KARHU EDITION

KARHU EDITION is a contemporary dance piece for three dancers by Leena Harjunpää Co. The piece is a scenic and movement-oriented study and an overview of various manmade symbolic imageries of bears. To us, a bear represents a power animal, a picture on a coat of arms, a timid lonesome soul, a constellation, a star, aggressive, a victim and a bear skin rug. It is a celebrity, a meme and a product, that is also corporeal, comical and cartoonish. In our culture, a bear is a creature and a character of multiple layers and meanings. In the piece KARHU EDITION, the working group studies the life and physicality of bears and dramatizes the relationship between humans and bears using different perspectives. In the piece, the bear-ness and its power are pursued wildly and freely through the human body. The working group reflects on what kind of physical states, soundscapes, visual connections and situations the bear and the human produce, and how these things align on stage side by side and interlacing. The performance is aimed for adults and adolescents. Working Group: Choreography: Leena Harjunpää Dance: Elina Hauta-aho, Pinja Poropudas, Heidi Tiainen Sound design, music and lyrics: Jouni Tauriainen Costume design and props: Joona Huotari Lighting and set design: Eero Erkamo Vocal coach: Mathias Lillmåns Production: Leena Harjunpää Co