Description
Women Staring at Walls is a duet conceived and directed by Nina Viitamäki, with choreography created both from pre-developed material and improvised sequences during performance, in collaboration with dancer Satu Rekola.
The piece draws inspiration from the state of being so absorbed in one’s thoughts that everything else fades away. For example, in public transport or cafés, we sometimes stare blankly ahead, lost in thoughts, memories, or plans. We see nothing concrete — only our inner landscape. We stare at the wall as if it were a blank canvas. Until...
Rekola and Viitamäki are experienced, strong, yet vulnerable humorists. Inspired by each other and their audience, they throw their bodies into a world where self-importance and rationality dissolve. They create a space for the audience to let go of everyday expectations and embrace their own small insanities.
Lean back, stare ahead, and let your mind wander.
Choreographic direction: Nina Viitamäki
Dance: Satu Rekola and Nina Viitamäki
Lighting design: Liisa Kyrönseppä
Sound design: Johanna Storm
Music: The White Stripes “Conquest”, Kate Bush “Moments of Pleasure”, Prince “D.M.S.R.”, Atoms For Peace “Reverse Running”, and DJ Kridlokk “Ikinä Kii”
Premiere: KokoTeatteri, 21 August 2021
Production: Samuel Huber Art Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, and Vantaa Dance Institute
Liisa Kyrönseppä graduated as a lighting designer from the Theatre Academy in 1997 and has also studied architectural lighting at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. She has worked as a freelancer in opera, contemporary dance, and environmental art, and spent ten years as the resident lighting designer at Kiasma Theatre. Her long-time collaborators include composer Kaija Saariaho, visual artist Raija Malka, and director Ilari Nummi. “For me, lighting design is about space, play, and improvisation during the process. I enjoy working independently, but always as part of a group.”
Satu Rekola graduated with a Master’s degree in Dance from the Theatre Academy in 2003 and has since worked full-time as a freelance dance artist. She has collaborated with artists such as Simo Kellokumpu, Sanna Kekäläinen, Ulla Koivisto, Liisa Pentti, Petri Kekoni, Tino Sehgal, Russell Dumas, and Hiroaki Umeda. Rekola danced with Arja Raatikainen Company from 2006 to 2014 and has performed with Helsinki City Theatre Dance Company, Tanssiteatteri Minimi, and Hurjaruuth. Central to her artistic work are ontological questions arising from within dance itself — what is embodiment and bodily knowledge? How are the body and perception anchors of existence?
Johanna Storm graduated from the Theatre Academy’s Department of Lighting and Sound Design. She has worked as a sound designer for numerous stage productions, video works, and exhibitions, including at the Finnish National Theatre, Q Theatre, Kiasma Theatre, and Zodiak – Center for New Dance. In 2014, she received the Äänisäde Award from SVÄL for her sound design in The King Is Dying at the Finnish National Theatre.
Nina Viitamäki graduated with a Master’s degree in Dance from the Theatre Academy in 1997 and has since worked as a freelance dance artist, mainly in the Helsinki area. She has performed in works by various choreographers (including Soile Lahdenperä, Joona Halonen, Deborah Hay, Alpo Aaltokoski, Mia Malviniemi, Ari Numminen, and Sanna Kekäläinen) and as a guest dancer with Liisa Pentti + Co from 2003 to 2018. She has also acted in plays directed by Cris af Enehielm, Esa Kirkkopelto, and Ville Sandqvist, and created her own choreographic works, presented for instance at the Full Moon Dance Festival and Zodiak – Center for New Dance. For Viitamäki, dance is an integral part of her identity and way of life. She thrives on challenges and is fully committed to her work — her curiosity about the moving body is endless.
