Bliss (upcoming)

Anna Torkkel and the working group’s dance piece, Bliss,
focuses on recalling the wonder of life. It anchors itself in existence in its
multiplicity and illuminations from dawn to nightfall. The performance
highlights the playful essence of dance and its fearless, illogical nature,
allowing it to shimmer. In it, dance is a pathway to a profoundly experienced
being and its enchantment.

Bliss is a performance in which dance, music, material, and light merge
into one. The piece weaves together birth, growth, transitions, and fading,
bringing forth both dance’s capacity to express continuous change and the
dancer’s skill in navigating between these states. The work is performed by
three finely attuned dancers, Mira Kautto, Tuija Lappalainen, and
Marika Peura. The performance continues the collaboration between
Torkkel and the designers – Kristian Palmu, Johanna Porola, and Piia
Rinne – whose most recent joint creation is the solo piece Ray of
light (2023). In Bliss, dancing to music and the dialogue
between different elements proposed by Torkkel’s practice evolve into group
choreography.

Bliss premieres in October 2025 as part of the Museum of Contemporary
Art Kiasma’s programme at Kiasma Theatre in Helsinki. In the following spring,
2026, the piece will be performed at the Turku City Theatre. Additionally, a
new work, Kultasiipi (Goldwing), has also emerged from the
performance process. A small-scale draft of it will be presented as part of the
Love Harvest contemporary art festival at the Frantsila Organic Herb Farm in
August 2025.

Choreography Anna Torkkel
Dance Mira Kautto, Tuija Lappalainen, Marika Peura
Sound design Johanna Porola
Light design and scenography Kristian Palmu
Costume design and scenography Piia Rinne
Ehkä-production’s house dramaturg Even Minn
Photos Hertta Kiiski
Production Kiasma Theatre, Ehkä-production, rendezvous,
Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland, Anna Torkkel
In collaboration Love Harvest festival, Turku City Theatre
Residencies Circolo Scandinavo (Rome), The Finnish Institute in Rome (Rome),
SÌM Residency (Reykjavik), Ehkä-production/Contemporary Art Space Kutomo (Turku)
Supported by The Arts Promotion Centre Finland, TOP Foundation