Category Archives: Dance

yoga, performances, dreams of India

Mulla ei oo mitään päälle pantavaa performances last week went really well, they were all full and the audience seemed to like the piece a lot. It feels really good to continue next week in Joensuu, then later in May in Helsinki and in June again here in Kuopio. The piece is really fun to perform, it’s challenging and the dialogue between me, Jaana, the live sound and the audience shapes the work differently every time.

I didn’t really have a chance to celebrate the premiere as at the same time I was on a yoga course and had to wake up early each morning. Anne’s course was once again really good and I felt such peace and bliss to practice with her. I have now recovered from the sciatic nerve pain that I suffered from all autumn and it’s been such a pleasure to practice the primary series as a whole. I talked with Anne about her last visit to Mysore and got so inspired to travel to India that I’ve been constantly thinking about my possibilities to make the trip. It would be so important for me to go but I have the family to take care and think about. So I haven’t made any reservations yet. But the idea of spending a month in Mysore, to focus on the practice and to develop my work in a different environment is all I dream about at the moment.

I had some meetings today and I talked about Savon Sanomat newspaper’s politics of not writing about dance and about having more freelance dance artists on the board of the regional dance centre. I also couldn’t help but wonder how from all the artistic board members only one person came to see my latest work and none of them were in any way sorry or bothered that they didn’t come to see it. I must say this does bother me although we had plenty of people in the audience, so it’s not about missing an audience but just curiosity about whom the work attracts. It’s interesting. And a bit sad.

Since my sciatic nerve is better now, I’ve had some strange things going on in my neck. So I have an acupuncture treatment tomorrow that I really look forward to.

Johanna

Mulla ei oo mitään päälle pantavaa –premiere next week

mulla-ei-oo-001_pos.jpg

There’s been pretty good publicity about the upcoming I don’t have anything to wear performances. There have been articles about the work with images in Savon Sanomat (10.3.) and Viikko-Savo (10.3.) and some radio stations were interested in it but I’m not sure if they have broadcasted anything as I haven’t had time to listen to the radio. But as I was in town today there were many people saying that they are coming to see the work so the best way to make sure that you get to see it, is to make a reservation! The gallery space is limited so once it’s full it’s full. So yes, email or call me to make a reservation.
The rehearsals with Jaana went very well as usual, and I’m blessed to work with her. The piece lasts about an hour, maybe a little more but it’s difficult to say at the moment as we have not been physically working in the gallery yet. The space there is just beautiful and it’s quite an unusual space so it’s a bit of a mystery to see how we will fit in there with our clothes, props, Jaap’s sound system, Kaisa’s exhibition and our audience! And oh god what will the audience think as they’ll watch us constantly talking about what to wear, wondering how to look convincing, how to appear professional, how to look taller and thinner and younger and especially when they see us pretending to do yoga in bras and fishnet tights!
Well, we think it’s fun and contradicting and pointing out the superficiality of it all. Let’s see if our audience agrees.
kletuu-002_pos.jpg
Photographs: Pekka Mäkinen

My latest column was published in the Kuopion Kaupunkilehti on the internationl Women’s Day on the 8th of March and here it is (in Finnish) if you didn’t get the paper itself:

“Voiko feministi äänestää miestä?

