10.2478/njd-2013-0009 Early Modern Dance and Theatre in Finland Johanna Laakkonen Early Modern Dance and Theatre in Finland 1 PAPER Johanna Laakkonen ABSTRACT TIIVISTELMÄ EARCH Early modern dancers established a foothold in theatres Varhainen moderni tanssi sai jalansijaa teattereissa In the early twentieth century the actor’s body trends remained marginal in repertoires, but they S E and opera houses from the 1910s onwards when the ja oopperataloissa 1910-luvulta alkaen, kun monien became the focus of theatrical expression, are of interest as they show how the two directors R focus of many avant-garde theatre directors shifted avantgardea edustavien teatteriohjaajien kiinnostus and the existing acting conventions and experimented with dance and movement and from literary text to the actor’s body and its expressive siirtyi draamatekstistä näyttelijän kehoon ja sen the generally considered worn-out gestural how their work was influenced by trends coming potentialities. This article explores the interplay between ilmaisumahdollisuuksiin. Tarkastelen artikkelissani language of both opera and theatre performers from Russia as well as from the West. Despite early modern dance and theatre in Finland by focusing tanssin ja teatterin vuorovaikutusta Suomessa were commonly criticized. At the same time, the this co-operation, cross-disciplinary analyses of on three dance scenes that Maggie Gripenberg (1881– aineistonani Maggie Gripenbergin (1881–1976) pioneers of modern dance abandoned the old theatre and dance have not been common in 1976) composed for theatre and opera performances in kolme ooppera- ja teatterikoreografiaa, joita hän teki balletic conventions, and their foremost aim was Finnish theatre and dance research. My article Helsinki in the 1920s and 1930s. The developments in Helsingissä 1920- ja 30-luvulla. Kytken suomalaisen to give an outer form to their inner feelings – to is an attempt to break down existing, yet rarely Finland will be connected with the international trends kehityksen moninaisiin kansainvälisiin vaikutteisiin, joita unite the mind and the body in a way differing discussed, borders. that Gripenberg and her Finnish collaborators absorbed Gripenberg ja hänen yhteistyökumppaninsa saivat niin from ballet which relied on a vocabulary of Theatres provided opportunities for dancers from the West as well as from Russia. The article also Venäjältä kuin lännestäkin. Artikkeli osoittaa, että kuva canonized movement and conventional mimic and a handful of active choreographers to work, suggests that by exploring early modern dance in the varhaisen modernin tanssin vaiheista monipuolistuu, kun gestures. Avant-garde theatre artists and dance and thus contributed to the development of context of theatre and opera, it is possible to obtain a sitä tutkitaan myös teatterin ja oopperan konteksteissa. modernists shared this interest in the expressive professional dance in Finland. In 1910–1911 more balanced picture of the development of modern potential of the human body, and early modern Maggie Gripenberg studied with the Swiss music dance in Finland. dance was incorporated into different kinds of teacher and founder of eurhythmics Emile Jaques- theatre and opera performances. In this article I Dalcroze in Hellerau near Dresden. Her first-hand will look at the role of movement and dance in knowledge of his method and her dance and the Finnish theatre and opera in the 1920s and compositions opened up new vistas for theatre early 1930s by focusing on the work of Finnish directors interested in the expressive potentialities dancer-choreographer Maggie Gripenberg of human bodies. The Finnish National Theatre (1881–1976) and her collaborations with did not offer a year-round contract for a ballet theatre directors Eino Kalima and Jalmari master, but Gripenberg seemed to have been the Lahdensuo1. most often used choreographer in the theatre Following developments in Central Europe, from the late 1910s until the 1930s. For a short early modern dance, or plastic dance2, as the new period in the early 1910s, she also taught a genre was called in Finland, was introduced to the subject called plastic dance to the actors of the theatre in the 1910s. In the late 1910s and 1920s a theatre. (Suhonen 2000) few Finnish theatre directors, such as Lahdensuo I will focus on Gripenberg’s compositions and later Kalima, began to co-operate with dancer in drama and opera by looking at three works: and choreographer Maggie Gripenberg, who is a group scene for A Midsummer Night’s Dream often considered the founding figure of modern (Kesäyön unelma, 1930) and a ‘Grotesque dance in Finland3. This co-operation and the new dance’ for An-Ski’s Dybbuk (Dibbuk, 1934). 