Tempo
concept: Nio, Melo & Salmenniemi
direction: Kalle Nio
choreography: Fernando Melo
music, sound design: Samuli Kosminen
script: Harry Salmenniemi
costumes: Georgina Spencer
light design: Johannes Hallikas
performers: Barbara Kanc, Winston Reynolds, Luigi Sardone
duration: 60-80’
premiere: Helsinki Festival, 2025
production: WHS
co-production: Helsinki Festival, Finland, Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana, Slovenia, Alfred Kordelin Foundation
“Tempo” explores time, its perception, and its acceleration, deceleration and cessation. At the heart of the presentation is a mundane event where the protagonist narrowly avoids an accident. This trivial incident assumes grand proportions, revealing life's fragility. The piece revisits moments of falling, stumbling, accidents, and their aftermath in various ways… The scenes are dreamlike, visual tableau vivant-style images where the laws of nature are overturned. Gravity and time are reversed as the performer waves a flag backward, falls backward off stairs, and slowly floats in the air. The performance's structure resembles a nonlinear palindrome, where timelines blend and reverse. In an era where constant distractions fragment our attention, the production seeks to manipulate the perception of time, guiding audiences to a heightened awareness of the present moment. “Tempo” outlines the significance of time's strange jerks and slowdowns. What does it feel like to be in time? Why do some moments seem to last almost forever? Why does life sometimes feel like it rushes past its experiencer? The performance explores the sensation and fragmentation of time through magic, images, movement, and music. By playing with the perception of time, it aims to make us recognize the present moment.
Kalle Nio is a Finnish stage director, visual artist, and magician renowned for blending visual theatre, experimental film, contemporary circus, and new magic. His group, WHS, has performed in over 200 theatres across 40+ countries, earning international acclaim. A Master of Fine Arts graduate from the University of the Arts Helsinki, Nio has collaborated with prestigious institutions like Foundation Hermès, Helsinki Festival and Théâtre de la Cité in Paris.
Brazilian-born Fernando Melo has built a distinguished career in Europe, creating choreography for leading dance companies such as GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Skånes Dansteater and Ballet Hispanico in New York. His works often incorporate magic and stage illusions, enriching productions in both dance and opera, including collaborations with La Monnaie in Brussels and Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen. Known for his innovative and interdisciplinary approach, Melo continues to shape the global dance and opera scenes.
