Performed by Neil Owens, Closing Time is a dance theatre solo about a summer day – and evening – that don’t quite go as planned. The main character is the archetypal Finnish guy, desperately trying to navigate in a haze of alcohol and failed romantic adventures. With its laconic humour and accompanied by the retro tones of Finnish popular dance music, the work is a tragicomic but all too real slice of nightlife under the northern stars.

Closing Time marks the third time Thomas Freundlich has premiered a piece at the Stuttgart Solo Dance Theatre Festival. In 2008 and 2005, his works Futureproof and Dreamcatcher were seen at the festival. Dreamcatcher, danced by Tanja Illukka won two prizes, including the Audience Award at the festival.

This year’s Kedja event is held in Tallinn, Estonia from September 18th to 20th, 2012. For more info, please visit www.kedja.net.

Tuesday August 14th 2012
Thursday August 16th 2012
Tuesday August 21st 2012
Thursday August 23rd 2012

The classes are at 10 am at Taiteen talo in Sörnäinen, Helsinki. More info: www.tanssille.net

In Wakescape, Arja Raatikainen continues her precise observations of society, asking what happens if you stop, close your eyes and point your antennae inwards. The work will premiere at the Full Moon Dance Festival in Pyhäjärvi, Finland on Tuesday July 24th 2012 at 7.30 pm.

In May 2012, Thomas Freundlich premiered a new dance work at Zodiak Centre for New Dance in Helsinki. Human Interface brought together on stage two dancers and two ABB industrial robots. The evening-length work builds on the groundbreaking Actuator project in which Mr. Freundlich danced with an ABB IRB 1600 robot in 2008.

Humans, robots bust a move on YLE News Finland

Dancing with Robots – article on the history of robot choreography by Andra Keay on Robohub.org

“If someone still thinks contemporary dance is a joke, they would do well to make their way to the Pannuhalli stage of the Cable Factory and reconsider their opinion. There, a spectacle awaits: Two real industrial robots and two dancers, along with a world-class stage designer and musician offer an experience reminiscent of James Cameron’s film Avatar (2009). For me, this dance work was more three-dimensional and scarier than the film.”
- Marja Hannula, Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s leading daily newspaper, May 24th 2012
Full review (in Finnish)

The movement of the industrial robots is superhumanly precise yet also surprisingly lifelike, as the two machines become full-fledged dance partners with their human colleagues. Human Interface utilizes the latest industrial technology that allows safe interaction between people and industrial robots in operation.

The spacious post-industrial space of the Pannuhalli stage at Helsinki’s cable factory provided the milieu for a meeting between person and machine, as technological and organic movement blend into a seamless evolutionary whole. The visual design of Human Interface is by acclaimed glass artist/designer/sculptor Markku Salo.

Human Interface
dancing machines, intelligent bodies

Choreography and programming: Thomas Freundlich
Dance: Tanja Kuisma, Thomas Freundlich
Stage design: Markku Salo
Lighting design: Mia Kivinen
Music: Rene Ertomaa
Industrial robots and technical consulting: ABB
Production: Zodiak Center for New Dance, Thomas Freundlich

Tickets 20/12 €
Premiere at Pannuhalli, Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas), Helsinki May 22nd, 2012

Performances 22.5.2012 – 31.5.2012
See also information about the production (in Finnish) at Zodiak.

Photos: Johanna Tirronen, www.kuvaunit.com

The works presented at the Hällä stage are Sonnet 44, North Horizon (co-authored with Valtteri Raekallio) and Step Out (dir. Arja Raatikainen).

The Tanssivirtaa festival runs from April 17th to 22nd 2012. For more info (in Finnish, see www.tanssivirtaa.net)

Freundlich & Raekallio (Photo: Otso Iso-Valkonen)

Helsinki, Finland – March 26th, 2012 – The fifth LOIKKA festival was held succesfully in Helsinki from March 22nd to 25th, 2012. As one of Finland’s key annual events in the field of contemporary dance, LOIKKA presents a wide range of international and Finnish dance short films as well as dance documentaries. LOIKKA is organized by the open production and artists’ collective MAD Production.

The festival also saw the announcement of its new artistic directors. Mr. Freundlich and Raekallio are long-term artistic collaborators whose previous film work includes North Horizon, seen at 18 film and dance festivals around the world. In 2004, Raekallio and Freundlich founded Liikekieli.com, Finland’s online magazine for dance. Liikekieli.com subsequently received the 2008 Finnish State Award for Dance Arts, Finland’s highest commendation in dance.

“I have been delighted by the strong growth and great atmosphere of LOIKKA over the last years,” said Hanna Pajala-Assefa, founder and previous artistic director of LOIKKA festival. “I am happy to hand over this vibrant and well-established event to my successors, and I’m certain they will continue to bring together audiences and artists in the realm of dance film.”

“Dance film is in a period of tremendous growth and diversification both in Finland and worldwide. Heading LOIKKA festival is an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to both continuing the excellent work done by Hanna Pajala-Assefa, as well as exploring new avenues for the festival’s programming, including 3D dance film,” said Thomas Freundlich and Valtteri Raekallio.

The open call for the LOIKKA 2013 festival will open in August 2012.

For more info and the full 2012 festival programme, please visit www.loikka.fi/english.

Press images of Thomas Freundlich & Valtteri Raekallio:
www.loikka.fi/media

More information: Sanna Kultanen, producer, sanna at loikka dot fi, +358 50 5421 210

About Loikka
LOIKKA is Finland’s only dance film festival, organized annually since 2008. The event is organized by the open production and artists’ collective MAD Production. The main partners and supporters of the festival include the national and regional arts councils of Finland, the Kone Foundation, the City of Helsinki Cultural Office, the Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture in Finland (AVEK), the British Council and the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival.
www.loikka.fi/english