Dancing in the rain

On Sunday, we were planning to attend an event arranged by the Embassy of Japan at the Main Library. When we arrived the hall reserved for the presentation was completely packed and suddenly we had a chance to attend another of the overlapping afternoon events I had read about.

This was a modern dance show that started on both sides of the downtown riverbank. After a short ‘warm-up period’ the dancers slowly walked to the pedestrian Library Bridge which served as the stage for the rest of the lengthy performance.

It is a pity it was drizzling. Most of the time there was only a handful of spectators on both sides of the bridge, at times when it was raining more heavily even less than that. Most of the passers-by moved on, which was nice for us onlookers as they kind of completed the urban performance.

The fascinating show without music taking the dancers to and fro between the railings, even onto the surface of the wet bridge deck, nailed us to the spot. After half an hour or so we couldn’t resist, however, crossing the bridge to have a look from the other side as well.

We stayed the whole 60 minutes feeling rather chilly at the end but also most pleased we had been lucky to experience this unique event live. I only hope no one of the dancers got a cold as there were several more shows to go.

The act on the Library Bridge was one of a series of five modern dance performances, a dancing manifesto for the common urban space under a title that could be translated ‘City for the people’ (Ihmisten kaupunki). The event took place at five different locations in Turku between Saturday and today and was implemented – in collaboration with three local dancers – by the Tampere-based FREE collective, a group of independent dance artists from there, and co-produced by two regional dance cetres. The choreography was by Anniina Kumpuniemi. The first set of five performances occurred in Tampere a couple of weeks earlier.

Never mind the rain, we loved the show and would welcome more of this kind to the urban space anytime of the year. Such an event would also make a great topic for a local film student. Inspiring, spellbinding, magical! Simply fabulous!

Tango on a campo

I had read about it on Marivic’s blog No Doors and had marked it on my calendar. So on our Tuesday night in Venice we made sure to head towards the Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio in the Santa Croce area well before sunset.

We found nothing out of the ordinary there, only a number of locals spending the mild autumn evening out like at any Italian village square. Senior citizens occupying most of the benches, youngsters chatting with friends, children playing or just running around… We checked the whole of the C-shaped square surrounding the church on three sides and finally sat at a corner bar to have an aperitif while waiting for the real action to begin.

After a while darkness started to fall and so did our disappointment. The event probably was something for the summer season only we thought. Nonetheless, we decided to dine at a restaurant on another corner of the square just in case.

When we stepped out of the restaurant we heard the tango. Inviting, passionate, Argentine tango out of loudspeakers at the far end of the square close to the bar where we had our drink two hours earlier.

We rushed closer and glued ourselves to a lamppost in the middle of the square both of us with a camera in hand.

There wasn’t any dress code but the ladies did have stilettos and the scene was simply fascinating. We could hardly take our eyes or ears away from it.

What a delightful happening, an idea anyone could adopt in his or her own neighbourhood. It would only require a few passionate people and some love for tango and others would certainly follow. Wouldn’t it be great to know how to do the tango – or at least watch those who know how to do it at the local square on a regular basis.

To complete the picture, there was a separate event taking place at the other end of the large square. On four consecutive nights, a different Venice-related movie was shown as an outdoor night show. (I never knew there were so many large squares in Venice renowned for its compact densely built area.)

When in Venice, do not miss the tango at the Campo San Giacomo dell’Orio on Tuesday night after dark. Who knows, you might even venture on the dance floor. We do love tango but only from a distance and were amateurs enough not to even think about such a bold undertaking.