Waiting for a dance

Moving in November festival at Kiasma features German Felix Ruckert and his group, a reformer of contemporary dance. In the work Secret Service, Kiasma gallery spaces will be altered to become a stage for secret and private services. Virve Sutinen, producer of Kiasma Theatre, relates her experiences.

Renewing dance means asking the old questions again. Ruckert's question is, where does the work take place? Can the audience decide how deep and long the performance is, be active in the creation of the work? The 16-member dance group leads the audience to ponder these questions.

The work Secret Service is, as its name suggests, a secret. Instead of taking their seats, the audience is given queuing numbers. Each viewer personally takes part in the work and decides how close the work can approach them. The viewers need to be courageous enough to let go of their independence. The work has two layers. After the first layer, the viewer can decide whether to proceed to the next level.

Secret Service is different for each viewer, and the performance cannot be viewed as an outsider. The secret of the work can be disclosed only by the one who has experienced it. Virve Sutinen, producer for Kiasma Theatre, took part in the performance in Düsseldorf, at a forum for German contemporary dance. "This work takes place in everyone's personal experience, and it cannot be talked about in general terms. For me, it was one of the most radical dance performances I have experienced," she says. "Experiencing dance with eyes shut was new to me and gave an entirely unique sensation through dance." A confidential tie between the performers and the viewer is created naturally. "I thought I'd let the work happen, and it did."

What is interesting for Sutinen in Ruckert's approach are the methods the artist uses to convey the essence of movement and dance to the audience. "Many forms of dance are very archaic and their deeper meaning lies in their ritualistic nature. In Africa, most dance forms are still community-based. Ruckert aims to convey to the contemporary audience something of such an experience, which is not exclusively for professional dancers."

Ruckert connects directly with the viewer. "Interactiveness and experientiality are much discussed topics both in performing arts and in contemporary art." Sutinen says. "Secret Service is an experience unlike any other, a life-changing piece, which good art often is. It resolves the question, how far can the audience be included in a work? Each viewer has to form their own opinion in this question."

Like many of the most important contemporary dance artists, Felix Ruckert is interested in working outside tradition performance stages. Ruckert is very experienced in his art and has received acclaim, for example, in Pina Bausch's company. The repertoire of his own company includes stage and gallery productions. By taking his works outside the theatre setting, Ruckert examines the "third wall" between the audience and the stage. When there is no stage, the boundary between the performers and audience disappears. At Kiasma, Secret Service breaks out of the confines of Kiasma Theatre to the second-floor exhibition rooms.

In addition to the experiential and personal level, the work discusses large social issues. "The performance is clearly limited to being a description of a service to which you can buy a ticket. This, in fact is the first question the work poses: what is for sale," Virve Sutinen muses.

Liisa Lehmusto