Rosas: Mystery Sonatas / for Rosa

The international guest artist series for 2022–2023, arranged by Dance House Helsinki, brings the most interesting dance groups from around the world to Finland. The series kicks off in June with the Rosas group of Belgian choreographer and dance artist Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and the new production Mystery Sonatas / for Rosa. The monumental work, which is linked to the theme of resistance, brings together baroque music and contemporary dance. De Keersmaeker’s work is closely tied with music, and now she connects with the “Mystery” or “Rosary” sonatas of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber. Written around 1676, the Mystery Sonatas is a musical translation of the fifteen Sacred Mysteries of the life of the Virgin Mary. Drawing on the religious practice of saying the rosary, Biber’s Mysteries divide into three cycles: five joyful, five sorrowful, and five glorious sonatas. The music is biblical, and also an invitation to dance. The mystery of music and movement is intertwined with the skilful stage and lighting design by Finnish artist Minna Tiikkainen. Sculptural lighting, sound and dance form a monumental work of art that opens the door to de Keersmaeker's enigmatic and contradictory choreographic world. In this choreography, roses are not just used for their beauty, but for their resistance – with every rose comes its thorns. This work is dedicated to women of resistance—Rosa Bonheur, Rosa Luxemburg, Rosa Parks, Rosa Vergaelen, and Rosa, the 15-year-old climate activist who died in the Belgian floodings of 2021.