Review: Kuka pelkää tappajahaita

HDC’s killer shark scares as it should

The floor is black, the light is dim. The dancers sit in chairs in their black suits with combat boots on their heads. Agonizing waiting.

Helsinki Dance Company’s performance Who’s Afraid of the Killer Sharks manages to take the audience into the mood that choreographer Joona Halonen says in his description of the performance.

He states that he looks at life “through fear-sensitized activity”. Halonen is assisted by Vesa Ellilä’s lighting design and Tuuli Kyttälä’s oppressive yet twistedly enjoyable music and soundscape.

In the performance, which lasts less than an hour, dancers Sofia Hilli, Heidi Naakka, Sofia Ylinen, Kai Lähdesmäki, Guillermo Sarduy and Eero Vesterinen dance intensely through breathtakingly heavy choreography.

One of the most spectacular moments of the performance is the scene where the movement of the dancers leaves traces of white chalk on the black floor. The threat is present all the time.

On the other hand, the costumes and dramaturgy of the performance remain a bit simplistic. The humour typical of the group’s performances is conspicuous by its absence, even though Halonen may have intended otherwise at some points.