Playground Festival Wuppertal - Lavatanssit, Community Dance Project Hirvonen & Turkki

In the organizer's words:

A Finnish open-air dance evening for everyone to watch and participate in, including audio description.

LAVATANSSIT is a participatory performance that invites you to join in, but it is also possible to just watch. Lavatanssit is a Finnish tradition that is still alive today. Dancing outside is the program. A meeting place, usually in nature and often by a lake, where people come together and dance together. Literally translated, Lavatanssi means stage dance. It refers to a dance floor in the middle of nature. The classic day for this is Saturday.

The two Finnish choreographers Marje Hirvonen (Cologne/Helsinki) and Nella Turkki (Oulu, Finland) explain exactly how a lavatanssi works. Sprinkled with performative elements and the invitation to take a stand, guests learn the first steps of typical Finnish dances such as jenkka, humppa and waltz together, accompanied by live accordion music. Everything happens in a lavatanssi rhythm with short refreshment breaks. Performative and participative. There is also original Finnish coffee, Finnish cinnamon buns, Finnish licorice and other Finnish sweets.

Lavatanssit invites participants to meet, listen and understand each other through the universal language of the body.

A tried and tested audio description by Linda Wolf is offered for this event, and guide dogs can be brought along. It is advisable to bring an accompanying person.

Duration: Performance approx. 120 minutes with an invitation to continue dancing together afterwards.

Concept, performance: Marje Hirvonen, Nella Turki
Live music: Roman Batalk
Audio description: Linda Wolf