8.3. vietetään kansainvälistä naisten päivää, 18.3. ovat eduskuntavaalit ja 19.3. on valtakunnallinen liputuspäivä Minna Canthin ja tasa-arvon kunniaksi. Kotiin jaettuja, varsin miehisiä vaalimainoksia selatessa ei ihan heti tule sellainen olo että monetkaan ehdokkaat olisivat kovinkaan perehtyneitä sukupuolen politiikkaan, pitäisivät tasa-arvoa keskeisimpänä keinona kohti parempaa Pohjois-Savoa saatikka julistautuisivat feministeiksi. Vaalilauseet julistavat mm. ”Vahva viitostien vaikuttaja” (Markku Eestilä), ”Miksi vähäosaiset unohdettiin?” (Kari Kärkkäinen), ”Rehellisesti ja rohkeasti” (Kari Rajamäki), ”Ihmiselle hyvä” (Pentti Oinonen), ”Monien mahdollisuuksien Panu eduskuntaan” (Panu Hiekkala), ”Oikea työväenmies vasemmalta” (Matti Semi), ”Kun uskomme itseemme, muutkin uskovat meihin” (Ossi Martikainen) ja niin edelleen. Siis mitä?! Tyhjää täynnä.
Joitakin viikkoja sitten kävimme feministiystävieni kanssa kuvauttamassa itsemme kirjastolla Megafån -taiteilijaryhmän Feministitapettiin. Kirjastolla pyöri lähinnä nuoria naisia sekä joitakin lapsiperheitä, mutta myös yksi kansanedustajaehdokasmies kävi itsensä kuvauttamassa! Hän oli Raimo Tuomainen, joka myös vaalilehdessään tunnustautuu feministiksi muistuttaen meitä Suomessa vallitsevasta näennäisestä tasa-arvosta, jossa esimerkiksi naisen euro on 80 senttiä ja vanhemmuuden kustannukset ovat naisten työnantajien vastuulla, mikä johtaa helposti nuorten naisten syrjimiseen työhönottotilanteissa. Tuomainen puhuu myös isyyden juhlistamisesta ja on erittäin huolestunut miesten ja isien syrjäytymisestä omista perheistään.
Olen tottunut äänestämään nuoria naisia, joita ei totisesti eduskunnassa tai politiikassa ylipäätään ole yhtään liikaa. Uskon kuitenkin, että on parempi äänestää sukupuolipoliittisesti valveutunutta feministimiestä kuin naista, joka uskoo että ammatillinen menestyminen on kiinni vain yksilön lahjakkuudesta ja ahkeruudesta, riippumatta jalkovälin varustuksesta. Vielä neljä vuotta sitten ei Pohjois-Savossa ollut edes naisen trendikästä käyttää f-sanaa julkisesti ainakaan eduskuntavaalien yhteydessä. Valituksihan tulikin 9 miestä ja yksi nainen! Vaikka aina ei jaksa uskoa huomiseen, niin pakko on sanoa, että jotakin positiivista on täytynyt tapahtua kun ehdokkaana on ainakin yksi feministi – olkoonkin mies.”

And what I picked up from the atmosphere at the Kuopio market square today, it seems that Raimo is well on his way to the Finnish parliament. Hurray!

Hope you are all well and hope to see you in the performances next week!
Johanna

Moving towards performances

Last week was just too busy with grant deadlines, board meetings, ANTI –festival’s call for proposals closing etc. In the eastern and northern Finland this week is a winter holiday, or skiing holiday as we say in Finnish. And I’ve figured that all normal people are on holiday, not at their offices replying to emails or answering phone calls. It seems that only artists and unofficial cultural passionates work no matter what. Luckily, I was able to get the key to rehearsal studios today even though the person from whom I usually get the key was, of course, on holiday -and not only this week, but since last Thursday when I tried to contact her.
But yes, Jaana is coming to Kuopio today and we’ll work all the way until the performances pretty intensively. I still have to buy a pair of trousers and a few pairs of stockings for the performances. And there’s still a lot of details to be worked on; when exactly to change clothes, when to put on the stockings, where to place the laptop after the lecture etc. Also Jaap Klevering has been designing the soundscape for the piece and it all is going to be exciting to finally to get into the space and to work with the sound as well. So yes, I’m really looking forward to it all! But then again, I think about the performances as a process, evolving from one to the next, so I see them constantly changing and developing based on our experiences.

mulla-ei-oo-005_pos.jpg
photograph: Pekka Mäkinen

We just got the I don’t have anything to wear brochure from the print so today I’m doing some posting and delivering. I had forgotten the deadline of my column so I had to finish it in a hurry this morning. And I also got a cramp in my neck! This always happens to me before performances…or at least during the last few years it’s always been the case. Well, I hope the yoga and arnica will help and if not, I might have to call my acupuncturist to help.

