Noora Hannula, Ida Duelund, John P.G. Jonsson

Noora Hannula - SWEET CONSTRUCTED INTIMACY EXPERIENCE
Photo: Trine Thybo

Noora Hannula - SWEET CONSTRUCTED INTIMACY EXPERIENCE
Trine Thybo

Om konstnärerna
- The Nordic Beasts is a dance theatre group that aims to produce, facilitate and support high quality Nordic dance theatre. The company operates under the artistic direction of choreographer Noora Hannula (FI) and has currently seven collaborative artist members: Julie Rasmussen (NO), Elín Sígny (IS) Sophia Mage (DK/US), Ida Duelund (DK), Helena Wilhelmsson (SE), Belinda Larsen (DK) and John P.G. Jónsson (IS).
  
  Together we aim for The Nordic Beasts to be a dance company that keeps on exploring new ways for making dance theater and creating platforms, while tackling modern day topics in an innovative way.
  
  A Nordic Beasts production can be characterized by an eye-catching visual style, physically merciless choreography and themes reflecting on the digital age, often served with a hint of absurdity.
  
  This residency is supported by the Nordic Residency Exchange Programme.
Residenset
- In this residency, we, Noora Hannula/The Nordic Beasts are developing further the performance concept Sweet Constructed Intimacy Experience. The work deals with the digitalization of intimate interaction and explores constructed intimacy in the form of a dance/performance concert. In the work we jump into a nearby future where machine generated intimacy experiences and meetings on virtual platforms are everyday and meetings in person are rare. In this world where relationships include machine interaction in the most intimate and wild ways possible the physical reality has a hard time keeping up the interest. So much so that an intimacy training is now provided by the Danish government, with sound and body in an intimate, stripped down space where one learns to feel intimacy without machines – to let go of the digital visual stimuli.
  
  The project is choreographed and danced by myself and the composition and live performance of the music is done by Ida Duelund. The lights, technique and 3D animation included in the show is worked together with John P.G Jónsson and 3D animation artist Belinda Larsen.
  
  During this research residency period we will focus on the three dimensionality of the sound, possible audience contact try outs and the exploration and planing of choreographic possibilities for the future use of a 3D scanned twin creature on stage.
  
  I’m especially interested in how the contract between the audience and a staged performance experience can be seen as a parallel to an immersive virtual porn experience. In both cases the viewer knows that the imminent consumed experience is constructed, nevertheless he or she is willing to engage with it and is ready to put in the needed 30% of imagination to make it believable.
  
  Sweet Constructed Intimacy Experience is the second part of my DIGITAL LOVE TRILOGY started in 2018 with the 3D animated dance show Noora Hannula vs. Soma the Augmented-Reality Girl – THE ULTIMATE BATTLE.
  
  The project is brought to MDT within the Nordic Dance Residency Program with the support from the Nordic Culture Point.
Residensdatum 2019
- 11-23/6
The Nordic Residency Exchange Programme
- In the Nordic Residency Exchange Programme, five major performing arts houses in the northern Europe collaborate to exchange artists once a year. Each house sends out a local artist to a partner and receives an artist from one of the other partners (from either Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland or Iceland). These residencies are selected by the partners and can not be applied for.
  
  The Nordic Residency Exchange Programme is funded by the Nordic Culture Point and the Nordic Culture Fund and is supported by Bora Bora Residency Centre, BIT Teatergarasjen, MDT Stockholm, Reykjavik Dance Festival and Zodiak.