Masculinity under scrutiny in Morphed
Finnish production kicks off 10th season
In Morphed, Finnish choreographer Tero Saarinen wanted to say something about masculinity. Specifically, he wanted to question the assumptions and expectations of male dancers, both on the audience’s part and those of the dancers themselves.
“There was this need to talk about this preoccupation,” Saarinen said. “Are we preoccupied with stereotypical ways of thinking? And so we allowed in more detailed frequencies than just the heroic, forceful elements that are usually considered in male dancing. Like sensuality.”
A piece for eight (male) dancers, Morphed kicks off DanceHouse’s 10th season. The two Vancouver Playhouse performances mark the Western Canadian premiere of the piece from the Tero Saarinen Company.
Saarinen formed the company in 1996. Since then, it has performed in over 40 countries. Regarded as one of Finland’s leading dance troupes, the company is in permanent residence at Helsinki’s Alexander Theatre.
Saarinen came to dance relatively late, he says. But by 18 he was accepted at the Finnish National Opera Ballet School.
In 1992, he walked away from a lifetime contract to study traditional forms of dance in Japan. There, he studied kabuki, butoh and martial arts.
Those studies inform his choreography. Saarinen is known for his unique blend of Eastern and Western influences.
“It’s been called ‘butoh dance with wings,’” he said of his style. “There’s a contradiction there. Butoh is really a dance of the earth. It’s heavily grounded and rooted. ‘With wings’ would describe my style. There’s this elevation. I like that there’s this contradiction.”
For Morphed, Saarinen worked with his longtime set designer Mikki Kunttu. The set features dangling ropes surrounding the stage.
“We start very early on, saying, ‘OK, there is this masculinity under scrutiny and this male talent. What would be the visual enhancement of this in the set?’” Kunttu proposed the ropes. “It immediately felt right,” Saarinen said. “Sometimes they look like bars, like you’re in a prison of your own thinking. Sometimes they look like hay or a forest moving. They have this dualistic aspect.”
For the music, Saarinen selected pieces by Finnish conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen.
“I always loved his compositions and I felt that this particular work somehow relates to his music. I contacted him and proposed it.”
The three compositions are from different eras of Salonen’s output.
“We started to discuss which order and why,” he said. “It was a very fruitful conversation about music making and dance making and this handshake between these two ways of making art.”
The origins of Morphed can be traced back to his earliest work for his company, a piece for a trio of male dancers.
“After 20 years, I felt now there is a chance for another look at the mirror,” he said.
“It is also about transmission. I wanted to transmit something that I have collected as a performer and dancer to these excellent male dancers.”