The year’s hard work at the Ballet School of the Finnish National Ballet culminates in May at the spring gala, which takes place in the fabulous surroundings of Dance House Helsinki. The spring gala will be a mixture of classical ballet and contemporary dance, as Pessi and Illusia makes a comeback from last spring and the vocational education students will perform Reija Wäre’s choreography Frame.
Everyone gets on stage for Pessi and Illusia
Almost the entire Ballet School will be involved in the performance of Pessi and Illusia choreographed by Anandah Kononen. The ballet is based on Yrjö Kokko’s fairy-tale. Kononen has selected the music for her work from the Finnish composers Erkki Melartin, Armas Järnefelt, Leevi Madetoja and Fredrik Pacius.
The world premiere of the Pessi and Illusia ballet took place on the summer tour of the Finnish National Ballet’s dancers in 1952. Kononen’s version had its world premiere at the Ballet School of the Finnish National Ballet in the centenary year of the Finnish National Ballet in 2022.
At the spring gala, Reija Wäre’s Frame will be performed for the first time ever to a live audience: the choreography has only ever been seen as a live broadcast. The contemporary dance work performed by the vocational students of the Ballet School of the Finnish National Ballet will feature music from Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds, René Aubry and Kiasmos.
Reija Wäre’s choreographies, which combine different genres of dance, have attracted widespread attention. The Youth Company of the Finnish National Ballet performed Wäre’s choreography Clique to full houses last year.
