Combining folk traditions with the authentic movement practices of Western dance, this work draws on what lies beneath the surface and behind closed eyelids: the inner landscapes that dance and music bring to life.
Syntyä / syvyydestä is a multidisciplinary collaboration between dance artist Outi Markkula, professional folk musician Emilia Lajunen, and set designer Jaana Kurttila. The work delves deep into personal and national archives and draws upon the hidden inner landscapes that dance and music bring to the surface.
Among 19th-century kantele players in the Karelian border region, the expression “playing one’s own power” was well known. “Playing one’s own power” often referred to long, introspective improvisations through which the player expressed their own moods and inner states.
Similarly, the practice of authentic movement—which emerged in the 1950s within Western dance community—has sought to tap into this core and source: a method born of the intersection of expressive dance and Jungian psychology, in which the dancer, closing their eyes, surrenders to being led by inner impulses and the subconscious.
Syntyä / syvyydestä is a collaboration between two performers who express themselves through dance and music, and a set designer. In keeping with its sources of inspiration, the work draws from what lies beneath the surface and behind the eyelids: the inner landscapes that dance and music conjure forth.
The work delves deep into both our personal and national archives: into the melodies and verses recorded by folklore collectors, as well as into material left unrecorded—the so-called “silences of the archives.”
This production is a co-production of the Regional Dance Center of Eastern Finland. It has been supported by the Arts Promotion Center, the Kone Foundation, and the Northern Savo Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Photos: Juhani Haukka
Artists
Outi Markkula is a dance artist from Siilinjärvi who works as a performer, choreographer, and teacher, and also writes about the arts. Markkula’s artistic journey has been shaped by Finnish folk dance, Western contemporary dance techniques, various psychophysical practices, and her studies in music. Markkula is inspired by multidisciplinary collaborations in which the coexistence of different modes of expression and working methods gives rise to new forms of language and thought. In particular, the intersection of dance and music, as well as questions concerning bodily memory and the history of movement, are central themes in her current work. Markkula is currently expanding her expertise in the field of dance and movement therapy.
Emilia Lajunen is a professional folk musician known for her deep knowledge of tradition, her distinctive arranging style, and her intense stage presence. She earned her Doctor of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy at the University of the Arts in 2023. In her artistic doctoral dissertation, Lajunen sought to expand the scope of contemporary folk music, particularly in the directions of dance, movement, and performance art, as well as through the study of archival recordings. In addition to the five-string violin, Lajunen plays the keyed fiddle, the contrabass harp, and sings. Her repertoire combines Finnish and Nordic folk music traditions, archaic kantele and jouhikko melodies, as well as archival songs and ballads.
Jaana Kurttila has been designing costumes and sets for theaters and dance and performing arts groups throughout Finland for 30 years, with a total of over 150 productions to her credit. She also creates set designs and small-scale lighting designs. Kurttila’s work has an edge: she blends various surprising elements into compelling wholes, never forgetting to have fun and never shying away from ugliness. Kurttila creates offbeat costumes with straight seams.