Description
NOTICE: Dance professionals (15€) and dance students (10€) tickets can only be booked directly from the dance center producer via email: reija.penttinen@pohjanmaantanssi.fi.
A Fistful of Funk is a performance combining street dance, absurd theatre, and live music. It explores male friendship and themes of masculinity through play, humour, and virtuosic street dance.
The piece follows a group of lonely cowboys on an epic journey across the desert, where 1970s funk dance meets a text by playwright Juho Keränen. The work draws inspiration from the toxic machismo and hypermasculinity of Sergio Leone’s western films.
Locking is a dance style that originated in the 1970s among African Americans on the U.S. West Coast. It is characterised by sharp stops, groovy steps, and acrobatic moves. The performance delves into one of the core elements of Locking: character — the dancer’s unique persona and expressive quality. Through playful characters and humour, the piece explores alternative masculine expressions while highlighting each performer’s distinctive style and personality.
Will Funk For Food is one of Finland’s most internationally successful street dance crews, founded in 2008 and specialising in the Locking style. The group promotes its dance form in Finland and works to establish street dance as part of the country’s cultural scene — bringing joy and energy to audiences of all ages. Their achievements include three consecutive Finnish Championship gold medals and performances in Japan, France, and across the Baltic in Sweden.
The work is produced for the Ostrobothnia Dances festival in collaboration with Ritz Skafferiet rf.
Team
On stage: Akim Bakhtaoui, Wilhelm Blomberg, Jeffrey Kam and Sebastian Kurtén
Choreography: Will Funk For Food
Performers: Akim Bakhtaoui, Wilhelm Blomberg, Jeffrey Kam
Sound design, musician: Sebastian Kurtén
Dramaturgy, text, voice-over and direction of spoken scenes: Juho Keränen
Costume design: Antrea Kantakoski
Lighting design: Jaakko Sirainen
Set design: Oscar Dempsey
Production: Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Wilhelm Blomberg, Akim Bakhtaoui, Nordic Soul ry
Photographer: Jussi Ulkuniemi
