Hope you enjoy this trailer filmed and edited by Jukka Mantere!
Next show in Kuopio on the 19th of June. See you there.
Johanna
Category Archives: Dance
a week of sports
Today I did a longer aerobic workout and went for a Nordic walk for about 95 mins. I took it very easy as I’ve been exercising a lot this week (about 10 hours including Zumba, functional training, Kinesis, cycling and Nordic Walking) and my body feels a bit tired. But I wanted to do one longer aerobic exercise so this afternoon was a good moment to do that. It was surprisingly warm and it was ok to just have a t-shirt on as I walked the Jynkänvuoren pururata twice. As I was Nordic walking and listening to music, I was thinking why I feel so tired. This week my body has physically felt tired because of rather hard exercise but I’ve also felt tired in relation to my work. Strange as this hasn’t been the busiest time ever. But I guess I have a few processes going on which always take more energy than expected. Two new works that I’m planning and working on, the ANTI Festival programme and our upcoming book…
I’m so excited about being invited to perform Acts of Clothing in the autumn in few festivals. I was so happy to get a phone call last week from one artistic director and to be invited to a festival I’ve never performed before. Great! And of course we have a show of Twirling World in June at the Paikallisliike event as part of the Kuopio Dance Festival.
Oh well, now it’s time for the ice hockey world championship final!
Johanna
the performance period is over for now
Performed Twirling World four times with Sonja. It’s a hard piece to perform but it was great to experience that the performance had developed and also our relationship as performers had deepened. There were some really nice people in the audience and I’m happy some friends finally saw it. The last performance was very emotional and many people were howling in the audience – I guess it had a certain sad energy of a last show as both Sonja and I also felt quite emotional. Anyway, it wasn’t the very last show but it was an end of this period.
Photos Pekka Mäkinen.
Some thoughts:
I’ve noticed that it’s been a while since I’ve seen the anorexic woman whom I saw last year walking along Saaristokatu almost every day. Is she dead?
I’m really looking forward to the weekend brake with Maija in Copenhagen!
But before that, there’s a lot of work to do.
Johanna
exercising and preparations for shows
So next week we kick off with two shows of Twirling World. Monday will be stressful with technical rehearsals, building up the space, getting all the little bits and pieces together. But it’s great to perform the piece again! I just hope we’ll have audience. I’ve bought new silver blankets and tights for the show, also Tecni Pli to do my hair with Ghd…
This week I’ve taken it pretty easy and spent time at home. I’ve done some wallpapering, a lot of Kinesis and functional training as well as Zumba. Outi at the Functional Studios leads fantastic Zumba classes! They are a great way of getting aerobic exercise and she sure makes you sweat and jump so that your heart rate hits the max. I cycled to the city a couple of times this week but the roads were rather icy and dangerous (especially without winter tyres…). And the snowstorm yesterday didn’t make me happy either. But today is sunny and above zero degrees so I’m hoping the snow melts quickly so that I can start cycling on a regular basis.
All the ladies clothes and jackets were on sale (-40%) in Anttila and after my training today I went to have a look if they have any nice Nanso dresses, skirts or tops. Anttila’s clothing section is not really for me but some of Nanso’s clothes I like and came home with two tops.
Now it’s time to go and listen to Jukka Poika and Raappana at Kulttuuriareena 44! And since the gig is open to all ages I’m going with my son.
See you there?
Johanna
My knee
Some of you might remember that I had a knee surgery about a year ago. According to all standards, the knee has recovered amazingly well from the ACL reconstruction but it hasn’t always felt that way. I had my first performances last year in June, just 4 months after the surgery. Thinking back of them now, I’m pretty amazed I could pull them thru. Just under a month ago I performed Acts of Clothing is Oulu, and for the first time after the surgery, I felt that maybe my knee will recover in the end to the point where I can actually forget about the injury and just perform without any hesitation and fear. I was able to push much further in my shamanic dance and didn’t have to hold back in the disco either. And also lately in other trainings like Kinesis, Functional training or Zumba, I’ve felt the knee really getting much much better which feels fantastic. Of course, I knew that the recovery process takes approximately two years but it’s easier to read that from a book than live thru it and accept it. But right now I feel optimistic and hope that I can do some more running next summer.
My knee right after the surgery:
Two weeks after the surgery:
Last summer, about 5 months after the surgery:
My knee today, a year after the surgery:
Not bad, eh?!
Johanna
Back to work and exercise routines
Last week has been so freezing in Kuopio, all over Finland I guess. The days are gorgeous though – bright, sunny and the landscape is covered by tons of snow but it’s sooooo cold. A couple of hours in the afternoon feel pretty ok after the sun has been shining all morning but as soon as it goes down again, the cold hits really hard. So it hasn’t been a real pleasure to spend much time exercising outdoors although I’ve done a few Nordic walks.
