Blushing

The young dancers of the Finnish National Ballet offer a mixed programme of classical and contemporary dance. Live from Helsinki, the programme is built around German choreographer Marco Goecke’s Blushing, a piece that was originally created for the Stuttgart Ballet. It is set alongside an excerpt of La Bayadère and pieces by contemporary choreographer, Julian Nicosia. 

La Bayadère is one of the cornerstones of classical ballet. Set in India, the ballet tells the story of the love between the warrior Solor and the temple dancer, which cannot be fulfilled. The artistic director of the Finnish National Ballet, Javier Torres, has created a scene from the ballet for the Youth Company based on the original choreography by Marius Petipa. The scene features a pas d’action dance, in which Solor is engaged to Princess Gamzatti, who has been chosen as his bride.

French choreographer Julian Nicosia’s Fragments of Time is about memories and moments that haven’t yet become memories. ‘In this creation, we move from neoclassical style to a more contemporary aesthetic, from classical music to darker, futuristic sounds. I think it really represents the journey and the phases I’ve been lucky enough to go through as a dancer and as a person.’

‘In Blushing’, explains Marco Goecke, ‘my starting point was to investigate what is happening inside a person when he/she goes red. In my work I start from individual phenomena such as a word, a movement.’ The music switches between punk rock, street music and silence. In this silence, the dancers can be heard breathing, tapping, stamping and sliding. In contrast to his later works, there is no stage set; everything is concentrated on the artistic presence of the dancers.