18 Nordic Journal of Dance - Volume 4(2) 2013 19 Early Modern Dance and Theatre in Finland Johanna Laakkonen Early Modern Dance and Theatre in Finland 1 PAPER Johanna Laakkonen ABSTRACT TIIVISTELMÄ EARCH Early modern dancers established a foothold in theatres Varhainen moderni tanssi sai jalansijaa teattereissa In the early twentieth century the actor’s body trends remained marginal in repertoires, but they S E and opera houses from the 1910s onwards when the ja oopperataloissa 1910-luvulta alkaen, kun monien became the focus of theatrical expression, are of interest as they show how the two directors R focus of many avant-garde theatre directors shifted avantgardea edustavien teatteriohjaajien kiinnostus and the existing acting conventions and experimented with dance and movement and from literary text to the actor’s body and its expressive siirtyi draamatekstistä näyttelijän kehoon ja sen the generally considered worn-out gestural how their work was influenced by trends coming potentialities. This article explores the interplay between ilmaisumahdollisuuksiin. Tarkastelen artikkelissani language of both opera and theatre performers from Russia as well as from the West. Despite early modern dance and theatre in Finland by focusing tanssin ja teatterin vuorovaikutusta Suomessa were commonly criticized. At the same time, the this co-operation, cross-disciplinary analyses of on three dance scenes that Maggie Gripenberg (1881– aineistonani Maggie Gripenbergin (1881–1976) pioneers of modern dance abandoned the old theatre and dance have not been common in 1976) composed for theatre and opera performances in kolme ooppera- ja teatterikoreografiaa, joita hän teki balletic conventions, and their foremost aim was Finnish theatre and dance research. My article Helsinki in the 1920s and 1930s. The developments in Helsingissä 1920- ja 30-luvulla. Kytken suomalaisen to give an outer form to their inner feelings – to is an attempt to break down existing, yet rarely Finland will be connected with the international trends kehityksen moninaisiin kansainvälisiin vaikutteisiin, joita unite the mind and the body in a way differing discussed, borders. that Gripenberg and her Finnish collaborators absorbed Gripenberg ja hänen yhteistyökumppaninsa saivat niin from ballet which relied on a vocabulary of Theatres provided opportunities for dancers from the West as well as from Russia. The article also Venäjältä kuin lännestäkin. Artikkeli osoittaa, että kuva canonized movement and conventional mimic and a handful of active choreographers to work, suggests that by exploring early modern dance in the varhaisen modernin tanssin vaiheista monipuolistuu, kun gestures. Avant-garde theatre artists and dance and thus contributed to the development of context of theatre and opera, it is possible to obtain a sitä tutkitaan myös teatterin ja oopperan konteksteissa. modernists shared this interest in the expressive professional dance in Finland. In 1910–1911 more balanced picture of the development of modern potential of the human body, and early modern Maggie Gripenberg studied with the Swiss music dance in Finland. dance was incorporated into different kinds of teacher and founder of eurhythmics Emile Jaques- theatre and opera performances. In this article I Dalcroze in Hellerau near Dresden. Her first-hand will look at the role of movement and dance in knowledge of his method and her dance and the Finnish theatre and opera in the 1920s and compositions opened up new vistas for theatre early 1930s by focusing on the work of Finnish directors interested in the expressive potentialities dancer-choreographer Maggie Gripenberg of human bodies. The Finnish National Theatre (1881–1976) and her collaborations with did not offer a year-round contract for a ballet theatre directors Eino Kalima and Jalmari master, but Gripenberg seemed to have been the Lahdensuo1. most often used choreographer in the theatre Following developments in Central Europe, from the late 1910s until the 1930s. For a short early modern dance, or plastic dance2, as the new period in the early 1910s, she also taught a genre was called in Finland, was introduced to the subject called plastic dance to the actors of the theatre in the 1910s. In the late 1910s and 1920s a theatre. (Suhonen 2000) few Finnish theatre directors, such as Lahdensuo I will focus on Gripenberg’s compositions and later Kalima, began to co-operate with dancer in drama and opera by looking at three works: and choreographer Maggie Gripenberg, who is a group scene for A Midsummer Night’s Dream often considered the founding figure of modern (Kesäyön unelma, 1930) and a ‘Grotesque dance in Finland3. This co-operation and the new dance’ for An-Ski’s Dybbuk (Dibbuk, 1934). 18 Nordic Journal of Dance - Volume 4(2) 2013 19 In both works dance is limited to particular discussed below attracted