Iris
9 SEPT | 18:30 - 19:30
The National Dance Center in Bucharest - Stere Popescu
Bvd. Marasesti, nr. 80-82
Choreographer | Johanna Nuutinen
Film Script | Johanna Nuutinen, Jukka Rajala-Granstubb
Cinematographer | Jukka Rajala-Granstubb
Performers on stage | Jonna Aaltonen and Eero Vesterinen
Composers | Tuomas Norvio, Tapani Rinne
Light Designer | Joonas Tikkanen
Costume Designer | Minttu Vesala
Directed by Finnish choreographer Johanna Nuutinen in collaboration with filmmaker Jukka Rajala-Granstubb, the multidisciplinary work IRIS explores the themes of strength, desire, and survival through the mediums of dance and film.
It weaves together the mesmerising live performance of two internationally renowned Finnish dance artists, Jonna Aaltonen and Eero Vesterinen, with six short films that include performances from top artists of the Finnish and Swedish dance and circus field.
The work results from the interviews of 17 people in their 80s to 90s, which started with the question of what they want to speak about when there is not much life left to live anymore, and which type of memories have been the most meaningful. The result is distilled into five surrealistic stories which create a journey traveling between the sensitive stage scenery and raw landscapes on film.
“Identity, metamorphosis and the durational aspect of a performance are topics I very often find myself exploring. I´m interested in multidisciplinary collaborations and I like to mix dance, visual art, film and photography in order to create multidimensional worlds. With my works I desire to offer a visceral journey which shakes your emotions, wakes up your kinaesthetic empathy and makes you question and see the subject at hand in a new light.”
Johanna Nuutinen (FI)
Johanna Nuutinen began her career as a member of the Finnish National Ballet, dancing soloist parts in works by Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jacobo Godani, Sylvie Guillem, John Neumeier, Jorma Elo and Jorma Uotinen among others, as well as created her own productions to the stage and on film. In 2017 Johanna received a 3 year artist grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and at the moment she works as a freelance artist. In 2013 Johanna created a short dance film ME – The Story of a Performance in collaboration with filmmakers Jopsu and Timo Ramu (MUSUTA Ltd.). So far the film has been presented at over 40 international dance and design film festivals . Her solo production HATCHED is also becoming an international success having been premiered in Hong Kong and continued touring in Russia and Finland. In 2017 she premiered two new works - IRIS and ROOM.