FOLDS
(Poimuja orig.)
Folds is a sprawling but minimalist contemporary dance piece that celebrates lived life honouring women of the past and present and carries forward people's experiences of femininity and artistry in Eastern Finland.
How do the postures of the past come out of the body of the 2020s? In Folds, alone and together, we tend to experience the ways of living the present moment through what has been left in each of our bodies throughout history.
The collectivity of feminine existence is global.
Folds channels what medieval writers called Terra Feminarum, ‘Women’s Land’ (the region of North Karelia and Kainuu). The study and highlighting of the diversity of women is as necessary today as it was more than 1000 years ago.
Exploring the history of Eastern Finland and of women artists through performance is a way to honor and cherish those who came before us. Examining and integrating history into a work that reflects our time helps us to understand ourselves, each other and the present. Particularly in the current world situation, cultivating understanding and empathy and recognising the presence of history, is extremely embodied and extremely important.
The background material and inspiration for the work is the Joensuu Society's published work 'Letters from a Joensuu mother a hundred years ago' and the Kalevala metre, a trochaic tetrameter used in the Finnish national epic Kalevala.
Folds is aimed at all genders and generations. Through visual and aural abstraction, the work conveys emotional and mental states, leaving room for the viewer's own experience. The soundscape of the work depicts a utopian place for women, but also the adversity the conflicting demands women have faced over time. At its best, the work offers the viewer a sense of belonging, a touch of nostalgia, a touch of the past and the opportunity to recognise the presence of history in their own lives.
Folds is not about one person's life or feelings, but about what unites the members of the crew as aging and ageless female, maternal, artistic and human figures. What is utopia for us in the context of womanhood? Do we have a utopia as a community?
The working group of Folds is made up in its entirety of ten artist-women born between the 1960s and 2000s.
FOLDS
Premiere 26.11.2022 at Lonely in the Rain festival, Joensuu, Finland
Artistic direction and realization: Ella Effendy
Choreography: Performers under direction of Ella Effendy
Performers: Jenni Hanikka, Hanna Heino, Mathilda Kauppila, Laura Kärkäs, Anna Olkinuora, Lisa Pälikkö, Katariina Vähäkallio
Sound design: Jenni Hanikka
Lighting design: Anssi Pöyhönen, Kira Moore
Stage technician: Kira Moore
Set & costume design: Kirsi Nisonen
Production assistant: Aino Ojanen
Executive producer: Ella Effendy
Pictures: Tuisku Lehto (up) & Tuomas Salopuro (down)
Part production: Regional Dance Centre of Eastern Finland (ITAK)
Realized with the support of: ITAK, Arts Promotion Centre Finland (TAIKE)