Since I came back from Australia, I’ve been getting back to my normal routines. The last three weeks I’ve exercised pretty intensively at the Functional studio and really enjoyed myself! Lots of Kinesis and Functional training but also Zumba, for the first time in my life! I’ve missed so much aerobic exercise that I was quite miserable until I realized that the Zumba classes work at least as well as a run. And it’s so much fun to dance and sweat to the holiday rhythms of calypso, salsa and reggae!
Do you remember when I wrote last autumn that I want a hybrid bicycle? Well, I’ve just bought one! Yes, it’s a bit crazy but I’ve thought about it so much that I’m convinced that this was a good investment. The sad thing is that it has been so cold that is has been practically impossible to ride much but I’ve done a few short tests and I love it! My bicycle is Merida S-Presso 700 with hydraulic disc brakes, beautiful matt black and sleek design.
Now that I have the bike, I realize that I also should have all kinds of gears to be able to take full advantage of it but I have to take it slow. I can’t possibly buy a whole set of wind stopper cloths, gloves, cycling bags and shoes etc. all at once! I’ve bought a helmet, for the first time in my life, and that’s pretty much what I can afford at the moment. But to be able to cycle to work on a regular basis, I need to get these Ortlieb panniers. I really love the white line!
About work
Some of you know that I’ve started to work with the support of the Arts Council of Finland’s three year artist grant in January. This year I will not be producing any new performances or shows but I’m doing a lot of research as well as touring and performing Twirling World and Acts of Clothing. I’m working on an international collaboration with Rebecca French from FrenchMottershead and I’m very very excited about it! The downfall has been that I haven’t been able to raise much funding for the project which is to premiere in 2012 and not this year. I find it rather disturbing and I’m not really sure how to proceed with the project. We’ve got 2 000 € from the Regional arts council of North Savo but you might be able to imagine that it isn’t much of anything for an international collaboration. So we’ll see how that goes and what the rest of the foundations say.
Tomorrow I start rehearsing Twirling World with Sonja and we have shows coming up in Kuopio in March. I’m a bit scared to return to that work which as a performer, was quite challenging for me. So I’ll see how I feel next week.
I’ve been also really really shocked by the City of Kuopio cutting ANTI Festival’s funding. We have a tenth anniversary of the festival and a lot of special programme planned to celebrate that in the city of Kuopio, a book coming up by a national publisher and the fourth year of A Space for Live Art project going on. So WTF???? I don’t really know what to think.
Johanna
good gig in Oulu
I’m sitting on a train from Oulu to Kuopio. Last night I performed Acts of Clothing in Oulu to a full house and left feeling quite happy and satisfied. Here’s a link to the interview in Kaleva. I love performing that show although it somehow takes a lot out of me. A lot of energy, lot of strength, a lot of layers, emotions, feelings. The performance was perhaps a bit more emotional than usually as yesterday would have been my sister’s 32nd birthday. And there were some relatives in the audience, too, which is always a bit scary. But they loved the show and afterwards we had a dinner in an Indian restaurant – the same one where I last saw my sister exactly a year ago.
It was great to see Pirjo, my old time friend, teacher and collegue. I shared my pains and pleasures of performing, of donating my body to a certain imagery and the emotions and questions it has raised. The questions of being scrutinized by anybody, being viewed by the critical eye, the perhaps ‘evil’ eye. Why do I do it? Why do I set myself in the scenes that cause me so much emotional pain? Of course I know why – as the choreographer and director – but it’s yet again a different thing to experience all that as a performer, as a living and breathing and feeling human body. Not easy.
I’m longing for my exercise routines that have been a bit lost during the last weeks when I was in Sydney and now in Oulu. I’m dreaming of Pipsa’s Kinesis sport and functional training sessions and I wouldn’t mind a Zumba class on Saturday morning either! How weird is that?
Johanna
Acst of Clothing in Oulu on Sunday the 30th of Jan
I’m performing Acts of Clothing on Sunday in Oulu. JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre hosts the show which I’ll perform in Oulun Taidekoulu.
Here’s an interview about the show in Oulu-lehti. Also Kaleva interviewed me and I think the interview comes out either tomorrow or on Sunday. I haven’t performed in Oulu for ages, maybe the last time in 2000. Hopefully people will find their way to the show as my childhood town Oulu and the neighbouring island Hailuoto play a big part in it.
So if you are in Oulu or somewhere near, see you on Sunday at 4pm!
Johanna
videos
I’ve uploaded short edited videos of Acts of Clothing and body/hair on the site. Have a look if you like!
Johanna
my performance today
I performed today at the Dancing Advent Calendar in the Maxim shop window in the city centre of Kuopio. I’m performing eight times and today was my fourth live action for the calender. Unfortunately, there’s no documentation of the performances but this is what was left after my show.
If you are interested, there’s a performance everyday at 4.30pm until the 24th of Dec by me, Johanna Keinänen or Anniina Aunola. On the 24th the performance will be at 11am. The Dancing Advent Calender is organized by the Dance Centre of Eastern Finland.
Johanna