Ali and Alpo
Alpo Aaltokoski Company
Summerhall
13:05 [40 MIN]
MORE INFO
Time
Previews Aug 6-7 • Shows Aug 8-25
Days off Aug 12 & 19 • Starting time 13:05 • Show length 40 min
Venue
Summerhall Old Lab
1 Summerhall Pl, Edinburgh EH9 1PL
INFO
A beautiful wordless dialogue between two cultures.
A beautiful wordless dialogue between Iraqi traditional music and Finnish contemporary dance. Iraqi oud lute virtuoso Ali Alawad and Finnish choreographer Alpo Aaltokoski had planned to collaborate on a new work which would contemplate the similarities and differences between their cultures. But the rejection of Alawad’s asylum applications dramatically affected the final form of the work. To avoid forced repatriation, Alawad fled Finland two weeks before the premiere and so takes part in the performance via video projection. The piece touchingly brings out the human experience of the consequences of increasingly restrictive asylum policies.
“This intimate and intense performance brings a lump to the throat. It’s difficult to hold back the tears…”
HELSINGIN SANOMAT (Finland)
Alpo Aaltokoski Company
A contemporary dance company founded in 1995 by choreographer and dance artist Alpo Aaltokoski, one of the key figures in the Finnish dance scene. The company is based in Helsinki, Finland. AAC has toured and held workshops in nearly 30 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America.
Solidarity and joint responsibility are recurring themes in Aaltokoski’s works and are at the very core of the company’s philosophy. Numerous pedagogic projects have been carried out in South and Central America since 1994.
Holistic visual insight is characteristic to Aaltokoski’s artistic work. The choreographer’s aspiration is to understand human beings and their personal relations as well as their relation to the surrounding world, never forgetting the comic side of things.
CREDIT LIST
- Choreography by Alpo Aaltokoski
- Music by Ali Alawad
- Lighting design by Kari Gratseff
- Sound design by Johanna Storm
- Costume design by Marja Uusitalo
- Video shooting by Thomas Freundlicht
- Video script by Alpo Aaltokoski
- Video editing by Joe Davidow
- Stage manager: Kalle Paasonen / Angélica Saludes Estévez
- Producer: Sari Lakso
TOURING & SCRIPT ENQUIRIES
- Sari Lakso
- sari@aaltokoskicompany.fi
