Carlson first decided to reinterpret Blue Lady several years ago. A choreographer who rarely revisits her own repertoire, it was not a process she has undertaken many times during her career.
Gradually Carlson had the idea of switching the soloist’s role to a male dancer. She was fascinated by Japanese culture and in particular the traditional theatre form of Kabuki. Her idea was inspired by the onnagata figures, the cross-dressed male actors who play women’s roles.
She wanted to find a dancer who could bring a particularly expressive ambivalence to Blue Lady and her choice fell on Tero Saarinen, whose distinctive body and androgynous appearance had first struck her years ago when she was a guest choreographer at the Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki. The two have collaborated many times since. Carlson has among other things created two original solos for Saarinen: Travelling (1998) and Man in a Room (2000).
Through their origins, Carolyn Carlson and Tero Saarinen share a Finnish soul founded on distance from reality, unpredictability and irony. Their distinctive relationship with reality forms an integral part of Blue Lady.
The original inspirations for the piece were Venice and Carolyn Carlson’s entry into motherhood. This event profoundly changed her consciousness of the world and of existence. When the work was in the planning stage, Carolyn Carlson also visited a psychiatric hospital in Venice and was especially affected by the anxiety and suspicion she saw in the eyes of the mentally ill patients.
Tero Saarinen’s interpretation draws heavily on this dimension, as well as on the theme of recollection. In a world shrouded in Venetian melancholy, Tero Saarinen’s movements and body become a vehicle for memories.