although she is overshadowed by the popularity of Finnish composers such
as Kaija Saariaho, Magnus Lindberg, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Kekäläinen’s
works are not something one goes to see because of instant gratification,
easy wittiness, or comfortability. One goes to see Kekäläinen’s works like one
goes to therapy or to court. The purpose is not to be entertained, but to get
to the truth.
From a layperson’s point of view, Kekäläinen’s artistic practice approaches
romantic and sublime ideals: she is one of the exemplary artists of our time.
From Kekäläinen’s own point of view, the work of an artist is much more
banal and profane: “I don’t mystify the life of the artist and I don’t consider it
to be eccentric compared to other modes of existence. I made the decision to
pursue this path in life so early on that it has been carved deep in my identity,”
she explains. But even if she understands art as one vocation among others,
it is apparently possible only through extraordinary effort. “It’s a difficult
line of work, in which you have to bear a great deal of uncertainty,” she says.
“But I don’t feel that it amounts to a threat or a gamble, not really.”
And yet my respect for Kekäläinen’s work has a lot to do with this courage.
In her view, “It also depends on what world a person was born into. You
have to be crazy enough and rational enough. You have to be vulnerable, and
also to have had enough positive experiences. Somehow there has to be this
damned psychological contradiction in a human being before art can happen.”
In the 1980s Kekälälinen studied at the London School of Contemporary
Dance. In 1986 she helped to found Zodiak Presents, now the Zodiak-Center
for New Dance in Helsinki. In 1996 she founded K&C Kekäläinen & Company,
which she still directs. - OLLI AHLROOS
Excerpts of PASSION (2016) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
Excerpts of PRIVATE - Narcissism remix (2014) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
Excerpts of If I Would Lose My Voice (2020) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
IF I WOULD LOSE MY VOICE
About humankind’s irreversible effect on the biosphere
If I Would Lose My Voice, a brand new production by Kekäläinen & Company, is an extraordinary display of humanity’s impact on Earth’s transformation. It is a thought-provoking piece about the state of the world, and how the actions of humankind are affecting nature more than ever before.
In recent years, it has become commonly accepted that the Earth has shifted into an entirely new era, the Anthropocene, in which human beings have become the driving force affecting the world’s ecosystems, geology and climate. With her new stage piece for the Finnish National Theatre, Sanna Kekäläinen creates an fictive constellation in which this new era can be envisioned and imagined through artistic work.
The stage of the Finnish National theatre is where things begin to unfold. The situation is threatening, there is something unsettling and irrevocable about the event. We have exploited the world and slowly, because of this, a new Earth has come alive under us, with new soil, new waters, new rivers and zones. This new Earth has begun to move, to tremble, react and froth: the Earth is revolting.
If I Would Lose My Voice is a piece consisting of two independent parts commenting on each other. The first part is named Voice and the second is My Friend Ed.
Sanna Kekäläinen is the founder of Kekäläinen & Company and an undisputed pioneer of Finnish contemporary dance. During her career she has created more than 70 stage productions that have been presented both nationally and abroad. With the piece If I Would Lose My Voice she moves on from her autofictive work tackling gender politics to a new form of fictional reality.
https://pragmahelsinki.fi/portfolio/kekalainen-company/
Excerpts of VIERAS - FRÄMLING - STRANGER (2019) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
Excerpts of Hullut 2018 from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
Excerpts of Autuaiden lauluja - Songs of the Blissful (1994) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
Excerpts of White and Silent Cries (1989) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
Excerpts of My Sword has 7 Edges and 3 Knots (1992) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
Excerpts of Kuuhullut - Moondrunk (1994) from Kekäläinen & Company on Vimeo.
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