Pátek 29. března 2024, svátek má Taťána
130 let

Lidovky.cz

Finlandia: dancing site specific

  14:27

Contemporary music and 1930s Prague constructivist architecture are brought together for an evening of dance and aesthetic enjoyment

Finlandia dancers rehearse in the natural light of the building foto: © Vladimir BurianČeská pozice

The Berg Orchestra is staging a site specific concert with dance called “Finlandia” in the former Transportation Authority Palace, a masterpiece of constructivist architecture built in 1935. Combining a stress on Finnish music with the geometric severity of an often overlooked architectural gem is bound to result in a unique listening and viewing experience.

Mirka Eliášová, the choreographer of the dance performance, has worked with the Berg Orchestra on site specific performances before; one notable example is “Shaker Loops,” a performance that took place at the old sewage treatment plant in Prague 6–Bubeneč.

Eliášová told Czech Position that putting on a dance performance at a location like this is an opportunity to open up new views on the space. A number of factors are involved in this, though she insists that working with an orchestra means the music remains central. The pieces that will be accompanied by dance are by internationally acclaimed Finnish composers Kaija Saariaho and Pehr Henrik Nordgren, both of whose works will receive their Czech premieres at the concert.

Modern dance performances are more commonly done with recorded music, and Eliášová says that an important factor for her choreography is keeping a certain flexibility so the dancers can adjust to performing with the full orchestra.

“From our previous performances I have the experience that it will change when it’s in real time with musicians so we have given the dancers the freedom to react to the music they’ll hear at the performance,” she said.

Lighting is always an integral element of modern dance performances, and in site specific works often even more so. This performance will also have the natural light of a late June sunset, something Eliášová says the building’s original architects clearly made a feature of the original design in that the early evening light in the open space seems to create an energizing glow. “Sometimes when we were rehearsing the dancers have been amazed by the natural light,” she said.

Architectural appreciation

The building itself is also taking its share of the spotlight, with a free tour provided an hour before the concert starts. While some remodeling was carried out over the decades the original building remains remarkably intact, including the original, still functional Carrier-brand American air conditioning and heating system. The building came into operation in 1935 as the headquarters of the city’s electric company, and one popular name for it — budova Elektrických podniků — reflects that. The Transportation Authority shared the space — the largest administrative building of its time in Prague — and was present in the building up to the 1990s.

Owned by Orco Property Group, the building is a now a veritable artists’ hamlet, with offices being rented by painters, graphic designers, filmmakers and architects. The current inhabitants give the impression that you are in an art school more than an office building, something which Eliášová says has provided an added dimension to the rehearsals, with stylish designers self-consciously navigating their way around the dancers and watching from in the vast open space.

Finlandia
Jan Trojan — Cena en el fin del mundo / Evening at the end of the world (world premiere)
Kaija Saariaho — Aile du songe (Czech premiere)
Pehr Henrik Nordgren — Symphony for Strings (Czech premiere)
Pehr Henrik Nordgren — Equilibrium (Czech premiere)

Former Transportation Authority Palace (budova Elektrických podniků)
Bubenská 1, near Vltavská metro station, C line
Prague 7
Monday, June 13 at 8 p.m.
www.berg.cz

Autor:

Akční letáky
Akční letáky

Všechny akční letáky na jednom místě!