Helsinki Dance Company’s Poorly Guarded Girl Trusts in the Power of Movement and Fantasy
The autumn premiere of the Helsinki City Theatre’s dance group Helsinki Dance Company, La fille mal gardée (1789), which relies heavily on the skill and expressiveness of dance, is choreographer Jyrki Karttunen’s proposal for a modern ballet inspired by the French ballet classic. The work will premiere on 10 October on a small stage.
In Jyrki Karttunen’s version of the roles in the original ballet The Badly Guarded Girl , only the star dancer remains. All male roles have been removed, and men have been turned into unicorn fantasy creatures. With the exception of one song, the music is also completely new, composed by Aleksi Saura for the work.
The event takes place at a gas station in the mountains. The protagonist, a poorly guarded girl, is an enchanted woman in the ballet tradition who, thanks to the unicorns of her imagination and the poor power lines of the gas station, is freed from her enchantment and everyday life as a remote gas station entrepreneur.
“On a more serious note, the protagonist wrestles with questions of kindness and decency. The most important thing in the plot is not what happens in it, but what happens along the path of a lovable incoherence,” Karttunen describes.
The choreographer has also been inspired by Helsinki Dance Company’s long-time (2006-) dancer Heidi Naakka, who is now playing her first major leading role.
“The work is tailored for Heidi. It gives room for a very strong dancer who has a lot of skill and experience to bring maturity and courage,” Karttunen says.
In addition to Naakka, Jyrki Karttunen, Jyrki Kasper, Mikko Paloniemi and Johannes Purovaara are responsible for the luminous dance of the work.
The set and lights are designed by Jukka Huitila and the luxurious costumes by Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila. The sound design is by Aleksi Saura, and the camouflage is designed by Milja Mensonen.
The work was inspired by French ballet master Jean Dauberval’s The Badly Guarded Girl and is one of the oldest ballets that has survived to the present day, and it has been performed in numerous different versions around the world over the centuries and years. In the original story, a young couple in love, a poorly guarded girl named Lise, and a smart but poor Collas want to get married. However, another man has been arranged for Lise, Alain, who is rich but a bit simple. Through various coincidences, the lovers get each other in the end.
The recommended age for the performance of The Poorly Guarded Girl is from the age of 15 and up.
Badly Guarded Girl premieres 10.10.2018 on the small stage of the Helsinki City Theatre (Eläintarhantie 5)
Tickets: 15 € – 30 € (incl. pm)