Lovely is a performance series situated at the intersection of pole dance and meditation practice. In the work, meditative sensitization, pleasure, and experiences of connection are made visible through pole dancing and movement. The project consists of six gently participatory events. Lovely explores ways of blending workshop and performance formats, and of weaving meditation into both the act of performing and the act of watching.
Working group: Noora Juppi, Tuuli Kainulainen and Alexander Salvesen.
The work has been supported by the Saari Residence of Kone Foundation, Old Mine Residency, and the City of Helsinki.
1. event
The theme of the first part is the eye. We encounter the world through our senses. Vision is often the most dominant of them, and much of our experience of the world is built upon it. In language, seeing is even a synonym for understanding. Are you aware of the act of seeing? Do you feel the gaze of others in your body? Is there a difference between seeing and looking?
2. event
The theme of the second part is the ear. How does what you see colour what you hear? How is reality constructed through your ears? Can you listen with your whole body? What does pole dancing sound like?
3. event
The third part focuses on the skin and the sense of touch. Skin contact makes pole dancing possible. The warmth produced by the skin creates friction, enabling the body to be supported high on the pole. What does skin feel like when its temperature is optimal for pole dancing? How can the sense of touch be activated in the experience of watching pole dance?
4. event
The fourth part centres on the tongue and the sense of taste. The tongue is deeply connected to sensory pleasure. How much does the tongue guide your choices? What kind of world does the sense door of the tongue open? During the event, we taste small amounts of vegan and gluten-free ingredients.
5. event
The fifth event explores and observes the mind. The mind strongly shapes our experience of reality. It forms our sense of ourselves, of others, and of the world. By observing the activity of the mind, it becomes possible to create distance from constant reactivity and to see the cause-and-effect relationships that tug us along. When and how does attention drift into the stories of the mind? Which of the stories are true?
6. event
The theme of the sixth event is the nose and the sense of smell. Smell has a particularly direct and powerful connection to memory and emotion. Scents influence us often without our awareness; for example, human pheromones are compounds we cannot consciously perceive. Scent arises from molecules in the air that have evaporated from a liquid substance and moved into a gas phase. In the event we breathe, smell, and take inspiration from the dance of scent molecules moving through the air.
Noora Juppi 