Maria Nurmela’s contemporary dance work A Breath of a Mild Kind, created for Pori Dance Company, premiered in September 2024 at Pori’s historic bus station, which today serves as the cultural hub Asema44.
The piece draws inspiration from the Brazilian author Clarice Lispector’s final book Um Sopro de Vida (Elämän henkäys, translated into Finnish by Tarja Härkönen). Published posthumously in 1978, the book explores themes such as the passage of time, the cycle of life, and solitude.
The contemporary dance work A Breath of a Mild Kind unfolds through encounters and fragments that reflect lived moments. Everyday gestures and movements derived from them create for the audience a sense of diary entries and dialogues that are both familiar and thought-provoking. Inevitably, the events of human life return to breathing—the breath of life—where each inhalation and exhalation gives existence its own rhythm.
The work continues the long-standing collaboration between Maria Nurmela and lighting/spatial designer Kalle Ropponen, resulting in a holistic experience that is sensuous and immersive for the audience.
The creators extend their gratitude to translator Tarja Härkönen for her fine Finnish translation of Clarice Lispector’s original work.
Duration: approximately 40 minutes.
