UNARMED
Kädetön - Unarmed a performance that combines dance, sound and spatial art. It reflects on the feeling of privilege when one is unaware what to do to "heal the world". The starting theme of the piece has been the sense that it is impossible to affect any societal change. The performance reflects on being unarmed as a condition and its movement research started from hands being passive or active, both metaphorically and physically.
The dance premiere is first of its kind at Kokkola's Ykspihlaja community house, in connection with the Culture Week in July 2023. The group of artists are invited by the local Ykspihlajan Työväennäyttämö association (rooted in the workers theater tradition).
"Kädettömyys" insensitively describes helplessness (in the body). The Finnish term "käsi" translates to "arm", and through this the English title to unarmed or disarmed, but in its artistic research the working group does not examine their so-called position from the point of view of becoming a victim, but from the point of view of privilege. What is the societal control that makes one feel unarmed, even though contemplating societal influence and agency itself reveals certain privileges?
The work has a somewhat cynical relationship with the world, where the well-off seek their influential place at the levels of psychology, politics, and spirituality, among others. Childlike anger stems from the feelings of helplessness of an individual Nordic person, in the midst of a large and global capitalist machinery of injustice, where, for example, Nordic citizens may have a better chance of eventually ending up on the side of the recipients.
Somewhere, however, there is a genuine dream of being able to make a difference.
Convening, choreography and performance: dance artist Eleni Pierides (Kokkola)
Choreography and performance in collaboration: dance artist Taneli Törmä (Copenhagen)
Sound art, design and composition: Esa M. Mattila (Rovaniemi)
Daylight design, spatial design, costume design: Jenni Pystynen (Helsinki)
Costume sewing: Elina Riikonen (Helsinki)
Photo: Clas-Olav Slotte
Supporters: Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Regional Centre for Dance in Ostrobothnia, Ehkä production (residency in 2021)
PERFORMANCES
14-17th of July 2023 Ykspihlaja Culture Week at Kokkola's Ykspihlaja community house. PREMIERE