BLACK RAINBOW

BLACK RAINBOW

This is a night dive into Virpi Pahkinen´s poetic dance world. A black liquid mirror with many possibilities of the human body. The beauty of transformation. The halo of hidden light. A high-spirited stretch for imagination,

The space is yours now. This is an invitation to interpretation: See the silver camel in transformation, Take a walk with a smiling madonna playing with dark energy. To the sounds of a wind gong and a sacral choir the super spider with its eight limbs changes into a dreaming octopus. A glamorous trio of strange birds chatter on point shoes and suddenly the agile youngsters pop in like a runaway alphabet from the hip hop dictionary. A bare foot yogi pensively writes calligraphy in the air. At the end of the rainbow there awaits a soothing treasure, a lullaby echoing light.

This is a choreography with old soul wisdom, still it is entertaining and edgy, a fresh dialogue with the unknown, hopefull and bathing in the paradoxical luminescence, that of a black rainbow.

REVIEW

“The title “Black rainbow” leads thoughts towards an existential thriller, and it is true that the first elements are brilliantly suggestive. On the floor a four-headed body in black appears with distinct tentacles of hands and feet. Slowly, the creature is transformed into an octopus, Shiva, the sun, and divides into two arcs.”
“Once more – as in “Deep time” in 2017 and “Monolit polygon” in 2018 – Pahkinen works with percussionist, flautist and multi-instrumentalist Jonas Sjöblom. From one edge of the stage he creates echoing, spherical, nature-inspired, rhythmical, club-like soundscapes closely woven in with the dance, marking each new tableau by beating a gong. “
“Yes we are in Virpi land: musical, mystical and saturated with a beauty that tends to the sacral. Few dance artists have such a finely chiselled signature and stage persona, nor such integrity.”

“Harmony is found at the end – surprisingly enough with singing by Virpi Pahkinen, whose clear voice sweepingly, like the light, unites heaven and earth. Flow.”

Anna Ångström, Svenska Dagbladet

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PHOTOGRAPHER: José Figueroa