Anna Orkolainen, Marja Burchard „Flight of the Cranes“
Cranes ancient migrating birds know their way. They travel with purpose, from summering to wintering grounds, from rest to their flight carved into their bodies, into their very being. They have done this thousands of years, carrying memory in their wings. But this performance is not only about birds. From high above the cranes see what unfolds below: A planet in pain. Pollution, war, exile. Human uprooted, torn from home, wandering not with certainty, but in desperation. Animals vanish, forest fall, oceans fill with plastic. Through the slow searching language of Butoh, the dancer become these birds watchers, witnesses, their movements is a quit call, a breath of sorrow and hope. A wish rises with each gestures: Peace for the earth. For all who live upon it.