Johanna

Good day (got the grant and much more)

Today was a busy but quite an interesting and good day in the end. First, I got a very exciting email asking if I was interested in one international project (which I was) and in the evening I got a text message from the regional arts council of North Savo saying that I have been given a one year artist grant for 2007. This is good news, but to be perfectly honest, I had applied a longer grant and was quite disappointed that I didn’t get one. It just makes the long term planning and commitments so much more difficult as I have again no idea how I will fund my work in 2008.
But now is now, and things are definitely moving to the right directions. I’m sipping champagne (the cheapest you can get in Alko), called my mom and just finished working. I sent my DVD to Norway today, talked with Emma Puikkonen on the phone about continuing to perform Cosmetics and green peas (yes!) and had a great Skype session with Gregg about the Talks & Deeds programme and ANTI 2007 artists etc. So yes, it was all inspiring and exciting.
Working with Jaana over the weekend was great, as usual. It is so much fun, crazy and reaching and referring to so many directions and issues and traditions. I just love working with her and I really do hope that audiences will find the work and pick up all the contradicting statements we make in it. And I hope they will forgive me my all but perfect figure! No matter how hard I practice ashtanga, it just stays the same…
But I’m not letting my body, my weight, my intelligence, my financial situation or my age to stop me. It’s all going to be out there and it is only through them, that I can resist, contradict and point out the issues I, we want.

I’ll be waiting for your congratulations and flowers and other possible gifts. You know how to reach me.

Johanna

Longing, house, clothes, worries and www

Busy days since coming back from Glasgow. I’ve been a bit blue, missing Rebecca and Andrew, the presence of so many wonderful artists and general passion for live art. Nikki and Colin had once again created a fantastic festival with about 80 artists from around the world. At the moment I feel that the most important works for me to see and experience were by artists Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Rosie Dennis and also Nic Green who is a very young artist based in Glasgow. But I’ve found a touching naivety and sincerity in her works and a kind of romantic enthusiasm. I’ve seen two of her works and also her performing in Grace Surman’s piece in Bristol last year. There is something about Nic that I really like but at the same time something troubling, which is a nice feeling. There were lots of other interesting things and strong works, too many to list here. But one more has to be mentioned! The first time I saw Curious live with their new work (be)longing. It was very good to see and I found it really beautiful in its simplicity but it was kind of long. But I also saw it in the late evening having already watched works for about ten hours…so maybe it wasn’t the best time. But I really enjoyed it. Also some video works I’ve seen by them have been great. And of course Marcia Farquhar! She was just amazing and it was just amazing to see her work with an archive of her clothes.
I had very inspiring meetings and conversations with Daniel and Lois from the Live Art Development Agency. They were also very pleased with our decision to choose Gregg Whelan to be my co-artistic director which, acknowledging their experience on the field, I highly value. We also hope to work with them in the future.
It was also really great to meet with other live art festival producers from the UK, Belgium and France and I sense a great passion to promote live art and artists. Let’s see if we can be part of a live art focused EU-project in the future. It would be fantastic and I really hope we can find a way with ANTI to work it out.
It was fantastic to have Andrew and Rebecca over in Glasgow as well, although they didn’t present work in the programme. Last year they were artists in residence along with Richard Dedominici (who also has shown work at ANTI) and I must say I missed the kind of presence they brought to the NRLA last year. And there were so many other people I so much enjoyed seeing like Jennie Klein, Steven Hodge, Dominic Johnson, Manuel Vason, Deen, Eleine Kordys, Andrew from LADA etc….

When I flew to Glasgow, my luggage was lost for two days. What a nightmare! I had all my new great clothes with me that I didn’t get to wear because for the first two days I just had to wear the same clothes. Actually, I had to by lots of new toiletries (cleansing milk, tonic water, shampoo, toothpaste, deo etc.) and some new undies to survive. It’s a pain with the new hand baggage regulations. Well, luggage arrived finally and I got to wear my new boots, jacket and Ponten skirt which never goes unnoticed. And Andrew and Rebecca got their Nordic Walking sticks…

I’ll have a rehearsal period with Jaana next week and I’ve been booking some studios space for us and also just for me individually. Today I was supposed to send material to our graphic designer but I didn’t manage. I didn’t get our exact performance dates in Helsinki from Jaana yet, Pekka is still working on some photos and I decided to go and do some at the Blue House today. It was so great. At 1 pm the light in the house is so beautiful at the moment that I just had to take a few photos.

upstairs1

upstairs2

yoga1

yogaview

downstairs

Mladen, who has been and is working on my website, emailed me today and it’s all moving on at least a little bit now. There has been all kinds of obstacles on the way and Mladen has now moved to Sweden, but I hope you’ll have patience as we sure do our best to set it up. Backloading removal services were perfect too.

