MAIJA NURMIO

Before the performance at 2 p.m., the audience can participate in a breathing workshop.

 Dark Dances is a dance work for three bodies and the breath that connects us to all living in the universe. 

The work consists of three soloist performances and it addresses questions of identity and belonging to the universe through three different backgrounds and generations of dancers. 

The visually vast and deeply inhaling work focuses on dismantling our inner world and corporal history through breathing which is the fundamental indicator of humane sensuality and vulnerability. It grasps hold of the innate and absorbed contradictions, the touch of darkness and breathes out a dance. 

Viewers are welcome to take part in a breathing workshop that tunes into Dark Dances one hour prior to the performance. Book your place for the workshop before 19th of May via email liput@tanssivirtaa.net. 

Age recommendation 13+
Duration 60 minutes

Dance Jonna Eiskonen, Marlon Moilanen & Ervi Sirén 
Choreography Maija Nurmio 
Costume Design Kirsi Gum 
Sound Design Miikka Ahlman 
Original Lightning & Set Design Heikki Paasonen 
Production Maija Nurmio & Kulttuuritila Merirasti 
Original Production Esitystaiteen seura & Kiasma
Photos Kansallisgalleria / Petri Virtanen 
Premiere 27.3.2024 Kiasma-teatteri, Helsinki 

Maija Nurmio (b. 1979, Turku) is a Helsinki-based choreographer and dancer. Over the past two decades Maija has generated an extensive body of work that explores corporeality and the access to corporeal information and depth, often pausing to meditate on the human condition, questions of life and death, and the relations between human and non-human. Maija’s choreographies have been performed at venues such as Helsinki’s Kiasma Theatre, Mad House and the Finnish National Theatre, Barker Theatre (Turku), Vaba Lava (Tallinn), St. Paul’s Church (Limerick), Uferstudios (Berlin) and The Place (London), as well as in prisons and Finnish SOS Children’s Villages. 

Jonna Eiskonen (b. 1977, Espoo) has over 20 years of experience as a performer across dance, theatre and performance art. Jonna’s employers include Maija Nurmio, Liisa Risu, Ervi Sirén, Arja Raatikainen & Co., Alpo Aaltokoski Company, Kekäläinen & Company, Petri Kekoni, Teemu Mäki, Jenni Kivelä, Terhi Vaimala, Jyrki Karttunen, Tommi Kitti, Glims & Gloms, KATVE [blind spot] Company and The Center for Everything. For the last eight years Jonna has been an active member of the multidisciplinary, multicultural Chekhov Machine collective. 

Marlon Moilanen (b. 1993, Helsinki) is a dance artist based in Helsinki. Performing mainly in contemporary dance productions, Marlon approaches his work through body experiences, performativity and human contradictions. Recently Marlon has collaborated with choreographers Sonja Jokiniemi, Sonya Lindfors, Margrét Sara Guðjónsdóttir and Karolina Ginman. 

Ervi Sirén (b. 1948, Riihimäki) has been shaping Finnish contemporary dance since the 1970s as a choreographer, dancer and pedagogue. In 1998–2007 she was a dance professor at the Theatre Academy, and in 2010–11 the house choreographer at Zodiak – Center for New Dance. She was awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal in 2000 and the State Prize for Dance in 2001. 

Miikka Ahlman (b. 1978, Karstula) is a multitalented artist with 20 years of experience across performance, dance, sound, visual arts, video, photography, graphic design and music. Miikka has collaborated with Kiasma, Ateneum, Mänttä Art Festival, Forum Box, Zodiak, Routa Company, the National Theatre, the city theatres of Helsinki, Joensuu, Kajaani and Rovaniemi, Vanha Juko Theatre, Viirus Theatre, Tampere Theatre Festival, music festivals such as Ruisrock, Ilosaarirock, Flow Festival, Sideways, Provinssi and Pori Jazz, as well as with Heureka Science Centre, Yle and Suomen Kuvalehti. 

Kirsi Gum (b. 1980, Helsinki) is a costume artist based in Helsinki. With an MA in costume design from Aalto University, Kirsi has two decades of credits running from film and television through theatre, dance and opera to commercial projects. Kirsi worked as costume designer for Yle in 2021–23. 

Heikki Paasonen (b. 1976, Turku) is a Helsinki-based lighting designer with studies at the Theatre Academy and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Often embracing minimalism in his scenic and sound designs, Heikki has worked extensively in contemporary dance projects with choreographers and creators such as Maija Hirvanen, Sonja Jokiniemi, Anna Mustonen, Elina Pirinen, Eeva Muilu, Liisa Pentti, Sanna Kekäläinen and Deborah Hay. In 2012 Heikki was the recipient of the Säde Award for Lighting Design, as well as the Finland Prize from the Ministry of Education and Culture.