Transit

Tero Saarinen‘s latest large-scale choreography examines our relationship with nature. The creation is set to Stonework (2015), Drifts (2016–17) and Water Atlas (2018) by composer Sebastian Fagerlund. The trilogy is combined with the spatial sound design of Tuomas Norvio, known for his imaginative work in electronic music.

The stage design centers on a dialog between an animated film installation by visual artist duo IC-98 and the lighting design by Minna Tiikkainen. This is the first time IC-98’s internationally praised work is seen in performing arts. The black and white video is based on material hand-drawn by pencil. Costume designer Teemu Muurimäki brings even more layers to the work as the dancers in a sense shed away their skin in an effort to unveil a new future.

Transit will have its Finnish Premiere at Helsinki Festival. Tero Saarinen Company’s 25th anniversary season will take place at the Cable Factory on 19–21 August, 2021.

NB! There is a limited audience capacity on sale for now due to restrictions in Helsinki. If the regulations ease, more tickets will be released later in the summer!

Duration

80 minutes, no intermission

Premiere

October 3, 2020, Malmö Opera, Sweden

Production

Skånes Dansteater (Sweden) with Tero Saarinen Company

”Gesamtkunstwerk - simultaneously disturbing and hopeful”

- SYDSVENSKAN

“Cleverly executed [...] vibrates with energy”

- SKÅNSKA DAGBLADET

”Frighteningly beautiful — mixes the classical with the experimental.”

- KRISTIANSTADSBALDET

“Dystopia with hope for change”

- DANSTIDNINGEN

Choreographer's Note

“Humankind is destroying nature. And at the same time, we are severely distancing ourselves from our own bodies and our surroundings. However, we are all part of the flora and fauna and thus deeply interconnected. I believe us dancers and choreographers have a special sensitivity, a heightened ability – even responsibility – to perceive and transmit certain vibrational frequencies that live within us all.

Transit is a frantically performed ritual, a fight for survival and change. Although it talks of erosion and destruction, it also has a strong message of a new possibility rising from the ashes. It is time for us to reconnect with nature.

Having the privilege of working with a large ensemble has given me the possibility to use versatile micro-macro dynamics in my choreography: To zoom in and out while scrutinizing the troubled relationship between us humans and the nature.

The video installation by IC-98 serves as a sort of architectural ’bassline’ for the whole creation. Like the nature that surrounds us, it is a constant presence that evolves slowly. A somewhat cinematic audiovisual experience is created on stage when it is combined with all the other elements and rhythms.”

– Tero Saarinen

Listen to Episode #7 of Dancepod by Skånes Dansteater! Samuel Denton discusses the themes and the creative process in depth with Tero Saarinen.

About the music and sound design

Transit begins with the middle part of composer Sebastian Fagerlund’s trilogy, Drifts. An initially slowly evolving piece, alluding to formations created by weather, wind and water. The piece Stonework is inspired by rock formations in nature and stone constructions erected by humans around the world, guiding landmarks or ritual sites. About the final part, Water Atlas, Fagerlund has written:

”The main inspirational starting point for the work was the abstract thought of water as an element; its endless and ancient cycle of circulation, evaporation and rain. A cycle which is currently under constant threat due to pollution and climate change.

Finishing the trilogy made me realize how much I in my orchestral music have drawn from Nordic nature. The grand Finnish archipelago and sea with its vast open views as well as the islands with their raw, primary rock continues to provide me with endless inspiration.”

Tuomas Norvio’s sound design is in constant discourse with Fagerlund’s work. Drawing inspiration from the music, IC-98’s sketches and other physical elements on stage, Norvio’s spatial sound design bows to the profoundness of a vast, rugged landscape. Together with Fagerlund’s compositions and Saarinen’s choreography it plays with the micro and the macro. Norvio’s electronic soundscapes aim to emphasize a human being’s internal, mental and physical transit.

Creative team

Choreographer & Concept
Tero Saarinen

Composer
Sebastian Fagerlund

Video Designers
IC-98

Lighting Designer
Minna Tiikkainen

Costume Designer
Teemu Muurimäki

Sound Designer
Tuomas Norvio

Choreographer's Assistant, Dancer
David Scarantino

Rehearsal Director
Satu Halttunen

Rehearsal Director
Henrikki Heikkilä

Dancer
Jenna Broas

Dancer
Elina Häyrynen

Dancer
Oskari Kymäläinen

Dancer
Mikko Lampinen

Dancer
Natasha Lommi

Dancer (Dance Theatre Minimi)
Mikko Makkonen

Dancer (The Finnish National Ballet Youth Company)
Nanny Hedberg

Dancer (The Finnish National Ballet Youth Company)
Taru Hiitola

Dancer (The Finnish National Ballet Youth Company)
Edoardo Pavoni

Dancer (The Finnish National Ballet Youth Company)
Edith Stenvall

Transit

Choreography & Concept: Tero Saarinen
Music: Sebastian Fagerlund (Drifts, Stonework, Water Atlas)
Video: IC-98: Visa Suonpää, Patrik Söderlund
Lighting design: Minna Tiikkainen
Costume design: Teemu Muurimäki
Sound design: Tuomas Norvio
Choreographer’s Assistant: David Scarantino
Rehearsal Directors: Satu Halttunen, Henrikki Heikkilä
Animators: Kari Kuusela, Markus Lepistö

Dance | TSC dancers Jenna Broas, Elina Häyrynen, Oskari Kymäläinen, Mikko Lampinen, Natasha Lommi, Emmi Pennanen, Sofia Ruija, David Scarantino, Saida Solla, Jing-Yi Wang plus Mikko Makkonen (Dance Theatre Minimi) and Nanny Hedberg/Taru Hiitola and Edoardo Pavoni/Edith Stenvall (Finnish National Ballet Youth Company)

Finnish premiere at Merikaapelihalli (The Cable Factory, Helsinki) at Helsinki Festival on 19 August, 2021. Production by Tero Saarinen Company.

With thanks to Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, The City of Helsinki, The Ministry of Education and Culture Finland

World premiere at Malmö Opera on 3 October, 2020. Production by Skånes Dansteater and Tero Saarinen Company.

Performance photos: Skånes Dansteater / Carl Thorborg

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Choreographer's Note

About the music and sound design

Creative team

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