The Human Experience of Disorder
Mirrors and reflections transform the stage into a kaleidoscopic space, where the boundary between the real and the imagined is in constant motion. The feeling of hallucination can also be seen in the structure of the work, which blurs the relationship between the image and the narrative.
“My job is to build the puzzle and break it down into small pieces, not only with the help of the dancers, but also with the help of set props and a rotating stage,” says choreographer Fernando Melo .
Out of Order was created specifically for the small stage of the Helsinki City Theatre, with a semicircular auditorium and a revolving stage that serve as the starting point for the work.
“In this space, you can create absolutely magical images,” says set designer Kalle Nio. “When we saw that the stage is surrounded on almost all sides, a bit like a circus, it encouraged us to try a new approach.”
Out of Order is a continuation of Melo’s and Nio’s collaboration, which began with the work Tempo at the Helsinki Festival in 2025.
A different process
In Out of Order , the creative process proceeds differently than in most dance works. Instead of the set following the choreography, the movement is built around the objects and sets on the stage. Therefore, they must be ready at an early stage.
“You have to imagine the scenes and what you can do with the material to be able to define exactly what kind of role it will play on stage with the dancer,” Melo says.
With the sound, too, the process proceeds in the opposite way as usual: Melo first creates the scenes and only then finds the music that supports them.
Moving sets, reflections and optical illusions make the process exceptionally complex.
“It involves a lot of trial and error,” Melo says. “We have made drawings and scale models, but it is only in the studio with the dancers that everything falls into place.”
The dancers do not move in the middle of the set, but with it, because objects and mirrors are part of the movement. In Out of Order, they have to focus on performing and handling the set elements at the same time, because even a small mistake can break the illusion.
“It’s very demanding for the dancers. They have to think about all the technical details and still interpret the scenes and express themselves with their bodies,” Nio says.
Fragmented structure
The title of the work, Out of Order , was chosen because of its ambiguity.
It reflects both the structure of the work and the human experience of disorder. The name refers not only to the different order of the scenes, but also to the fragmentation that affects how we remember, perceive and structure our lives.
Melo says that the scenes have been deliberately put out of order so that the audience would take an active role in putting the story together and finding their own meaning.
Nio is fascinated by the non-linear structure, where things may seem abstract at first, but gradually take shape into a whole that remains in the mind and changes in memory over time. According to him, Out of Order is a journey through images that disappear and reappear.
“Illusions, choreography and moving sets create a theatrical experience that you don’t usually expect from a dance company.”
Text by Ida Henritius.