The Days in BC / Canada as part of the Nordic Bridges 2022, June 2022
Maria Nurmela and Ville Oinonen and choreographer Theo Clinkard's international contemporary dance performance The Days to Canada 9.6.-27.6.2022
Maria Nurmela (Tku) and Ville Oinonen (Tre) and English choreographer Theo Clinkard's audience participation contemporary dance duo The Days travelled to British Columbia, Canada, as part of the Nordic Bridges programme organised by the Nordic Ministries of Culture in 2022. The Days was the only Finnish dance project selected for the programme.
Nordic Bridges is the largest ever joint Nordic cultural initiative abroad. The Days' Canadian tour was hosted by the BC Movement Arts Society and the Dance Centre Vancouver and focused on the historically significant area of Vancouver and Vancouver Island, including Sointula, from a Finnish perspective. Located north of Vancouver Island, Sointula is a community established by Finnish immigrants to the island in the early 1900s on Malcolm Island. The architecture built by the immigrants and their descendants still remain in Sointula. In Sointula, The Days was performed in the Finnish Organisational hall. After Sointula, The Days will travel to Canada's Indigenous settlements of Alert Bay/'Namgis Nation and Port McNeill, where the performances will again took place in local community halls.
The concept behind The Days project is to involve locals over 65 years of age. The team worked closely with local communities to organise contemporary dance workshops, especially for people over 65 who are passionate about dance. Two of the participants were invited to perform on stage with Nurmela and Oinonen in the work itself.
"It is exceptional that a project created by freelancers and outside of existing production houses continues to live on for so long and internationally after its premiere in Pori in 2018, reaching audiences so widely around the world. But, The Days deals with universal themes that are recognisable and touching regardless of cultural background. It is accessible and appeals to a wide range of audiences and audiences, regardless of their previous experience of contemporary dance. The workshops, especially for local seniors, are also valuable cultural work in these exceptional times." The Days team says.
The tours are supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland. The Western Regional Centre for Dance is the working group's partner and background organisation.
The Days was initiated in 2017 by Finnish dance artists Maria Nurmela and Ville Oinonen, who invited English choreographer Theo Clinkard to create a contemporary dance duo for them. The work premiered in December 2018 at the Pori Dance Festival and has since toured successfully in Finland at international festivals.
In April 2022, The Days was on an extensive tour of the UK, where the work was performed at large established venues such as The Place, The Lowry and Nottingham Lakeside, as well as in village halls in rural Ashburton and Calstock. Read about the artists' journey on the Western Regional Dance Centre blog.
Canadian performance dates and venues
17-18 June 2022 Sointula, British Columbia
19.6.2022 Alert Bay, British Columbia
21.6.2022 Port McNeil, British Columbia
24-25.6.2022 The Dance Center, Vancouver