In Sonja Jokiniemi's work, the impossibility of normality has always been described as the only human condition. Her new creation, Armo, opens up an associative space where mementos and remembering are braided into a tangible disorder.
Embedded in the reminiscence of Jokiniemi's Karelian roots, reactivated by the recent loss of her father, Armo is a choreography for four remarkable and singular dancers, which deals with remnants as non-verbal narratives residing in the body.
In the work, cyclical choreographic patterns, shared rituals of repetitions and obsessive individual behaviours are infused with the spiritual leftovers of Jokiniemi’s lost family roots in Lake Ladoga. At the heart of the work is a recognition of the cyclical and non-linear nature of life and death, and of the memories left behind.
For this work, co-produced by Zodiak – Centre for New Dance and presented at Dance House Helsinki, Jokiniemi develops a choreography woven into a regular but imperfect canvas, echoing the artist's transgressive ongoing reflection on women's labour.
Armo aims to divert the dominant aesthetics of art and normative ways of dealing with knowledge and language in order to liberate subconscious and disobedient forces that can otherwise be classified as deviant, funny or incoherent.
Choreography: Sonja Jokiniemi
Performers: Leila Kourkia, Krassen Krastev, Marlon Moilanen, Tuuli Vahtola
Lighting design: Heikki Paasonen
Sound design: Gil Schneider
Production: Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Sonja Jokiniemi
Residency support: Kunstenwerkplaats Pianofabriek (Brussels)
Supported by: Arts Promotion Centre Finland, The Finnish Cultural Foundation Mobility grant
PR photos: Eva-Liisa Orupõld