TantsuRUUM presents
Resisting Extinction
Merimetsa, Tallinn May 25-28, 2023
Concept: Olive Bieringa
Direction & choreography: Olive Bieringa & Otto Ramstad
Performers in Tallinn: Eline Selgis, Daniel Persson, Helina Karvak, Laura Kvelstein, Nele Suisalu, Joanna Kalm, Otto Ramstad, Uma Ramstad and Olive Bieringa
Writers: Olive Bieringa and Laressa Dickey
Costume design: Kristine Gjems
Producers: Ann Mirjam Vaikla, Joanna Kalm
Host: Eva Orupõld
Videographer: Rūta Ronja Pakalne
Photographer: Alissa Šnaider
Co-creating performers: Sigrid Marie Kittelsaa Vesaas, Ornilia Ubisse, Hanna Filomen Mjåvatn, Kristina Gjems, Otto Ramstad, Olive Bieringa, Nina Wollny, Daniel Persson, Oliver Connew, Uma Ramstad, Laressa Dickey, Kosta Bogoievski, Josie Archer, Rachel Ruckstuhl-Mann, Olivia McGregor, Amit Noy, Maria Lothe
Co-production: Eesti Tantsuagentuur, TantsuRUUM, BodyCartography Project
Sponsors: Estonian Cultural Endowment, Nordic Culture Point, Arts Council Norway, KORO Public Art Norway, Performing Arts Hub Norway, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Biographies
Eline Selgis (EST) is a freelance dance artist. She graduated from Viljandi Culture Academy in dance in 2016 and received a master’s degree from Tartu University in theatre studies researching intimacy in contemporary performing arts in 2018. Her choreographic practice is based on play, contemporary dance and improvisation and explores the relationships between the body, space and dramaturgy. She relates to choreography and movement practices as a way of understanding. She believes in magic and nonsense. She also writes and paints. Her performance ‘ABOUT US—choreographies of hugging’ co-created with Sofia Filippou received the dance award at Estonian Theatre Awards 2023.
Eline Selgis (EST) on vabakutseline tantsukunstnik. Lõpetanud TÜ Viljandi Kultuuriakadeemia BA tantsukunstis (2016) ja Tartu Ülikooli MA teatriteaduse erialal (2018). Tema koreograafiline praktika põhineb kaasaegsel tantsul, improvisatsioonil ja mängul ning uurib keha, ruumi ja dramaturgia suhteid. Ta läheneb koreograafiale ja liikumisele kui mõistmisviisile. Ta usub maagiasse ja mõttetusse. Lisaks tantsimisele maalib ja kirjutab. Tema ja kaasautor Sofia Filippou lavastus “ABOUT US—kallistamise koreograafiad” pälvis 2023. aasta Eesti Teatri Auhindade tantsuauhinna.
Sometimes life surprises by changing something that is feared into great curiosity. Helina Karvak (EST) is a dance artist, performer and she also guides workshops. She shifted from sports into dance. Her continous interest for the body and presence is rooted in searching for and practicing from spontaneous and relational body. She studied in Viljandi Culture Academy while parallelly studying with Fighting Monkey. Currently she is wandering in the liminal spaces between poetics, imagination and tangible, reminding herself that life and movement practices are not separate. Following curiosity and aliveness she has started to feel more and more interrelated.
Vahel elu üllatab nii, et suurest hirmust saab suur huvi. Helina Karvak (EST) on tantsukunstnik etendaja ja kogemuslike töötubade juhendaja, kes spordilaladelt võttis suuna tantsualadele. Tema jätkuv huvi keha ning kohalolu teemadel on leidnud juurdumise kogeva ning suhestuva keha otsingutes ja praktikas. Ta õppis Viljandi Kultuuriakadeemias ning paralleelselt kooslusega Fighting Monkey. Praegu uitab ta poeesia, kujutluse ja käegakatsutava vaheaeladel, tuletades meelde, et elu ja liikumispraktikad pole eraldi. Huvile ning elususele järgnedes on üha rohkem tajumas enda võrgustikulisust.
Laura Kvelstein (EST) is a dance and performance artist based in Tallinn, Estonia. Trained in classical ballet, she then transitioned to the contemporary dance world in the beginning of the 00s through Estonia’s contemporary dance pioneer Fine5 dance school and later company. She worked as a dancer in the company until 2018, as well as with other choreographers/directors in Estonia and abroad. She founded her own dance company millimeter performance group together with three Estonian artists in 2010; the group was active until 2016, having produced 5 pieces within that time. In 2018 she received (together with Ruta Ronja Pakalne) the Estonian Theatre Awards dance award for their piece „CONNEXT“, in which the two also appeared as dancers.
