Mesh, by Maija Hirvanen, is a choreography that places human as a part of the more-than-human world. The choreography of the piece is built around the bodily intersections of fungi networks and ways of existence of beings, of interspecies communication and of being human. The performance gives birth to mystical and performative stage creatures, hybrids that move in between layers of being.
Mesh creates an organism of dance that reflects future and is connected to multiple life forms. At the core of the performance are the connections between things, transformations, and stretching the line of imagination.
Mesh will premiere at Side Step Festival 2022 at Pannu Hall of Tanssin talo, and internationally in 2022 on the Hebbel am Ufer 2 stage as part of the Tanz im August festival.
Maija Hirvanen
Maija Hirvanen is a choreographer and performance maker based in Helsinki. Since the early 2000’s she has created performances that have been presented at festivals and venues in Finland and internationally, for instance at Zodiak, Kiasma, Baltic Circle Festival, Helsinki Festival and Moving in November Festival in Helsinki, Tanz im August / Berlin, ImpulsTanz / Vienna, Sadler’s Wells / Lilian Baylis Studio / London, SPRING Festival / Utrecht, Seoul Performing Arts Festival, Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis and Dansens Hus / Stockholm.
Maija’s interests range from the relationship between art and different belief systems, collaborative processes within cultural practices and performance as collective memory to mechanisms of re-learning. She has shown her work in theatres, public spaces and galleries. Hirvanen has participated in many international artist laboratories and collaborated with other artists.
Choreography, direction: Maija Hirvanen
Dancers: Marika Peura, Marlon Moilanen, Suvi Tuominen, Pie Kär
Lighting design: Heikki Paasonen
Sound design: Tatu Nenonen
Production: Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Tanz im August / HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Friends of Physical Contemporary Art
Productional support: Arts Management Helsinki
Supported by: Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation
PREMIERE