| Abstrakt: |
The avant-garde can be seen as something that reforms an art form. This article explores the avant-garde elements in the works of two contemporary Finnish choreographers, Reijo Kela and Sanna Kekäläinen, during the 1980s. I suggest that Kela's solo performances brought original, fresh perspectives to Finnish dance. His first largescale works, Ilmarin kynnös (Ilmari's Ploughed Field, 1988) and Cityman (1989), introduced the concept of site-specific dance to wider audiences. Kekäläinen, on the other hand, was one of the central choreographers of the so-called new dance movement. Her work challenged traditional dance techniques and the concept of representational dance. In this article I take a closer look at the experimental work of these two dancers, and how it was received by audiences and critics. I also discuss their works in relation to the international dance context and Finnish dance history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
