HZ

Hz (2022) is Tero Saarinen Company’s new group piece by choreographer Johanna Nuutinen. The audience will deep dive into sound waves – to a zone where hearing becomes experiencing. In Hz, underwater sound pollution acts as a metaphor for the sensory stimuli of the modern world.

When Hz premiered at Tanssin Talo’s Erkko Hall on 31 March 2022 as apart of a double bill, it was the first piece commissioned for Tero Saarinen Company by another choreographer.

‘Noise … is both a thing and a relationship between things.’
– Aaron Cassidy ja Aaron Einbond, 2013

“In terms of dance, Hz was top-notch. The dancers were like finely-tuned instruments, with every part of their body reacting sensitively to the surrounding sounds.”

- Demokraatti (Finland), 2022

”Hz is divided into sections in which different bodily impulses are interpreted by five brilliant dancers, who express their presence intensively.”

- Turun Sanomat (Finland), 2022

“In Hz, [Nuutinen's] movement language feels overwhelmingly delicious and enjoyable, the dancers impress. -- There is a sensitivity in the skin itself and a deep humanity in the dancers.”

- Hufvudstadsbladet (Finland), 2022

”The dancers were completely present, responding sensitively to the stimuli of the sounds”

- Rondo, 2022

Origins of the work

‘Noise … disrupts the organization of the organs. It transforms the organs into a thousand ears, the ears into a vibrating, fluttering drum skin.’
– 
Marie Thompson, 2012

Water transfers the vibrations of sound much more effectively than air. Soundwaves concretely move the water and all being in the water and made out of water. We are water and of water: on average 60% of the human body is water and before their birth humans spend nine months in water. In water sound quality becomes movement quality. Sound can move, tear, shake and soothe us on a cellular level.

Hz brings the viewer-experiencer in the middle of the sound creating a strong kinesthetic, auditory and visual experience through virtuosic dance, expansive visuality and deeply moving soundscape. The creative team consists of both Nuutinen’s long-term collaborators and new acquaintances. At the core of the creative team are composer and sound designer Tuomas Norvio, scenographer Joonas Tikkanen, fashion artist and costume designer Mert Otsamo, dramaturg Jarkko Lehmus and dance artists Natasha Lommi, Elina Häyrynen, Saida Solla, Eero Vesterinen and Riccardo Zandona.

Hz

Choreographer Johanna Nuutinen
Composer and Sound designer Tuomas Norvio
Scenographer (set and lighting) Joonas Tikkanen
Costume designer Mert Otsamo
Dramaturg Jarkko Lehmus
Rehearsal Director Satu Halttunen

Dance | Elina Häyrynen, Natasha Lommi / Sofia Ruija, Saida Solla / Minttu Pietilä, Eero Vesterinen / Mikko Lampinen, Riccardo Zandonà

Promo photos by Jonas Lundqvist
Stage photos by Kai Kuusisto

Duration
40 minutes
Premiere
31 March, 2022, Dance House Helsinki, Finland
Production
Production Tero Saarinen Company in collaboration with Johanna Nuutinen +CO

HZ | HUNT: Digital evening programme

The spring season’s digital evening programme includes never-before-seen footage that takes you on a tour behind the scenes! Get to know the two works of the double bill and read the essay by cultural journalist Suna Vuori on why contemporary dance needs its classics. You can easily access the content, designed especially for mobile devices and tablets, from the link below.

Download the evening programme