Nin­gen 人間

At the heart of Ningen is the tacit knowledge that emerges from bodily experience and the wordless interaction with the environment. The work explores how the environment, including the audience, has impact on dance in an ongoing moment and how the Japanese time-space concept ma 間(interval in time and space) could be thought of as an interactive space between the audience member and the performer, among other manifestations of it. The work borrows its name from the human-meaning concept Ningen 人間 from Japanese Kyoto School philosopher Watsuji Tetsuro (1889-1960). Concept includes the individual and social side of human, consisting of kanji signs meaning human and ma. The work is the second artistic component of Mammu Rankanen’s artistic research dissertation The Holder of Emptiness – Ma in the Formation of the Dancer’s Internal and External Space at the Performing Arts Research Center (Tutke) of the Theatre Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki. The rehearsals and performances of the work take place both at the Theater Academy and at the Dance House’s Pannu Hall. Two different venues as performance space is an essential part of the research. Opening the work process to the public will deepen the exploration of research issues related to the shared space of viewers and performers; How does the bodily experience of the work from the dancer’s perspective open to the viewer?How does the internal space of the dancer formulate the external space and relate to the experiences of the inner space of the co-dancers as well as the spectators? How does the external space affect the experience of the inner space and the dance that takes shape in an ongoing moment?

-Mammu Rankanen