GAIA – flamenco dance piece on man and the Earth, directed and choreographed by Erika Alajärvi, is a cross-disciplinary production, that brings onto stage an interpretation of man’s impact on nature and its reflection back to man. The idea of the work was inspired of James E. Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis. In addition to the pure pleasure of art and flamenco, the aim of the project was to visualize discoveries of environmental sciences and make them more approachable, and to reflect on the human relationship with nature and the Earth in general. The premiere took place on 13th March 2013 in Louhisali, Espoo.
An important part of the project was its website www.gaia-teos.org, where we could communicate important themes on the subject, and where the audience could communicate with us during the process.
I took part in the project & ensemble as a visual artist. My responsibilities included artistic work for the creation of the dance piece’s visual air and appearance; video & still projections; graphic design; partly costume design (incl. painting of costumes by hand); documentation and photography during the process.
Photos © Terhi Ketolainen.
Video compilation of the stage performances in 2013 (duration 02:05).