From Finland, Wearing Large Tutus
by JACK ANDERSON for the New York Times

But only now is it doing so, coming to the Joyce Theater, with a triple-bill of "Westward Ho!," "Wavelengths" and "Hunt." In July, it will also present "Borrowed Light," with live music by the Boston Camerata, at the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts.

...

Mr. Saarinen, 41, has theories why Finnish dance has not caught America's attention.

"We are reluctant to promote ourselves," he said, speaking fluent English in a recent telephone interview from Toronto, where his company was dancing. "Finland's geographical isolation has fostered a sense of emotional isolation. It's also usually easier to tour Europe than to travel to America."

published: March 26, 2006

Tero Saarinen Company From Finland Dances in New York
by JOHN ROCKWELL for the New York Times

None of this would have mattered much without Mr. Saarinen's choreography, which looked constantly alive and original. It was at its very best in the final piece, "Hunt," a 2002 solo for himself. Audaciously set to Stravinsky's "Sacre du Printemps" (in Esa-Pekka Salonen's fleet, intense recording), its overt intentions — something about confronting the depredations of age — mattered less than the eerie atmosphere Mr. Saarinen created. His figure, initially dressed in a white sarong, looked more hunted than hunting. He often moved in spasmodic increments, like a strobe effect without the strobe lighting.

published: March 30, 2006

Tero Saarinen of Finland, one of the hottest choreographers in Europe, brought “Borrowed Light”, another example of his belief in Gesamtkunstwerk or total art. His latest work is set to exquisite Shaker songs, arranged after extensive research by Joel Cohen and performed with simple sincerity by his group, Boston Camerata. With spare sets and lighting, often from the side (the borrowed light of the title) by long-time collaborator, Mikki Kunttu and long, black costumes for the men and the women by Erika Turenen, all these aspects combine to make a harmonious and glorious whole.

While Saarinen researched the Shakers extensively and the dances feature clapping and stamping, as described in records, he makes it clear that “Borrowed Light” is concerned with communities in general, rather than the Shakers specifically. Indeed, some Scandinavian-based Americans felt thatthey saw more Nordic angst than harmony and loving spirit of the Shakers. Certainly, the mix of scenes of religious exaltation alongside the frustrations of an isolated existence and expressed through grounded, swinging motion made for compelling viewing.

Finnish troupe returns after an eight-year absence
by DEBORAH JOWITT for the Village Voice

In Hunt, Saarinen's torso and arms map aspirations and assaults. He's not the hunter but the hunted — by the specter of age and death or by the onslaught of contemporary civilization or both. He doesn't attempt to ride Stravinsky's tempest; he endures its pummeling.

published: April 4, 2006