Marathon of Perseverance

Entering Tanzfabrik Berlin Bühne in Uferstudio 14, the performance has already begun. Like walking into a tennis match, audience is invited to seat at both sides of the space, with ten dancers walking clockwise along the „sidelines“ of the arena. This is Milla Koistinen's „Sweat (anthem)“ collaborated with both senior dancers from Dance On Ensemble and emerging dancer artists. It is a work about resilience and perseverance, articulating a quiet yet powerful protest amid the crisis of art's survival.

Background

„Sweat (anthem)“ is the second work in Koistinen's series exploring resilience, continuing the investigation into movement languages of sports and dance that began with GRIT (for what it's worth), which premiered at Stoa, Helsinki in November 2024. According to a report released on 16th December in Helsingin Sanomat written by Henna Raatikainen, Koistinen conceived this work in autumn 2023, when news of major cuts to Finland's cultural budget shook the arts community. She describes her creative drive as a „furious desire to defend art“. She further states „We're fighting for the survival of art with this piece.“

To realize this collective work, Koistinen not only assembled experienced dancers from Dance On Ensemble and young performers but also invested substantial personal funds into production costs. The Finnish premiere, originally scheduled for early 2026, has been cancelled, with no new performance date yet determined. In an era where more and more choreographers are forced to create solos, this intergenerational collective of ten dancers which is spanning ages from 24 to 62, is itself a response to adversity.

Collective Movement

Extremely slow and quiet, the first scene unfolds with starting positions for various sports, javelin, discus throw, bowling, combat. I can clearly see the audience across from me, equally with fixed eyes and postures. The dancers' concentrated control affects the breathing of the entire space.

From the second scene onward, individual movements shift toward relationships. One issues signals and commands, others raise hands to pause. Flow, confrontation, cooperation, these elements of the arena are recreated here, but stripped of the purpose of winning or losing. It then followed by a sequence of duets. Starting with the first pair, the ten dancers form five duos, successively entering a resistance of opposite forces. Movements reveal the extremes of the body under gravity, one person supporting another's weight, or parallel performances of identical movements. Each dancer's training background is different, some from technical traditions, others rooted in improvisation. This diversity is precisely the work's strength: it does not pursue uniformity but asks „what is shared by everyone.“

Une revanche

One by one, dancers crouch into running starting positions, facing inward toward the space's center, and the entire arena falls silent. Then, a young dancer breaks the silence, like someone issuing a call, running around the space anew. Others slowly follow, everyone returning to the opening walk, identical to before. Like the next round in sports, how will the field reopen this time?

The work reaches its emotional peak in a shuttle run: ten dancers move back and forth like athletes in training. A shout can burst out, a pause can be made to catch breath, a cramp can appear in muscles, a disappointing moment can hit one when the person stares at the next goal. Nevertheless, keeping motivation alive and continuing to move forward is, at its core, what resilience is about. Move, slow start, accelerate and then persist. 

The ending returns to the origin of athletic imagery. Dancers assume marathon starting positions. Ty Boomershine is perhaps only half a meter away from me. I can clearly see that the black tape near his neck, beneath his collar, has begun to curl slightly from sweat. It must be a piece of kinesiology tape. Unlike the power of youth lies in perpetual momentum, the secret of the experienced lies in prudent choices and aggressive self-protection for what considered important. Just as Koistinen describes the significance of bringing this work to live, „Making this piece has awakened a hopeful rage.“