Dance and contemporary circus meet in a joint evening of three works
On 2 March, the Helsinki City Theatre’s studio in Pasila will premiere a joint evening of three dance works, Three Works from Contact. During the evening, the dancers of the Helsinki Dance Company will perform works by Sari Palmgren and Mirva Mäkinen, as well as a duet by Riia Kivimäki and Saku Mäkelä, produced in collaboration with Cirko – Center for New Circus.
“Three different works during the same evening offer the audience the opportunity to get to know the personal movement thinking of choreographers working from different starting points and an interesting overview of dance art for new dance viewers. The theme of the contact was based on the fundamental idea that a dancer’s work and practicing physical communication can never move from a rehearsal hall to a remote meeting,” says Antti Lahti, the director of the dance group.
The evening of three dance works dealing with contact and physicality in different ways will begin with Mirva Mäkinen’s Luodos. It is a tapestry of three dancers and one musician about the formation of meanings related to contact and their unraveling. In some parts of the work, contact improvisation, which is used as movement material, refers to a physical dialogue with two or more people. The movement of dancers is related to physical laws, such as gravity, speed of movement and friction, as well as to the sonic space created by the musician.
Dancers Jyrki Kasper, Misa Lommi and Heidi Naakka and musician Tapani Rinne, known from Rinneradio, will perform at Luodos. Jukka Huitila is responsible for the lighting design and Elina Kolehmainen is responsible for the set and costume design.
Sari Palmgren’sSoidinmenot plays with stepping forward, being seen and being left alone. The performance is created in close cooperation with the dancers.
The work was inspired by the courtship of birds, which have similarities to human matchmaking behaviour. At the centre of the book is the last representative of his species, who is calling for a partner.
Soidinmemot continues and deepens themes familiar from the choreographer’s previous works, such as the relationship with nature, the change in the environment, and the relationship and similarity between humans and animals.
The dancers in the work are Inka Tiitinen, Justus Pienmunne, Pekka Louhio and Mikko Paloniemi. Elina Kolehmainen is responsible for the set and costume design, Jukka Huitila for the lighting design and Sami Tammela for the sound design. The camouflage was designed by Henri Karjalainen.
In their new GLG work, two different artists, Riia Kivimäki and Saku Mäkelä, combine dance and partner acrobatics into a surreal journey in which two people collide, intertwine and let go of their boundaries. In the work, which is a co-production with Cirko – Center for New Circus, influences from visual arts, contemporary dance and contemporary circus merge and build new meanings layer by layer.
The performer and choreographer duo Kivimäki and Mäkelä are also responsible for the concept and costume and set design of GLG. The lighting designer is Jukka Huitila, the sound designer is Sami Tammela and the dramaturg is Jarkko Lehmus.
An artist meeting will be arranged for the audience of the Three Works from Contact performance on 22 March after the performance. The evening’s choreographers and working group will be interviewed by Antti Lahti.
Article on the Three Works on Contact series: Different Perspectives on Contact and Physical Dialogue
Three Works from Contact premiere 2.3.2022 at the Helsinki City Theatre’s studio in Pasila (Ratamestarinkatu 5)
Student ticket 15 € (Mon-Thu), pensioner ticket 27 € (Mon-Thu), basic ticket 30 €
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