Westward Ho!
Creative team
Tero Saarinen
Mikki Kunttu
Henrikki Heikkilä
Saku Koistinen
Carl Knif
Pekka Louhio
Heikki Vienola
Mikko Lampinen
David Scarantino
Creative process
Westward Ho! was influenced by American artist Laurie Anderson’s lyrics:
“There is no pure land now.
No safe place.
And we stand here on the pier,
Watching you drown.”
Westward Ho!
Choreography Tero Saarinen
Music (Gavin Bryars, Jesus blood never failed me yet; Moondog, The Message)
Lighting and set design Mikki Kunttu
Costume design Tero Saarinen
“…the troupe, with three powerful male dancers, should return soon. -- Like much Finnish design, Westward Ho! was striking in its sense of color and composition, focused on clarity of line. Add the force of controlled energy, channeled into repeated geometric shapes and occasionally erupting into whiplash twists and turns.---“
– The New York Times, Anna Kisselgoff, February 24, 1998 (USA)
“-- Westward Ho! by Tero Saarinen is a jewel from Finland, a real poem danced in a light of aurora borealis. -- Tero Saarinen is both great and modest at the same time. He nourishes an intense inner life. In this second part of the festival in Cannes, the light comes from the north.”
– Les Saisons de la Danse, Bernard Raffalli, February, 1998 (France)
“-- The (Helsinki) festival presents the terrific dancer and hot young choreographer Tero Saarinen and his Company Toothpick -- Every time the men interject a sharp movement, or one breaks away, or two touch, it's a major event. The piece has an almost faultless dance logic.”
– The Village Voice, Deborah Jowitt, September 16, 1997 (Canada)
Cable Factory
Tallberginkatu 1E, 3rd floor
Postal address: Tallberginkatu 1 / 74
FIN-00180 Helsinki Finland
Tel: +358(0)9 681 31 881
Email: info(at)terosaarinen.com