Creativity a high priority in Finland echoed in the collaboration of Finnish choreographer Virva Talonen with FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY
Finnish choreographer Virva Talonen has spent the last few weeks working with Durban’s Flatfoot Dance Company in a collaboration entitled Portable Home which will be performed at The Courtyard Theatre at DUT, Durban on November 4 and 5.
According to Jonna Pukkila, Cultural Attaché from the Embassy of Finland (Pretoria), this is the fourth collaboration between Talonen and other dance companies, and the first with an African company. “High on the educational priority list is developing creativity and it’s interconnectedness with nature and this collaboration supports the country’s desire to extend its creative reach beyond the north,” she says.
“Culture has made Finland what it is today. Creativity is highly valued and each child is treated equally. All teachers in creative subjects have vocational degrees in arts. After basic education, creative studies continue in Finland’s top-class universities. Finnish Modern Dance is rooted and fresh at the same time. Even though contemporary dance is a relatively young art form in Finland, it is developing and growing all the time internationally.”
“Finland has reinvented itself in just one short century – and is still at it,” continues Pukkila. “The mindset that drove to build a new society is still hardwired into Finns – and it continues to drive Finland forward today. The Arctic climate gave us guts – or ‘sisu’ as we call it. A lot of Finnish inspiration comes from Finns unique relationship with nature. The only thing we have a lot of is trees and water. People, not so much. That’s why we believe in equality and take good care of each other – and know the value of doing things together. Virva in her work exercises exactly this. A great way for a Finn to express feeling is by actions and movements rather than words.”
Portable Home is a long-standing project of Virva’s and an extension of her work done in Finland, Palestine and Japan which delves into concepts around home and its various definitions.
The work can be seen at The Courtyard Theatre on 4 November @ 7pm, and on 5 November at 2.30pm and 7pm.
Bookings are via Clarec1@dut.ac.za and go for R80 (students and scholars @ R50).
Please note that limited ticket available for 4 November @ 7pm.
For more information on Virva Talonen: www.virvatalonen.com
More information on Finnish Dance https://www.danceinfo.fi/en/