Laura Kvelstein (EST) on tantsu- ja etenduskunstnik. Ta on olnud pikaaegne Fine5 Tantsuteatri tantsija ning teinud koostööd paljude koreograafidega nii Eestis kui väjaspool. Aastal 2018 pälvis ta koos Rūta Pakalnega lavastuse “CONNEXT” eest Eesti teatri auhinna tantsuauhindade kategoorias. Varasemalt on ta süvendatult tegelenud (kontakt)improvisatsiooni praktiseerimise ja õpetamisega.
Joanna Kalm (EST) is dance artist and aspiring anthropologist with a widespread interest in human development and embodiment as both an evolutionary, ecological, communal and personal process of becoming. They are interested in the ethics, aesthetics and ways of moving arising from somatic sensibility, from sensitive listening to the self and others, as a way of re-configuring our larger culture of embodiment. Their master’s thesis focused on how agency can be negotiated and shared between many parts of a complex system, thus allowing to de-centre “mind over matter” and top-down regulatory tendencies towards the body-self and in larger ecologies. Also currently undergoing Somatic Movement Education in Body-Mind Centering method.
Joanna Kalm (EST) on tantsukunstnik ja võrsuv antropoloog, kes huvitub kehaksolemisest kui evolutsioonilisest, ökoloogilisest, kollektiivsest ja isiklikust kujunemise protsessist. Tema loomepraktika keskmes on enese ja teise kuulamine ja teda paelub somaatilisest lähenemisest ilmnevad väärtused, esteetika ja liikumise põhjuslikkus ning antud modaalsuse dialoog laiema kaasaegse kehastumise kultuuriga. Oma magistriuurimuses keskendus ta sellele, kuidas agentsus saab olla jagatud komplekse süsteemi paljude osiste vahel, seekaudu lahustades “mõte üle keha/ mateeria” ja “ülevalt-alla” olemise-tegutsemise reguleerimist, seda nii isiklikul kui ökoloogilisel tasandil. Praegu on ta läbimas Somaatilise Liikumise Haridust Body-Mind Centering metoodikas.
Nele Suisalu (EST) is a dance and awareness artist focusing on themes related to the body-mind (sensory, kinesthetic and transcendental experience of reality). Her artistic practice is based on the synchronization of movement, somatic body awareness and improvisational voicing (text). In 2007 she participated in contemporary choreography program ex.e.r.ce 07 (CCN de Montpellier, France). Until 2017 she lived and worked in France, performing in various contemporary dance pieces and in Tino Seghal’s museum piece “These Associations” (Palais de Tokyo, Paris). In recent years, she has devoted herself to researching the performativity of a healing space and meditative state in her work. She is interested in how to respectfully activate on the collective level the co-regulation capacity of the nervous system. In addition to her artistic activities, she works as a creative voice and embodiment coach and leads group meditations.
Nele Suisalu (EST) on tantsu- ja teadvuskunstnik, kelle fookuses on keha-meel (sensoorne, kineetiline ja transtsendentaalne reaalsuskogemus). Tema kunstipraktika lõimib liikumist, somaatilist kehatunnetust ja improvisatsioonilist häälimist (teksti). 2007. aastal osales ta kaasaegse koreograafia programmis ex.e.r.ce 07 (CCN de Montpellier, Prantsusmaa). Kuni 2017. aastani elas ja töötas ta Prantsusmaal, esinedes erinevates kaasaegse tantsu lavastustes ning Tino Seghali teoses “These Associations” (Palais de Tokyo, Pariis). Viimastel aastatel on ta oma loomingus pühendunud tervendava ruumi ja meditatiivse seisundi performatiivsuse uurimisele. Teda huvitab see, kuidas lugupidavalt käivitada kollektiivsel tasandil närvisüsteemi kaasregulatsiooni võimekust. Lisaks kunstialasele tegevusele töötab ta loova hääle ja kehastumise coachina ning juhendab grupimeditatsioone.
