Sari Palmgren: Utopia (on empathy)

The working group comprises 9 members whose performance opens new viewpoints on the future through movement, information and live music – thus influencing our choices in the present moment. The performers act as an orchestra in full unison: building a choreography, playing music, singing, dancing.

The working group includes Sari Palmgren, Heikki Paasonen, Tuomas Norvio, Janne Masalin, Karoliina Koiso-Kanttila, Jukka Peltola, Tuovi Rantanen, Lotta Suomi and Jukka Tarvainen. The performance also features volunteer performers from The Full Year Class, instructed by Sari Palmgren.

Through Utopia (on empathy), the working group examines the future with honest eyes, yet with optimism of the future. If everything went as well as possible, what would the future look like? How can these visions be pursued with the choices of today? What do people really want from the future, and will these wishes meet the definitions laid out by experts? What roles do hope and empathy play in understanding the big picture? 

Utopia (on empathy) is composed of future hopes of individuals and their relation to wider societal utopias. The working group facilitates the collision of future visions of different people and experts, and creates a space for dreaming in an empathic setting.

The performance consists of 10-minute scenes that are devised for one spectator at a time. One audience member and one performer sit face to face on chairs, looking at each other. After the act of looking, the performer starts a performative sequence that the rest of the audience can also follow. Each performance is unique and mixes different artistic disciplines. Previous spectators have described the performance as their most wonderful and empathic performative experience.

Dinner

There is a possibility to enjoy a dinner before the performances in Hotel Katajanokka’s Linnankellari restaurant. The dinner hours are 16:30 and 19:00 (Thu & Sat) and 13.30 and 16:30 (Sun).

The three-course dinner costs 41,50 euros. The dinner menu offers meat, fish and vegan options.

Dinner tickets from Tiketti. Dinner tickets are on sale until noon of the day before each performance day.

Background of the performance

The working group's performance The Earth Song was seen at Zodiak in 2013. The said performance led to many kinds of connections, networks, thoughts on our shared future, and how our choices and lives affect the future. The performance series Utopia (on empathy) picks up where The Earth Song left off.

The group has worked on the performance series since 2015 in many localities, in different types of spaces, and focusing on different topics. Each performance has been unique, site-specific and always different. Each venue has added something permanent to the series. The shows in Helsinki will compile together the layers of the previous performances.