Tero Saarinen Company
Helsinki, Finland

music:  Esa-Pekka Salonen
choreography: Tero Saarinen
light and set design: Mikki Kunttu
costume: Teemu Muurimäki
sound design: Marco Melchior
choreographer’s assistants: Henrikki Heikkilä, Satu Halttunen

duration: 60’
premiere: Helsinki Festival, Finnish National Opera, 2014

performers: Ima Iduozee, Leo Kirjonen, Saku Koistinen, Mikko Lampinen, Jarkko Lehmus, Pekka Louhio, Jussi Nousiainen, David Scarantino

Movement is a perpetual source of inspiration for me. In my works, I aim to create a living, multi-layered, powerfully expressive movement that rises up from primal wellsprings. In this new work I particularly wanted to play around with opposing forces and frictions. The last work that I choreographed solely for men - my group's first piece, and still in our repertoire: "Westward Ho!" - came of age in 2004. Eighteen years on, I have felt a need to bring together men of different ages and various dance backgrounds, this time to address themes such as change and sensuality. I can't deny that reaching half a century and having a performing career of more than 30 years behind me have influenced my desire specifically to use the art of dance to deal with the shifting, mutating feelings that a man experiences. When I was looking for music for the piece, I came across Esa-Pekka Salonen's compositions "Concert etude for solo horn" (2000), "Foreign Bodies" (2001) and "Violin Concerto" (2009). What inspired me about them, apart from their kinetic quality, was the way in which they switch from the brutally aggressive to the soft. Salonen's music has provided a thought - a provocative, multi-dimensional initial spark for dealing with the manifold emotions and virtuosity of a man - of a man dancing. Undaunted by the extremes of sensitivity and heroism, and all that lies between them, these eight dancers and I have aspired to the boundlessness of the expressive power of the human body, of liberating movement - and of being a man.

                                                                                                                                                                                               Tero Saarinen

Tero Saarinen has had a distinguished international career both as a dancer and a choreographer. He has created more than 40 works, for the Tero Saarinen Company and other prominent dance groups.  Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT1), Batsheva Dance Company, Ballet Gullbenkian, the ballet companies of Lyon, Lorraine and Marseille, Gothenburg Opera Ballet, National Dance Company of Korea, Finnish National Ballet, and many others have featured Saarinen's works in their repertoires. His key works for the Tero Saarinen Company include the company's international breakthrough "Westward Ho!", and "Petrushka", "Hunt", "Borrowed Light" and Jean Sibelius´s "Kullervo" in collaboration with the Finnish National Opera. As a choreographer Saarinen is known for his unique movement language, while his internationally acclaimed titles have often been described as total artworks. Saarinen has received numerous acknowledgements of his work as an artist, both in Finland and abroad.

The primary aim of the Tero Saarinen Company, founded by Tero Saarinen in 1996, is to promote a humane worldview and basic human values through the language of dance, while also increasing people's understanding of their own physicality and its significance for a good life. The Tero Saarinen Company has appeared in nearly 40 countries, and its activities include running an international teaching programme and community outreach projects. In addition, Saarinen and his team collaborate with other prominent dance groups, among them NDT 1, Batsheva Dance Company, Lyon Opéra Ballet and the Finnish National Ballet. His choreographic style reflects influences ranging from butoh and martial arts to classical ballet and Western contemporary dance. His works, which have won wide international acclaim, are characteristically total artworks: combinations of strong performers, striking visuals and, often, live music. The company is in permanent residence at Helsinki's Alexander Theatre - the former home of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, where Saarinen started his career in the 1980's. The Tero Saarinen Company provides work for about 80 individuals each year, eight of whom have full-time posts. The Company's operations are supported by Finland's Ministry of Education and Culture and The City of Helsinki.

A seldom-seen, wondrous combination of hardness and softness brings out the potential of dance.
© Dance Magazine

Energetic one-hour piece by Finnish star choreographer Tero Saarinen --- proves that a narrated story is not a prerequisite for great dance… The classical jumps alone are breath-taking. Tremendous applause!
© Neue Presse

Magnificent choreography.
© Tanznetz.de

A powerful piece - Tero Saarinen has created a gently choreographed piece which allows his dancers to convey something rough and raw.
© Allgemeine Zeitung

A triumph of male artistic expression.
© Demokraatti

Kompanija Tera Sarinena
Helsinki, Finska

muzika: Esa-Pekka Salonen

koreografija: Tero Saarinen

dizajn svetla i scene: Mikki Kunttu

kostim: Teemu Muurimäki

dizajn zvuka: Marco Melchior

saradnici koreografa: Henrikki Heikkilä, Satu Halttunen

trajanje: 60’

premijera: Helsinki Festival, Finnish National Opera, 2014

igrači: Ima Iduozee, Leo Kirjonen, Saku Koistinen, Mikko Lampinen, Jarkko Lehmus, Pekka Louhio, Jussi Nousiainen, David Scarantino

