A traveling circus has frozen in place on the edge of the world. Everything is worn and somehow squeaky: structures, objects and people. The atmosphere is nostalgically beautiful in its melancholy. Hard to tell if we are in the distant past or the unknown future or perhaps in a dream. The layers of time bring a glimpse of something precious and eternal, holiness floats like a mist on the horizon.
Silent joy is an emotional, music-filled journey into humanity in all its contradictions; a world where imagination is the most important compass on the way to the truth. The work creates a gauzy weave of various materials: it recycles, borrows and varies freely, combining pieces from classic dramas to Finnish songs and new texts. A smile lights up, the song is fresh, the foot rises and the soul rings.
“One of the greatest joys of theater is its versatility: the parts from which the director and his work groups create a whole. The writer’s text is combined with the actor’s interpretation, and when speech is not enough, you have to sing, and when you run out of words, you have to dance. A new world of its own with its own laws and freedoms is created on the stage, among other things, with the help of staging, costumes, lights and music. Cooperation with different artists brings enormous richness to working as a director and to the end result“, says Anssi Valtonen, who celebrates 25 years as an artist with this work.
Silent joy is a collaboration between Dance Company Off/Balance and Jyväskylä City Theater with the support of the Uudet klassikot -foundation. The piece also features an orchestra made up of student musicians from Gradia Jyväskylä.
Premiere on the main stage of the Jyväskylä City Theater on January 20, 2024 at 3 p.m.
Tickets 33 / 31 / 25 €
from: Lippu.fi
Age recommendation +12 years
Performances:
Fri 19.1.2024, 19:00 (advance)
Sat 20.1.2024, 15:00 (premiere)
Fri 26.1.2024, 19:00
Sat 27.1.2024, 13:00
Sat 3.2.2024, 19:00
Thu 8.2. 2024, 19:00
Sat 17.2.2024, 19:00
Fri 23.2.2024, 19:00
Sat 24.2.2024, 13:00
Fri 22.3.2024, 19:00
Fri 5.4 2024, 19:00
Sat 6.4.2024, 13:00
Sat 13.4.2024, 19:00
Performance concept, script and direction Anssi Valtonen
Choreography Terhi Kuokkanen (Dance Company Off/Balance)
Set design Annina Nevantaus
Costume design Tellervo Yyrjäkari
Lighting design Japo Granlund
Video design Antti Silvennoinen
Hair and make-up design Niina Vattulainen
Original music, song arrangement and music direction Ville Ojanen (Visitor)
Performance conductor Tomi Nurmi (Visitor)
Choir management and arrangements Sami Ulmanen
Sound design Mika Filpus
In the roles Paavo Honkimäki, Jouni Huhtaniemi, Saara Jokiaho, Anneli Karppinen, Miika Laakso, Hannu Lintukoski, Piia Mannisenmäki, Jukka-Pekka Mikkonen, Anna-Maija Oka, Jussi-Petteri Peräinen, Taina Reponen, Elina Saarela, Jouni Salo, Hegy Tuusvuori, Sami Ulmanen, Asko Vaarala, Markus Virtanen and dancers (Dance Company Off/Balance): Rebecca Laube-Pohto, Ville Oinonen, Katja Sallinen
Musicians
performance conductor Tomi Nurmi, violin, key violin, mandolin
Gradia’s musician students
drums Henrik Färm
piano Anni Gustafsson
clarinet Henri Peter
bass Ville Villan
photos: Jiri Halttunen
photo editing: Eija Haukka
