backstage will be revealed during the performance.”
The dancers of the two groups met for the first time at the end of October. How long do the exercises last?
“At the end of January, the actual process and training period begins, which is very intense and intensive. The purpose of the initial workshop was to leave something brewing in the subconscious and to continue from there when the actual exercises begin.”
Juha Peltonen