Review: no-no

Physical frenzy

Like a string of pearls that has been hidden for a long time, Kenneth Kvarnström’s dance piece no-no. Did you remember how perfect it is? Each pearl shimmers and as it warms up on the skin, the color turns slightly reddish.
12 years of maturation has been good. Few changes have been made, but in the meantime, the company has undergone changes in dancers and it has been enlarged from the composition of the original work. Above all, however, the world around us has changed. People are increasingly sensitive to other cultures, and they are more and more curious about religiosity in the broader sense of the word.

The choreography, which breathes oriental influences, music and religious rituals, captivates the audience from the very first minutes. The tempo at the beginning is lingering and as such almost hypnotizing. The movement language is extremely polished, natural and fluid. Acrobatics are essential to it, also in many beautiful and sensual lifts that strengthen the inner tension of the work.

The play of lights and shadows works on stage not only in skilful lighting, but above all in the dance itself; From an open space to a veiled one, from darkness to freedom.

The choreographer can also be seen borrowing his vocabulary directly from nature, the way animals move and survive.
As the rite intensifies, the group seeks communal ecstasy and produces an almost ecstatic experience for the viewers. The strongly aerobic part is long and requires “windmill-like” use of the limbs and an elastic core.

No-no , it doesn’t tell a story, but a hunch of stories. It can detect a hint of murder that has the character of a sacrificial or sentence ritual, but it is quickly dismissed. Death as such is treated with respect, unhurried and sincerely beautiful sacredness.

A dance work that has contemplative qualities may not be a rarity, but it limits the image of the creator more clearly. Kenneth Kvarnström from Karjaa is a choreographer who is known around the world. The fact that an artistically high-quality production can also be used to predict the creator’s inner growth, that, if anything, is remarkable.