I still don’t know about the artist grant for this year from the regional arts council and it’s really depressing. I know I didn’t get anything from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and that also put me down. Sometimes I feel I’m too old for this kind of uncertainty. By this time, at 33, and having worked as an artist professionally for 10 years, after receiving a State Prize for the Arts among others, I should have a little longer time phrase than 9 months in which to develop work. Don’t you think I deserve it?

Johanna

Schedules

There’s been a lot to arrange, schedules, rehearsal times, performance schedules, schedules for the new solo project with Maija Hirvanen and Pekka Mäkinen, ANTI –festival’s schedules with the new co-artistic director (I’ll let you now soon who s/he is) and with the Blue House and the family.
With the collaboration Mulla ei oo mitään päälle pantavaa (I don’t have anything to wear) we have now confirmed the premiere to be on the 15th of March and we’ll have four performances in Kuopio. Then we’ll perform on the 28th of March in Joensuu, in May 8-10 times in Zodiak, in Helsinki, and another two performances in June in Kuopio.
I wrote a column for the Kuopion Kaupunkilehti a couple of days ago. The paper is going to be out on Saturday for those of you who are interested.
I’m off to Glasgow next week and I’m really looking forward to seeing new works and meeting artists. I also have quite a few meetings scheduled already now.
Today, once more, I had a meeting with he Domus kitchen’s ladies, and I must say, it all looks very good. I’m very satisfied with their material, stuff and offer. It’s not exactly cheap, but it seems reasonable. I have to drag Pekka to look at the plans before we can make a deal with them, though.
It’s time to say good night now. Another long day tomorrow with writing grant applications and reports of last’s year’s grants.

Johanna

Working

Artistic work can be really tiring and usually is for me. We have been working 5-6 hours a day with Jaana, and although we don’t really do anything physically outrageously demanding, I’m pretty nackered at the end of the day. We have been doing short asana practices at the beginning of each rehearsal to focus on the body, to connect with the actual state, to tune in and to get the energy flowing in the body. The practice is really useful as it reveals so well the physical, emotional and spiritual state you are in, even if your mind doesn’t necessarily want to acknowledge or accept it. I’ve had severe sciatic nerve pain in my pelvis area and right leg and my hamstrings have been a bit sore. So my practice has been very light and short. But it feels good to stick to it.
We’ve also talked a lot. About the body, female body, femininity, appearance, gender, gender trouble and Judith Butler (whose sister is a dancer, by the way), sexuality, normativity, emotionality, acceptable behaviour, about screaming and shouting, female anger, family, being a mother, a parent and a partner, and how the whole culture around dance has traumatised us and our relationships to our bodies for life.
Each nuance might not be visible in the upcoming work, but they sure are present in our bodies and discourses. Jaana talked today about how the body emits and radiates information that one can’t control which I thought was very beautiful and interesting.
We have been working on these scenes in which we dress, undress, dress, undress, dress, undress for ages. There’s stuff I feel is kind of self-humiliating but at the same time important to show and to do. We also want to demonstrate how clothes and overall appearance changes the way you look at someone, your gaze, and the direction of your sexual desire which is related to power. And what is culturally un/acceptable. It’s really interesting and so much fun!
We have been desperate about finding a performance space. Today we went to Nina to see if their space could work for the performance but it didn’t feel right. Jaana found a very beautiful top (245 €) by Anne Linnomaa, though (she did’t buy it). Then we walked to this new gallery Carree on Kauppakatu and it instantly felt like it could be our space. The owner Kirsti Carlenius was very nice and we also met her son Sampo, and it turned out we shared quite a few connections and networks. They had an exhibition on show by Kari Södö, who has composed the music to my early solo piece Enchanting Horizon (1999) and it turned out, that Kirsti is also from Hailuoto, the island where my parents live and where I grew up between 1980 – 1989. So we both know for example artist Anni Rapinoja whose daughter was my very best friend.
So let’s see what exhibition they’ll have on in March and hope we could fit in to the beautiful space!
We are going to work through the whole weekend. I’ll keep you posted.
Johanna

