Female Energy in Kiasma Theatre

Female energy in the Kiasma Theatre

Big names of Finnish performing arts dominate the Kiasma Theatre’s spring season. February sees the premiere of Punainen-Red-Rouge, a solo work by Sanna Kekäläinen, and in April the repertoire is enhanced by the brainchild of Cris af Enehielm, Kalevala Generator. Kiasma magazine interviewed Kekäläinen and Enehielm on their future performances.

Kalevala as a powerhouse

Kalevala Generator is a stage collage consisting of movement, sound, images and action. The performers are experienced women, who are united in being pioneers of experimental performing arts. The cast includes Idalotta Backman, Cris af Enehielm, Elina Hurme, Sue Lemström, Tarja Nyberg, Seija Metsärinne, Janice Redman and Riitta Vainio. The convener of the group and the mother of the idea, Cris af Enehielm, artist, set designer, musician and art pedagogue, talks about the starting points of the work.

Where did you get the idea for the work?

I teach and direct a lot, and have not performed in a long time. I thought that it was high time to dance now, while I still have legs that move. I was fascinated by the choreographer Sasha Pepelyaev’s grotesque performances, which I felt very close to. I also like his way of creating dance performances with people who are not professional dancers. I am tired of the dominance of men and young women in professional dance. For this project, I sought women in their late 40s or early 50s, whose bodies already have some character. I want to see a dance performance with not only well-groomed, sleek people and I also want to demonstrate the power of older performers.

How did you choose the performers?

I admire the artistic work of all these women. They have experience outside institutional theatres, in the free art scene, which has not been the easiest way. Yet they all have survived and retained their anarchism. Furthermore, they are all familiar with multidisciplinary work. I also wanted to have expressive bodies of different sizes and looks. Performers with charismatic faces or gestures. The people who were selected for the performance are dramatic talents, all with their own individual view of art.

Are you not afraid of clashes between these strong, independent and experienced women performers?

If clashes do occur, that will only be interesting. I am used to working in clash-prone improvisation groups.

How is your co-operation with the Russian director Sasha Pepelyaev?

I think he will create a rich visual world, which will use multimedia art. He will also design the set and costumes. He has an astonishing ability to create illusion. I am sure that he will work with us, the performers, through improvisation and dramatic methods.

Where do the performance’s subject matter and themes come from? Why Kalevala?

We were thinking about how Finnish women differ from the Russian conception of women. What first sprang to mind was that Finnish women are more masculine or androgynous. Then we began to think about the women in Kalevala and about Kalevala on a more general level. About the fact that such a rich and imaginative world had been created at a time of poverty and bleakness. In our performance, the bleakness is perhaps evident in the bodies, which are already in pain. It will be interesting to see the interpretation a Russian man gives to Kalevala.

Seeing red

In her piece Puna-Red-Rouge, Sanna Kekäläinen explores the links between general and private experiences. Her contemporary dance solo premieres in February.

What is the story behind the name?

As a colour, red is strong and inspires powerful feelings. It is associated with public and private experiences, political history and sexuality. My solo draws parallels between profoundly private things and public and shared things. My own memories and personal experiences extend to take on political meaning. It is about a small individual and the longing for love in relation to globalisation and the power of money. I began work on this piece with a six-month period of writing, which is exceptional for me. On a metaphorical level, the name also contains the idea of language immersion. I wanted to see how deep into the movement I can get when I have a finished text and idea.

How is your piece political?

I want to take a stand on the unfairness of the world. It is shocking to see the current division into east and west, north and south, rich and poor, A- and B-class citizens.
I have thought of how very private things experienced in the body can be linked to broader contexts. For instance, I think that the importance of intimacy as a physical experience concerns individuals as well as states. The opposite of intimacy is then violence: abusive terror, ethnic cleansing or a state of war. Art is a way of inspiring insights. I want to stress the possibility of discovering shared opportunities as opposed to division and isolation.

What is the significance of being a woman for your work?

Men and women live in a different public reality. It is upsetting to realise how short a time in history woman artists have been able to do what they want. As recently as 100 years ago, women artists found it extremely difficult to get anything published. And you still run into trouble if you do not do things on men’s terms and from their perspective. It’s OK to be a feminist in Finland, if you stay in your own closed circle and do not come out in the open with your ideas. Supporting art by women is one of my missions.

What is the significance of contemporary dance?

As a form of art, contemporary dance has potential and is evolving. It combines several things to make a fascinating whole. My great passion is to find out how to instil as much information and thought as possible into movement. I am convinced that movement can be as accurate a tool for communication and expressing the mind as any other form of communication.

What is your relationship to the visual?

Puna-Red-Rouge has a clear visual world that is infused with meaning. The visual aspects are a way of thinking for me, just like everything else in the piece. This time Heli Rekula, with whom I have earlier often collaborated with photographs, is also represented as video artist. The video adds the themes of absence and presence.

-Jonna Strandberg