Jyrki Karttunen’s new work is a glittering counter-strike to the bullies of our time
Helsinki Dance Company and Zodiak – Center for New Dance proudly perform: Jemina – The Great American Show! Jyrki Karttunen’s brainstorming dance theatre performance strikes mischievously and playfully against the bullies of our time with a grandiose and glittering show.
Jemina – The Great American Show is a show about the monsters and bullies of our time. At the same time, as the name suggests, it is a Big Show: an unprecedented contemporary dance show of ten dancers will take to the stage of Pannuhalli, where costumes change at a brisk pace and false eyelashes are not spared. The work, a co-production of the Helsinki City Theatre and the Zodiak Centre for New Dance, will premiere at the Cable Factory’s Pannuhalli on 22 March.
The new work is a sequel to Karttunen’s solo work Jemina’s Many Lives (2012). Originally performed as a co-production of Zodiak and Karttunen’s group at the time, the work has continued its life in the City Theatre’s repertoire and gathered a solid fan base. At the same time, Jemina herself has become a beloved cult figure. However, Jemina – The Great American Show takes Jemina into a new light and role.
– If the main character of the first Jemina turned into a lovable symbol of the importance of incompleteness during the performance, the numerous Jemina characters in the second part are a symbol of something completely different. The work is honestly humanistic, which today often means the same thing as feminist,” Karttunen explains.
On the border between good and bad taste, the age limit for a flirtatious show is K-18, which is due not only to the content but also to the bar in the performance space.
In addition to Karttunen herself, five dancers from Helsinki Dance Company and four guest dancers hired through Zodiak will be seen on stage. The dancers in the performance are Auri Ahola, Anne Hiekkaranta, Jyrki Karttunen, Jyrki Kasper, Aksinja Lommi, Heidi Naakka, Mikko Paloniemi, Justus Pienmunne, Kalle Pulkkinen (TeaK) and Kaisa Torkkel.
In addition to Karttunen, the artistic design team of the work includes director Heidi Räsänen, composer and sound designer Tuomas Fränti, lighting designer and set designer Jukka Huitila and costume designer Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila.
Jemina – The Great American Show 22.3.–8.4.2017 at the Cable Factory’s Pannuhalli (Tallberginkatu 1)
Tickets 15 – 30 € (incl. pm)
Further information:
Helsinki City Theatre, Communications Officer Kaisa Pelkonen, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 5523788
Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Communications Officer Piia Ahonen, piia.ahonen@zodiak.fi, 09-3154 4729