Pokret je moj večiti izvor inspiracije. Kroz postavke težim stvaranju živopisnog, višeslojnog, pokreta snažnog izraza, koji se izdiže iz primarnih izvora. Stvarajući novo delo, posebno sam želeo da se poigram sa suprotstavljenim silama i trzavicama. Moj poslednji komad kreiran isključivo za muškarce, koji je i dalje na repertoaru trupe: "Westward Ho!" – nastao je 2004. godine. Osamnaest godina kasnije, osetio sam potrebu da spojim ljude različitog doba i iz različitih okruženja, da bi se bavili temama promene i požude. Ne mogu da poreknem da su mojih pola veka i više od 30 godina izvođačke karijere, uticali na odluku da koristim igru kako bih se bavio pomerenim, mutiranim ljudskim osećanjima. Tražeći muziku, otkrio sam kompozicije Ese-Peka Salonena „Koncert etida za solo trubu“ (2000), „Strana tela“ (2001) i „Violinski koncert“ (2009). Osim kinetičkog kvaliteta, ono što me je u njima inspirisalo predstavlja način na koji se one prebacuju iz brutalno agresivnog u nežno. Salonenova muzika obezbedila je provokativnu, multidimenzionalnu početnu iskru za bavljenje brojnim emocijama i virtuoznošću čoveka - čoveka koji igra. Neustrašivi pred ekstremima osećajnosti i heroizma, i svim onim što se nalazi između, ja i ovih osam igrača težili smo beskonačnosti izražajne moći ljudskog tela, oslobađajućeg pokreta – i toga da se bude ljudsko biće.

Tero Sarinen se može pohvaliti izuzetnom međunarodnom karijerom igrača i koreografa. Napravio  je više od 40 kreacija za svoju, ali i za mnoge druge značajne trupe. Njegovi radovi su na repertoaru Holandskog plesnog teatra (NDT1), Kompanije Batševa, Baleta Gulbenkijan, baletskih kompanija Liona, Lorene i Marseja, Baleta Opere Geteborga, Nacionalne plesne kompanije Koreje, Nacionalnog baleta Finske, i mnogih drugih. Najvažniji naslovi nastali za Kompaniju Tera Sarinena, podjednako važni i za međunarodnu reputaciju ove trupe, bili su „Westward Ho!”, „Petruška“, „Lov“, „Pozajmljeno svetlo“ i komad “Kulervo“ Jana Sibelijusa, nastao u saradnji sa Nacionalnom operom Finske. Kao koreograf, Sarinen je poznat po jedinstvenom jeziku pokreta, dok su njegova međunarodno priznata dela često opisivana kao apsolutna umetnost. Sarinen je dobitnik brojnih priznanja za svoj umetnički rad, kako u Finskoj, tako i u inostranstvu.

Osnovni cilj Kompanije Tera Sarinena, koju je ovaj igrač i koreograf osnovao 1996. godine, jeste promovisanje humanog pogleda na svet i osnovne ljudske vrednosti kroz jezik igre, uz istovremenu želju za opštim razumevanjem fizikalnosti i njenog značaja za kvalitetan život. Kompanija je nastupala u preko 40 zemalja sveta, a njene dodatne aktivnosti podrazumevaju vođenje međunarodnih programa obuke igrača i projekte namenjene lokalnoj zajednici. Zajedno sa svojim timom, Sarinen sarađuje sa brojnim značajnim trupama poput Holandskog plesnog teatra (NDT1), Plesne kompanije Batševa, Opere Liona i Nacionalnog baleta Finske. Njegov stil je refleksija uticaja koji ujedinjuju buto igru i borilačke veštine, sa klasičnim baletom i tehnikama savremene igre zapadnih zemalja. Njegovi radovi, koji su stekli međunarodni ugled, karakterističan su oblik potpunih umetničkih dela: od kombinacije izuzetnih izvođača, do upadljive estetike i žive muzike. Kompanija uživa gostoprimstvo helsinškog Aleksander teatra, koji je nekada bio dom finske Opere i Baleta, a gde je Sarinen i započeo svoju karijeru osamdesetih godina prošlog veka. Kompanija Tera Sarinena obezbeđuje posao za oko 80 osoba godišnje, od kojih osam imaju stalne pozicije. Rad kompanije podržavaju Ministarstvo obrazovanja i kulture Finske i Grad Helsinki.

Retko viđena, čudesna kombinacija snage i nežnosti koja dočarava potencijal igre.
© Dance Magazine

Energični jednočasovni komad, finske koreografske zvezde Tera Sarinena -  dokazuje da ispričana priča nije preduslov za veliku igru… Klasični skokovi sami za sebe oduzimaju dah. Ogroman aplauz!
© Neue Presse

Veličanstvena koreografija.
© Tanznetz.de

Moćan komad – Tero Sarinen je stvorio brižljivo koreografisan komad, koji dopušta njegovim igračima da iznesu nešto grubo i sirovo.
© Allgemeine Zeitung

Trijumf muškog umetničkog izraza.
© Demokraatti