The Yard - In and out of place (short film, 2022)

A yard is formed by the houses that border it. In a similar way, nation states are formed by borders, natural or artificial, as well as by the cultural features and canons attached to them. But unlike states' borders, the borders of cultural geography have always been fluid. Cultural traditions have traveled and relocated with people, changing and transforming along the way. 
 
Yards have traditionally been places for dancing. This dance takes place in the yard of Antti's house, which is a model house moved from Säkylä, Western Finland, to the Seurasaari open-air museum in Helsinki.
 
Into the new yard of the relocated house, we wanted to bring another relocated element: a dance. The dance’s origins are in a Karelian quadrille documented in the 1970s. Quadrilles are originally Central European pattern dances that found their way to Finland at the end of the 18th century. They consist of standard parts repeated in different orders. 

The last part of the quadrille is maanitus - an invitation to dance, an improvisation. For us, it is dancing with the fluidity, layeredness and transformation of cultural material - sensing, dancing and improvising on the surfaces of different times and places. The dance was filmed in February 2018.


CREDITS​

Cinematography, directing, editing: Juhani Haukka
​Performance: Emilia Lajunen, Outi Markkula, Kalle Pulkkinen, Jukka Tarvainen, Katriina Tavi
Music, nyckelharpa: Emilia Lajunen / inspired by the melody of Paimenpojan polska, Ville Paananen (Sumiainen), 1938.
Recording and mixing of the music: Kuisma Eskola
Costume coordination and consultation: Hilppa Herd
Production: Väkevä Collective, Taideosuuskunta Suin päin, 2022.

SEE THE FILM

The Yard - In and out of place
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The film is part of the Environmental Dance Project by Christoph Winkler. Read more about the project: https://environmental-dance.com/information