Nine Lives

Willman Dance Company (FI)

A strong performance of a Western woman in a global world.

This performance questions our western way of thinking, by challenging the spectator into a debate. The piece brings up the conflict of happiness versus contentment. It discusses unfairness and the lottery of life. Why do people’s fates differ so much? Why is someone lucky and someone else not? We witness a western woman stumble over her excessive goals and ambitions? 

The haunting music of Finnish accordion player Kimmo Pohjonen has inspired the creation of Nine lives. The costume design is realised from recycled clothing. Willman Dance Company wishes to make an impact and contribution to sustainable development in the performing arts.

Photo: Mirka Kleemola

Choreography, concept Marjaterttu Willman Performers Jonna Aaltonen and Timo Korjus Music Kimmo Pohjonen Co-composer Samuli Kosminen Light design Jukka Huitila Light technician Topias Toppinen Sound design Petri Peltovako Costume designer Aapo Siikala Set designers Nora Helsinki, Marjaterttu Willman

Duration 40 min.

Willman Dance Company is a contemporary dance company based in Helsinki, founded by choreographer Marjaterttu Willman. The company brings together artists who share a passion for dance and stage art, creating contemporary dance pieces which focus on movement and dance. It is important for the company that the combination of the personality of each dancer, the power of the music, the individuality of costume design and the atmosphere of lighting lead each production to its final shape. The company's goal is to create original contemporary dance pieces that focus on the central questions of humanity. www.willmandancecompany.fi

Marjaterttu Willman started choreographing in 2002. She is a strong believer in the honesty of movement and its ability to convey emotions. Dramaturgy based on associations, storylines supported by music, expressive movement and the tight relationship between dance and music make Willman’s choreographic world unique. Willman wishes to portray her inner world and develop current themes trough the means of art. Her goal is to process and portray the marks and scars that human interactions can leave on an individual, and to show the diminishing of humanity all around us. Willman believes that dance can speak powerfully about the laws that bind us and the assumptions we cultivate. With the body as a tool for communication, the many layers of humanity become visible in a delicate way. Marjaterttu Willman (1976) graduated from the ballet school of the Finnish National Opera and is a member of the Finnish National Ballet, with whom she has danced in numerous classical ballets as well as more contemporary works.