‘The Days’ is contemporary dance work coming to the North Island all the way from Finland

Get ready for more dancing coming up.

The Days is contemporary dance work coming all the way from Finland! BC Movement Arts is proud to partner with Nordic Bridges 2022 in bringing these Finnish artists to the North Island.

The Days is an intimate duet created by the renowned English choreographer Theo Clinkard in collaboration with two exceptional Finnish dancers, Maria Nurmela and Ville Oinonen. Constructed from a singular physical concept that sustains throughout, the work engenders a world of ever-shifting negotiations, complex feelings and comic disconnection. Caught in a loop of impassioned exchanges, Nurmela and Oinonen trace a journey that echoes a lifetime shared, through sublimely nuanced physicality. The Days is a compelling performance about care, resilience and the desire for connection.

Created in 2017 on the initiative of Nurmela and Oinonen, the performers are joined on stage by two participants from the local community, a man and a woman aged over 65, to emphasize that contemporary dance belongs to every body and every age. The work has been performed extensively across Europe and tours the UK in spring 2022 before coming to Canada.

The Days is presented as part of Nordic Bridges, a year-long initiative led by Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre fostering cultural exchange between the Nordic Region and Canada. Working with partners across the country, Nordic Bridges will present multidisciplinary contemporary art, culture, and ideas throughout 2022.

This tour is generously supported by Icelandair, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) and the Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland.

NORTH ISLAND PERFORMANCES Presented by the BC Movement Arts Society

SOINTULA: June 17-18, 7:30 p.m. Finnish Organizational Hall

PORT MCNEILL: June 19, 7:30 p.m. Port McNeill Lions Hall

ALERT BAY: June 21, 7:00 p.m. ‘Namgis Lawrence Ambers Memorial Recreation Centre Tickets $0-$20 www.bcmovementarts.com

VANCOUVER PERFORMANCES Presented by The Dance Centre with BC Movement Arts Society VANCOUVER: June 24-25, 8:00 p.m. Scotiabank Dance Centre

Tickets $25-$34 www.thedancecentre.ca

Artist Biographies

MARIA NURMELA graduated from the Folkwang University, the prestigious school of Pina Bausch and German dance theatre tradition, and has worked in the field of contemporary dance, theatre and performance with leading choreographers. Since 2003 she has worked with Tero Saarinen’s Company TSC as a dancer, repetiteur, teacher of TERO technique, and leader of the community outreach project Apollo tanssii! Her own choreographies have been performed internationally and she is a sought-after teacher.

VILLE OINONEN is a Finnish freelance dancer who has danced in more than forty works professionally. A graduate of Kuopio Music and Dance Academy, he has danced with the Dance Theatre MD as well as in the works of many other choreographers. He also performs and teaches internationally.

THEO CLINKARD’S practice spans choreography, theatre design, performance and pedagogy. Since launching his company in 2012, he has built an international reputation for creating affecting and visually arresting work. His company has toured the UK and to Chile, Ireland, Switzerland, and Germany, and he has been commissioned by leading companies such as Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Candoco Dance Company, and others. Clinkard is an Associate Artist at Brighton Dome and Festival, Dance4, and an Honorary Fellow of Plymouth University.

The BC Movement Arts Society (BCMAS) brings rural and urban together by presenting vibrant national and international professional contemporary dance performances; facilitating creation residencies and outreach to enhance community and artist engagement in culturally under-served areas of British Columbia. Based in Sointula on Malcolm Island, BCMAS is one of the few professional dance organizations in Canada, based in and serving, rural and remote coastal communities.

The Dance Centre was established in 1986 as a resource centre for dance professionals and the public in British Columbia, and offers a range of activities unparalleled in Canadian dance. The Dance Centre offer programs and resources supporting the professional development of artists, presents public performances and events, manages Scotiabank Dance Centre, one of Canada’s leading dance facilities, and works to promote BC dance.

The operations of the BC Movement Arts Society is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada through Canadian Heritage, Province of British Columbia, BC Arts Council, and the Regional District of Mt Waddington.

The operations of The Dance Centre are supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver through the Office of Cultural Affairs.