Hungarian choreographer brings the dancers’ bodily memories to the stage

At the heart of Adrienn Hód’s Project No. 2191 is the knowledge carried by the performers in their bodies. HDC’s brilliant dancers bring their own “bodily archives” to the stage. The work appears as a radical play guided by intuition, which also resonates in the viewer’s body, inspiring, challenging and surprising. The dancers and the creative team stretch the boundaries of dance and explore the depths of human expression.

Known for his innovative works, Hód challenges cultural boundaries with the aim of freeing the body from the grip of taboos and prejudices. For Hódi, the stage is a playground for dance and dramaturgical solutions, where countless opportunities for interaction and connection are created between the performers and the audience.

“The personal experiences of the performers are important to me in the creative process. When my artistic partner Csaba Molnár and I came to Helsinki for the first time in May, we quickly realised that we were starting with the performers in this work. I’m interested in what motivates us in both our professional and private lives. What history do we carry in our bodies? How individual are our experiences? How does passion come about? What drives us forward? How can we make room for the present?”, says choreographer Adrienn Hód.

“In the work, the dancers’ long history and memories of HDC’s various works become visible in an interesting way. In rehearsals, I have noticed references to numerous great performances over the years,” says Valtteri Raekallio, the leader of the dance group.

“I have been following the works of Adrienn and Hodworks for more than a decade. For me, the key to them is their own kind of playfulness and anarchistic attitude to the conventions of stage and performance,” Raekallio continues.

“In the current era, where authoritarianism is rearing its head and pushing experimental art and multi-voiced civil society into an increasingly narrow space, I feel it is particularly meaningful to seek collaboration with Hungarian artists. Our societies, cultures and histories have both similarities and intersections, and also significant differences, but we seem to be drawn around the stage by the same force. The desire to see the other person, to experience together, to play, to get confused and to try to understand each other. And perhaps above all, the feeling of freedom that narrows if you don’t love it and dare to use it,” Raekallio says.

The dancers in the work are Sofia Hilli, Anni Koskinen, Pekka Louhio, Mikko Paloniemi, Justus Pienmunne, Inka Tiitinen and Anna Virkkunen.

The choreographer’s artistic partner has been Csaba Molnár. The composition is by Áron Porteleki and the dramaturg is Ármin Szabó-Székely. The costumes are designed by Laura Dammert and the working group. The camouflage was designed by Tuula Kuittinen.

Adrienn Hód is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning Hungarian choreographer and the artistic and production director of the HODWORKS dance company, which he founded in 2007. Hód specializes in contemporary dance and experimental movement, and her work is often based on improvisation. Hód has worked with several Hungarian and international groups, as well as with theatrical productions, films and commercials. Her works are often a mixture of contemporary dance, theatre and performance. They boldly deal with taboos and emphasize the performer’s body and personal expression.

Csaba Molnár is a dancer and choreographer who has worked in the Italian dance company Compagnia Virgilio Sieni, Bloom! collective and the Dányi-Molnár-Vadas line-up. She joined the HODWORKS dance group in 2010. Molnár’s works combine radical modes of expression and explore how different modes of expression can transform the most personal experiences into universal and liberating theatrical experiences.

Helsinki Dance Company is a contemporary dance company founded in 1973 in connection with the Helsinki City Theatre. Helsinki Dance Company has worked with several renowned artists over the years and has also had a significant impact on the professionalization of dance art in Finland. In addition to independent dance productions, dancers have performed extensively in theatre productions from plays to musicals, as well as worked in choreographic tasks. The company is known for its charismatic and expressive dancers, as well as its visually polished and movement-strong works. At the moment, the group produces two premieres a year, one in the autumn season and one in the spring season. In August 2024, dancer and choreographer Valtteri Raekallio started as the leader of the dance group.

Project No. 2191 premiere on 12.11.2025 on the small stage of the Helsinki City Theatre (Eläintarhantie 5).

Tickets: student ticket 18 € (Mon-Thu), pensioner ticket 33 € (Mon-Thu), basic ticket 36 € #projectno2191 @hktfi @helsinkidancecompany

Helsinki City Theatre ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 3940 22 Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket offices First line 2, Mon-Fri 12-17, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (on performance days) 11-18.30 and one hour before the performance and Lippu.fi, Mon-Sat 9-19, Sun 12-16, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/from min+lnc) www.hkt.fi

Press release photo: Kai Kuusisto

Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:
Kaisa Pelkonen, Communications Manager, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788
Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki