This year’s Jyväskylä Dance Festival looks at the relationship between dance as art and young people. As the artistic director my interest is especially in art that involves locals in the making. This year it is done by two pieces, Tight re-make, which is a piece by Joona Halonen and Energpriests collectives Guided Body Meditations. Joona re-rehearses Tight with 17-20-year old dancers. Soili Huhtakallio and Krista-Julia Arppo make and perform Guided Body Meditations concept together with local youth in The Garden and Houseparty.

The 2021 festival builds bridges between growing up in the area and art. The festival artists spend time with the locals, choreographing, discussing and creating together. The festival is also partly curated in collaboration with the youth performing at it. Stage on vapaa (stage is free) is fully in the hands of under 25-year-olds.

The global context is represented by Funmi Adewoles lecture series Contemporary Dance as a Transnational Practice, post-pandemic echo Sonic Presence of An Absent Choreography and the reshaping of contemporary dance by Rutimo Collectives Lemons.

Monilite Polygon is a transfer from last year’s cut down festival and is curated by Antti Lahti.

And I would like to add that part of the festival is free for under 20-year-olds!

See you at the Jyväskylä Dance festival!
Janina Rajakangas