Sanan paino

THE WEIGHT OF THE WORD

Sanan Paino (literally, “the weight of the word”) is a collection of solo improvisations by Pirjo Yli-Maunula that will be performed at the Oulu City Library on February 8, 6-8 PM. The dancer can be encountered in different sections of the library where she will hand out excerpts from her favorite books and compose dance pieces on the spot, drawing the inspiration to her
performance from the texts. What aspects of writing can be expressed with movement? Can dance be translated into writing?

Lately, Pirjo’s reading list has mostly consisted of Finnish writers like Petri Tamminen (“Muita hyviä ominaisuuksia”), Riikka Pulkkinen (”Totta”) and Claes Andersson (“Jokainen sydämeni lyönti”). She is also extremely fond of the Finnish children’s literature classics, such as the works of Tove Jansson, and freqeuently revisits them.

Would you like to read a poem, an aphorism, or an excerpt from your favorite book to the dancer and have her improvise to it? All you need to do is pick a text and choose a place in the library where you would like to read to her. In exchange you will get a dance performance, composed on the spot. The initial meeting place is the library’s lobby at 6-8 PM, where trips to
different corners of the building will begin.

The performance is presented by the Artist of the Year in co-operation with Oulu City Library on February 8, “Lainan päivä”, a national theme day in libraries all across Finland.