Salt & vinegar & coffee

Yesterday was a good day. I was pretty effective with arranging rehearsal schedules, performance schedules, updating budgets, bringing my performance trousers to be fixed and my boots to be streched, practicing the primary series and eating and cooking healthy food. I haven’t been going to yoga classes for a while. I’ve been practicing on my own and attending Anne’s workshops and retriets, and one workshop with Guruji. But now I felt that I really could do with some assistance in difficult asanas as well as enjoy peacefull environment. The practice with Mari’s assistance was really enjoyable. And despite all my back problems, I was able to do the full primary series, which was a suprise. I’m glad I start rehersals with Jaana tomorrow because she’s practicing ashtanga as well and we can do the practice together. And of course, I’m really into entering the process again!
Because we work with clothes and all kinds of issues related around female appearance, and because I’m into all kinds of lists, I thought I list here every piece of clothing I have purchased since our last rehearsal period in the beginning of Dec.
For myself:
– boots (on sale -20%)
– a top (on sale -50%)
– a dress (on sale -30%)
– a belt
– a yoga top (on sale, don’t remember how much)

For my daughter:
– a dress (on sale)
– a top (on sale)
– a pear of jeans (on sale)
– a track-suit (on sale)
– mittens

For my son:
– underwear, 2 pieces, long

For my partner:
– underwear, 2 pieces

Not that bad, eh?

My partner and my daughter picked me up from the yoga class yesterday wiht a pleasant surprise. I package from our beloved friends in London Andrew and Rebecca! They sent us these lovely Hot Mugs designed by Sebastian Conran which I desired when we visited them in November. But it was not just the Hot Mugs they sent – they were filled with small packs of Salt&Vinegar crisps which I love!!! And you can’t buy them in Finland, who knows why… Andrew and Rebecca are about the most kind, friendly, beautiful and talented artists and friends that I’m aware of. Even my daughter said: Can’t we go and visit them in London tomorrow! And she also admired the mugs and their colors. So today I’ve had my cup of coffee from my new Hot Mug and enjoyed the crisps (no-one else was allowed to touch them) with some red wine. Heaven!
I bought a bottle of Taideviini (art wine) today because the label on the bottle is designed by young visual artist Paavo Halonen, who is a very close friend of writer – performing artist Emma Puikkonen with whom I collaborated on Physical artistic deeds 4; Cosmetics and grean peas. I’ve met Paavo only ones or twice briefly, last summer I guess. He didn’t come to see our performance (I guess Emma asked him not to – because of some “lesbian tendencies” which was a joke between them) but was intensively flirted by an artistic director at the time…

Well, work today has been less spiritual. Updating ANTI -festival’s website for about 10 hours and sending out call for proposals nationally and internationally for the rest of the time. So sitting by the computer far longer than is recommended for anyone.
Time to say good night.
Johanna

Welcome and Happy New Year!

I want to warmly welcome You all to my blog. And from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who has helped me and been involved with setting this all up – you know who you are.

I hope this blog brings my artistic work and physical artistic deeds and observations closer to You and You closer to me. In the near future, I’ll be writing about the process of creating a new piece of work in collaboration with Jaana Klevering titled Mulla ei oo mitään päälle pantavaa (I don’t have anything to wear) which is about to premiere in Kuopio, Finland, in March. I’m also working on a solo work with a film and documentation crew and a group piece due to be premiered later in the autumn 2007. The solo work is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Finland and the group piece by the Regional Dance Center Kuopio but more production funding needs to raised. So there’s a lot of work coming up.

But before it all really goes on after the Christmas break, I’m travelling to Mikkeli on Saturday where the governor of the Province of Eastern Finland, Pirjo Ala-Kapee, is hosting a New Year’s celebration party. Time to have some fun although it feels like I don’t have anything to wear!

I’m looking forward to reading Your comments.

Johanna