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Mari Emilia Laamanen

Joensuu, Finland

Dance artist and teacher 

Graphic designer

Classical singer (student)

Vimma- and Lonely in the Rain? -festival organizer

President of Art center Ahjo

Professional education:

2012 – Studies in Classical singing and theory of music

2008 Dancer, Vocational Qualification, North Karelia College, Outokumpu,

2004 Dance teacher, ISLO: Eastern Finland Sports Institute, Joensuu

2003 Graphic Designer, Kuopio Academy of Design

Studies in various techniques of dance:

Classical ballet, character dance, contemporary dance/release technique, improvisation, contact improvisation, Feldenkrais, jazz dance, hip hop

Interests:

– Study of subtle changes in movement, rhythms, light, moods, soul and connections between living beings.

– Multimedia and dance

– Study of light as a phenomenon on Earth

– Creation of unusual characters and new worlds.

Mari Laamanen graduated as a Media Designer from Kuopio academy of Design in 2003. She graduated as a dancer from North Karelia College in 2008. At the moment she is studying classical singing. Laamanen has worked as a dancer and as a dance teacher in Joensuu since 2009.

Her latest dance pieces are Knitted Home, a dance theater performance that tours different communities and events, and also a solo piece Soul Reflector. Mari Laamanen is a co-founder Vimma Contemporary Dance Festival. Laamanen is a member of Lonely in the Rain? –festival work group and is a president of Art Center Ahjo. She is a member of the board of The Regional Dance Center of Eastern Finland.

Developing a new dance technique as goal

“The contrasts, qualities, subtle tenderness and strength are my primary interests. I challenge myself in every dance piece with new kind of movement. I study the movement, light and sound in detail. I’m particularly interested in resonating of single sounds in space and phenomenon of light. My goal in the future is to design light and the sound of my performances. In this I will combine my ability to interpret different characters. Those characters are not average persons; rather they are beings from other worlds. I build systems which are controlled by new laws. The moods and souls are at the center of my art and a wondering of human life has major role in my work. I bring new perspectives to the field of dance. I will develop both art and myself through it that is my mission in life.”

Latest and upcoming Dance pieces:

Hengetär/The Spirit -production, will be ready in July 2016

Concept and dance: Mari Laamanen

Parts of the production are: Dance film, Series of photographs and a recording. The pictures will be taken and sounds recorded Koli National Park. These materials tour exhibition spaces and are a part of dance lessons for different target groups and performances of The Spirit.

The production will explore how the light appears itself in the nature. The dance focuses particularly at the study of different qualities of movement.

Pro Patria, will be ready October 2015,  

Choreography: Ari Numminen 
Dance: Mari Kortelainen, Mira Laakkonen, Mari Laamanen and Terhi Lilja

Photo: Mari Laamanen

Come again: Sweet Love -solo 2015

Choreography and dance: Mari Laamanen

The performance combines unusual character and the study of rhythms.

Poster: Mari Laamanen

Sielunpeilaaja/Soul Reflector -solo 2014

Choreography, dance, light designing: Mari Laamanen

Music and sound designing: Yrjö Vähäkallio

The piece is about the study of light and qualities of movement. The character combines traits of pixies and aliens.

Photo: Jouko Räsänen

Kudottu koti/Knitted Home – dance theater performance 2013

Choreography and dance: Mari Laamanen

Music: Anssi Mäkisalo

Knitted Home is a joyous dance piece that features traditional poetry and music of Eastern Finland and Karelia. It is a tale of a day in a life of an old maid.