Daniel Jeremiah Persson (SE / KR) is a Swedish-Korean dancer and choreographer based in Malmö, Sweden since 2018, holding a BA (Honors) Degree from London Contemporary Dance School (2011-2014). Daniel has performed in numerous works, spanning from site-specific performances (Tate Modern, British Museum, Statens Museum fur Kunst, Kivik Art Center, etc.) to blackbox dancetheatre pieces (MDT, Palladium, Robin Howard Dance Theatre, etc.). He has worked with choreographers/companies such as: MYKA, Body Cartography, ENT, Bobbi Lo Produktion, ENT, Khamlane Halsackda & Maria Stamenkovic Herranz, Joan Jonas, AdeY, KASPERSOPHIE (& Martin Forsberg) to mention a few. In his choreographic work he explores themes on gender- and intercultural identity with a focus greyzone-perspectives/in-betweenness. The pieces are often investigated through the use of costume-, set- and lighting design and text in symbiosis with dance/movement.
Daniel Jeremiah Persson (SE / KR) on rootsi-korea tantsija ja koreograaf, kes 2018. aastast elab Malmös, Rootsis. Tal on bakalaureusekraad Londoni Kaasaegse Tantsu Koolist (2011-2014). Daniel on esinenud mitmetes lavastustes, mis varieeruvad kohaspetsiifilistest (Tate Modern, British Museum, Statens Museum fur Kunst, Kivik Art Center, jm) black box-i loodud tantsuteatri lavastusteni (MDT, Palladium, Robin Howard Dance Theatre, jm). Ta on töötanud koreograafide/kompaniidega nagu MYKA, Body Cartography, ENT, Bobbi Lo Produktion, ENT, Khamlane Halsackda & Maria Stamenkovic Herranz, Joan Jonas, AdeY, KASPERSOPHIE (& Martin Forsberg). Oma koreograafia alases praktikas uurib ta sugude- ja kultuuridevahelist identiteeti fokusseerides hallidele/vahepealsetele aladele. Tema loomingus kohtuvad omavahelises sümbioosis tantsu/liikumisega kostüümi-, lava- ja valguskunst ning tekst.
Uma Ramstad studies dance and electric guitar. She has performed with Tekst Lab, Rom for Dans Ung, AKKS and CODA International Dance Festival in Oslo where she lives. She performs with the BodyCartography Project internationally.
Uma Ramstad elab Oslos ning õpib tantsu ja elektrikitarri. Ta on üles astunud erinevates loovkollektiivides ja platvormidel: Tekst Lab, Rom for Dans Ung, AKKS ja CODA International Dance Festival. Ta esineb rahvusvaheliselt koos BodyCartography Project-ga.
Ann Mirjam Vaikla’s (EST) artistic practice as an independent curator, artist and scenographer, or currently as a creative producer, is engaged with the intertwinement of ecological distress, human and non-human species /bodies and decolonisation. She has studied at the Decolonizing Architecture Advanced Studies (DAAS) postmaster course at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, previously Scenography (BA) at the Norwegian Theatre Academy, and Culture and Arts (MA) at the Novia University in Finland. She is the co-curator of the residency cycle KORDON LAB on Food and Energy (2023-24). Previous projects include curating The 8th Artishok Biennial Botanical Witnesses (2022) at the Tallinn Botanic Garden, Point of No Return. Attunement of Attention (2021) at the Narva Art Residency (NART); working with Corentin JPM Leven on performances Birds of Ill Omen (2022) and +- (2020) at the Black Box Theatre in Oslo.
Ann Mirjam Vaikla (EST) praktika kuraatori, kunstniku ja stsenograafina, sh käesolevas projektis loomingulise produtsendina, käsitleb seda, kuidas on põimunud ökoloogilised probleemid, inimesed ja mitteinimliigid ja -kehad ning dekoloniseerimine. Ta on õppinud Stockholmi Kuninglikus Kunstiinstituudis postmagistri kursusel Arhitektuuri dekoloniseerimine, eelnevalt stsenograafiat (BA) Norra Teatriakadeemias, kultuuri ja kunsti (MA) Novia Ülikoolis Soomes. Ta on residentuuriprogrammi KORDON LAB: toit ja energia (2023-24) kaaskuraator. Eelnevalt on ta kureerinud 8. Artishoki biennaali Taimed kui tunnistajad (2022) Tallinna Botaanikaaias, Taganemisteeta. Kohaloluharjutus (2021) Narva kunstiresidentuuris (NART); töötanud stsenograafina Corentin JPM Leveni lavastuste juures Halva ende linnud (2022) ja +- (2020) Black Box-i Teatris Oslos.
