Contemporary dance performance HZ from Tero Saarinen Company, with choreography by Johanna Nuutinen (Finland) and concert Hinged by Maarja Nuut (Estonia)
Artium presents the two parts of TCS’s HZ | HUNT on separate days: HUNT, followed by artist talk with the artistic director Tero Saarinen on 30 August and HZ on 1 September followed by a concert by the Estonian singer, composer, and electronic artist Maarja Nuut.
HZ | HUNT (2022) is Tero Saarinen Company’s newest double bill, featuring works by choreographers Johanna Nuutinen and Tero Saarinen. HZ was the first piece ever commissioned by Tero Saarinen Company from another choreographer since its foundation in 1996. HZ | HUNT, the double bill by Johanna Nuutinen and Tero Saarinen, premiered at Tanssin Talo’s Erkko Hall from 31 March to 9 April 2022. More than 4000 people attended the much-awaited HZ | HUNT at Tanssin talo in Helsinki.
HZ
HZ, which examines the world of senses and sensory perceptions, takes the audience on a deep dive that moves them on a cellular level to the lowest levels of sound waves – into a zone where hearing becomes experiencing.
Water transfers vibrations of sound much more effectively than air. In water sound quality becomes movement quality. In HZ, underwater sound pollution acts as a metaphor for a modern world where masses of sensory stimuli constantly surge over and through us creating nervous stress and overwhelming quieter inner signals. HZ brings the viewer-experiencer in the middle of the sound while creating a strong kinesthetic, auditory and visual experience through virtuosic dance, expansive visuality and deeply moving soundscape.
Choreography: Johanna Nuutinen
Composer and Sound design: Tuomas Norvio
Scenography (set and lighting): Joonas Tikkanen
Costume design: Mert Otsamo
Dramaturg: Jarkko Lehmus
Rehearsal Director: Satu Halttunen
Dance: Elina Häyrynen, Mikko Lampinen, Minttu Pietilä, Sofia Ruija, Riccardo Zandonà
Dancer-choreographer Johanna Nuutinen is the lead artist of Johanna Nuutinen + Collaborators, a dance production platform formed in 2016. After graduating from the Ballet School of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet in 2002, she joined the company the same year. Johanna danced soloist parts in works by names such as Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jacobo Godani, Sylvie Guillem and John Neumeier. In 2017 she had a soloist role in Tero Saarinen‘s Kullervo.
During her extensive career at the National Ballet, Johanna also created her own productions on stage and on film. Her award-winning dance films have been presented at over 40 international film festivals and her stage works at several dance festivals in Finland and abroad.
She has created commissioned works for the Finnish National Ballet and West Australian Ballet.
In her latest works Nuutinen has focused on examining the world of senses and sensory perceptions including ANON – The Act of waiting (2018), the multidisciplinary work IRIS (2017) and OPIA (2021). HZ, part of the double bill HZ | HUNT is the first piece commissioned for Tero Saarinen Company by another choreographer.
Johanna Nuutinen + Collaborators is a production platform formed in 2016, where Johanna Nuutinen in collaboration with a team of highly talented and visionary sound, light and costume designers, performing artists and dramaturgs have been creating their unique sensitive, poetic and visual worlds. Recently, Johanna and her team have focused on examining the world of senses and sensory experience.
Tero Saarinen Company. Major critical acclaim and nearly 400,000 spectators at leading venues in 40 countries on 6 continents have established TSC as one of Europe’s leading dance companies since its foundation in 1996. Tero Saarinen and his team also collaborate with other prominent dance groups, such as NDT1, the Batsheva Dance Company and Lyon Opéra Ballet. Starting from 2022 the group’s repertoire will include works by other choreographers alongside Saarinen- TSCs inaugural season at Tanssin talo at Helsinki featured one of the groups own classics along with a new work by coreographer Johanna Nuutinen.
Other core activities include an international teaching program of TERO Technique, and TSC’s residency programme. The group`s dance films and videos, all international co-productions, have been available to 30 million viewers in more than 60 countries on channels such as Mezzo, Arte, Yle and SVT, and at numerous film festivals.
Maarja Nuut is a singer, violinist, electronic artist, and composer whose work spans a vast range of rich musical worlds. Classically trained, she’s since delved into a number of disparate genres: Hindustani classical music while studying in New Delhi, Estonian archive sounds and dance, ethnomusicological research, and, more recently, the outer limits of looping and electronic sounds. Fuelled by her instincts and curiosity, such exploration comes from an inner need, and a desire to probe each world’s musical language, techniques, and expressional qualities – elements she swirls into her own, mesmerising art. Restlessly creative, Nuut has always been interested in storytelling and what the past can tell us about the future; for her, myths provide connection points to the modern world and societal upheaval. Since the release of her solo record ‘Une Meeles’ in 2016, she’s received widespread critical acclaim alongside numerous awards, and has toured the world several times over as a solo performer. Known for her compelling, often hypnotic live performances, she’s also collaborated with a number of artists such as Sun Araw, the Estonian Chamber Choir Sireen, Kristjan Järvi, Kiya Tabassian and Hendrik Kaljujärv AKA Ruum among others. Maarja’s third solo album ‘Hinged’, released in August 2021 received widespread critical acclaim while being called one of Europe’s most innovative musical artists, always looking to dive deeper (Future Music).
“A mindbendingly vast album rich in texture, colour and curiosity, Hinged’s world is a direct insight into one of Europe’s most innovative musical artists, always looking to dive deeper” (Future Music)
“Fourth world folk meets ambient space jazz.” (Electronic Sound)
“Luscious electro-folk lullabies from the Baltic Björk” (Uncut)
“Dreamlike and edgy, Hinged is the right kind of weird” (MOJO)
“A stunning piece of work” (Prog)
“On her third solo album, she’s able to turn on a dime from gliding electronica to clattering, punky drums that threaten to fly apart into free jazz, yet somehow keep the sense that this is all part of one process – and a rather shamanic one (MÜ Magazine).
