The multidisciplinary butoh performance Kasvu ja kukoistus depicts the time of year when nature is in its fullest bloom, midsummer. The performance is also a celebration of aging, especially as a female, as we can continue to grow and bloom throughout different stages of life, if circumstances allow. 

 

This is the first part of the longer performance that was produced by höyhentämö and Jyväskylän kesä 2023 and a part of trilogy Just a Gardener that will continue in December 2025 with the last part Kuihtuminen ja kuolema, Withering and Death, produced by Höyhentämö in Helsinki.

 

More info about the performance:

https://www.hoyhentamo.fi/kasvu-en/

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More info about the last part premiering this December:

https://www.hoyhentamo.fi/kuihtuminen/ 

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Minja Mertanen (1981) is a helsinki based dancer and a live artist. She has graduated as a dance teacher, dance- and movement therapist, a yoga instructor and Somatic Movement Therapist. She has been working with Butoh over 20 years performing and teaching in 20 countries. She is the founder of Be(a)ware Butoh Festival at Helsinki and co-director of Why Butoh Festival in Turku.