BodyCartography’s mission is to engage with the vital materiality of our bodies and minds to create live performance that facilitates a re-enchantment of embodiment, relationship, and presence. They create dance in urban, domestic, wild, and social landscapes with practices rooted in experimental dance, somatic and socially engaged practice, and public art. They have created performances, installations, films, workshops, talks, festivals and curatorial projects around the world presented by institutions such as the Oslo International Theatre Festival, SITE/Sweden, Norsk Teknisk Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Performance Arcade, Wellington, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Performance Space 122, American Realness, Movement Research, in NYC, TBA/ Portland Institute of Contemporary Arts, Lyon Opera Ballet, Lyon, Cinedans, Amsterdam, South East Dance, UK, amongst others. Their work lives in the permanent collection of Te Papa Tongarewa National Museum of New Zealand, the first intangible dance acquisition.
BodyCartography Projecti missiooniks viimase 25 aasta jooksul on olnud tegeleda keha-meele kui materjali elulisusega, luues lavastusi, mis toetavad ja loovad kehalist kohalolu, väljendust ja suhtelisust ümbritseva keskkonnaga. Nad loovad tantsu avalikele, metsikutele ja sotsiaalsele maastikele kasutades eksperimentaalseid, somaatilisi, sotsiaalselt kaasavaid ja avaliku kunsti lähenemisi. Nad on loonud lavastusi, installatsioone, filme, töötubasid, festivale ning erinevad kuratoorseid loomingulisi projekte elades ja reisides maailma eri paigus. Nende loomingut on esindanud teistehulgas järgmised organisatsioonid: Oslo International Theatre Festival, SITE (Rootsi), Norsk Teknisk Museum (Norra), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Performance Arcade (Wellington), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Performance Space 122, American Realness, Movement Research (NYC), TBA/ Portland Institute of Contemporary Arts, Lyon Opera Ballet, Cinedans, (Amsterdam), South East Dance (UK).
Olive Bieringa (NZ) is a dance, performance and visual artist working at the intersection of social and creative practice, pedagogy, and healing. She studied at the European Dance Development Center in Arnhem, Netherlands and holds an MFA in Performance and New Media from Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. She is Registered Somatic Movement and Certified Teacher of Body-Mind Centering® and a program director of Somatic Education Australasia. She is a doctoral candidate at the Theatre Academy, Uniarts Arts, Helsinki. She works actively on the board for PRAXIS Oslo, a laboratory for the study of dance and movement working to strengthen the freelance experimental dance and performance community in Oslo, Norway where she lives.
Olive Bieringa (NZ) on tantsu-, etendus- ja visuaalkunstnik, kes töötab sotsiaalse ja loomingulise praktika, pedagoogika ja tervendamise ristumiskohas. Ta õppis Euroopa Tantsuarenduskeskuses (European Dance Development Center) Arnhemis Hollandis ja lõpetas performance-i ja uue meedia kaunite kunstide magistriõppe New Yorgis Long Islandi Ülikoolis. Ta on registreeritud ISMETA somaatiliste liikumiste terapeut, somaatilise liikumise tantsuõpetaja, Body-Mind Centering sertifitseeritud praktik ja õpetaja. Ta on somaatilise hariduse Body-Mind Centering programmijuht Austraalias Melbourne’is. Praegu täiendab ta ennast Uniarts Helsinki doktorantuuris. Elades praegu Oslos tegutseb ta PRAXIS tantsuplatvormi juhatuse liikmena, mis keskendub vabakutseliste tantsijate ja etenduskunstnike kogukonna võimaluste parandamisse.
Otto Ramstad (USA) holds an MA in Choreography from Oslo National Academy of the Arts, a BA in Dance, Improvisation, and the Moving Image, from Goddard College and is a Certified Teacher of Body-Mind Centering®. He is a recipient of an Archibald Bush Fellowship Artist 2006. He is the recipient of a work scholarship from Norsk Kulturrådet for 2022-2025. His recent work Lineage was performed at the Oslo International Theater Festival in March 2020. He is the Educational Director of Somatic Education Australasia.
Otto Ramstad (USA) on läbinud koreograafia magistrikraadi õpingud Oslo Rahvuslikus Kunstiakadeemias ning bakalaureuse õpingud tantsu improvisatsiooni ja liikuva pildi erialal Goddardi Kolledžis. Ta on atesteeritud Body-Mind Centering meetodi õpetaja. Ta on pälvinud Archibald Bush-i kunstniku stipendiumi (2006). Ta on Norra Kultuurinõukogu tööstipendiumi saaja (2022-2025). Tema viimast lavastust Lineage esitati Oslo Rahvusvahelisel Tantsufestivalil (2020). Ta on somaatilise hariduse Body-Mind Centering haridusjuht Austraalias Melbourne’is.
