Contemporary dance workshop with Tero Saarinen

Supported by the Embassy of Finland, Ottawa

TERO WORKSHOP

TERO Workshop is an introduction to Tero Saarinen’s unique movement style; it gives students an overview of the holistic philosophy behind Saarinen’s technique. Teaching concentrates on the central patterns of movements that make up TERO Technique, and allows students to explore it further through a few repertoire exercises, featuring material from Saarinen’s recent creations. This workshop is meant for pre-professional dance students. 

The technique of the internationally acclaimed choreographer Tero Saarinen stems from awakening the senses, recognising the weight of one’s body and hence maximising the use of both balance and off-balance. Saarinen’s distinctive style fuses elements from his backgrounds in ballet, contemporary dance and a wide range of Asian traditions. Saarinen’s style has been described as “organic”, ”an inventive mixture of grotesqueness and beauty” and “butoh with wings”.

The aim of the workshop is to activate every cell and nerve ending in the body, to become fully Aware, Alert and Attentive – 360 degrees present, resonating and alive. The goal is to make full use of each dancer’s technical knowledge and explore, liberate and further nourish the potential of each individual.

 “My goal is to reach a state of awareness where even the skin is curious and alive.”
 – Tero Saarinen

TERO SAARINEN has had a distinguished international career both as a dancer and choreographer.

Saarinen has made more than 40 creations for Tero Saarinen Company and other prominent dance groups including Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT1) and the Batsheva Dance Company (Israel). His key works include: Westward Ho! (1996); the Stravinsky reinterpretations Petrushka (2001), HUNT (2002) and Mariage (Ballet de Lorraine, 2007); the Shakers-inspired Borrowed Light (2004); Vortex for the National Dance Company of Korea (2014); Morphed, set to music by Esa-Pekka Salonen (2014); and most recently the large-scale Kullervo, set to Jean Sibelius’ choral symphony, in collaboration with the Finnish National Opera and Ballet (2015).

As a choreographer Saarinen is known for his unique movement technique and language, “an inventive mixture of grotesqueness and beauty” that plays with balance, and off-balance. Saarinen has received numerous acknowledgements of his work as an artist both in Finland and abroad.