Dukan, gluten-free, organic, macrobiotic, raw food, fat-free, super food, sugar-free, ton-ton… Jungle of food choices.
The work deals with how food and diet are taking over space in today’s society. Food and food choices have taken on religious traits in the mindsets, behavior, and social interactions of many people. What decisions do people make to follow the lifestyle they choose? How do you achieve a good and happy life when there is an oversupply of them?
The work examines the construction of the ideal person from the perspective of food choices or their non-choice by means of contemporary dance: Are “right” food choices part of the demands of a socially and socially acceptable individual? On the other hand, can society set the framework for a mandatory and desirable human prototype? The work also deals with the boundary between a healthy diet and an eating disorder, which is often drawn in water. We try to find answers to why we find eating disorders less acceptable than many modern lifestyle diseases, even though they are all the result of our modern living environment. Who has the right to play with food at a time when many are starving on the other side of the world?
Concept, choreography and performance: Outi Elena Valanto and Virva Torkko
Music composed for the work: Juan Pablo Muñoz Bulla
Duration: 35 min
The work has been worked on in residencies in Italy at the Kulturfactory Contemporary Art residency, in Hungary at the Bakelit Multi Art Center residency, and at the Sotku Theater residency awarded by ITAK.
Destination Collective:
Outi Elena Valanto (MA) is a Finnish artist with a basic education in dance and architecture. He holds a Master of Arts degree from Fontys University in the Netherlands with a major in public space art and art in contemporary society. He currently works mainly in Germany and Finland. Outi works with a combination of science and art: movement and architecture. Her work focuses on urban development through art, community art, integrated and interdisciplinary art work. As a freelancer, Outi has worked in international projects e.g. Moving Digits (tanzhaus NRW, m-iti Portugal, Soltumatu Tantsulava), Common Ground (Makeshift Ensemble, Artemisszio, Postmodernsquare), Moving Beyond Inclusion (chor. Alessandro Schiattarella) and Coram Publicum. His own works, such as Transformer and Spiritual Cabaret, have looked at contemporary phenomena such as social media, technological developments in modern society, and the diversity of public space. His work is guided by values such as accessibility, community and curiosity. Outi is currently working as part of the Target Collective, and is researching the Method.Movement.Urban project, which combines several arts and disciplines, and examines the development of public space through a business research perspective.
Virva Torkko is a dance artist from Kuopio. She graduated as a dance teacher from Savonia University of Applied Sciences and continued her education at the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy in the contemporary dance program. She has performed in Dance Theater Hurjaruuthi, Dance Theater Minim, Iván Angelus, Tijen Lawton, Csaba Molnár and Marco Torrice, among others. In addition, she has several years of teaching experience in different types of dance in different contexts. He is currently working on the development of his own artistic activities, mainly working in the Objective Collective and at the same time working in a variety of jobs in the dance field.
Juan Pablo Muñoz Bulla is a Colombian pianist and music educator. He currently works in Hungary, where he plays in chamber music ensembles, teaches piano playing, and composes music for various projects. He has studied classical piano in Colombia, Venezuela, and most recently in Hungary at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, where he completed master’s degrees in both piano music and music education.
