MAD history

The production organization for contemporary dance, MAD Production (M.A.D Tanssimaisterit ry), was founded in 1995 to help employ young dance professionals. The newly graduated Masters of Arts in Dance, Katarina McAlester, Timo Loponen, Hanna Pajala and Minna Vainikainen decided to unite their forces and produce an evening with dance performances together. With a grant of 30 000 FIM from the city of Helsinki the first co-produced evening of dance, Tanssi-iltamat, opened. The show was put together by five choreographers, seven dancers, one actor, two lighting designers, a costume designer and a bunch of surprise guests from actors to singers. The list of acknowledgements in the programme was long and the evening was also made possible by a loan of 5000 FIM granted by the father of one of the dancers. Everyone donated his or her first salary, a bit more than 50 FIM, from the first co-produced show to the newly founded association as a nest egg.
 Thanks to the increasing over all appreciation of dance and the increase in grants the circumstances of production of MAD Production has increased immensely. Even so, the amount of hours spent working for free add up to hundreds a year. Besides the artistic work, running the organization has demanded tenacious work and a passion for the art of dance.
In the over ten years that MAD Production has existed over 50 dance performances have been produced, 48 of them world premieres. 19 choreographers and about 160 dancers and performers have worked for us, not to forget the other artistic personnel, technicians and producers. In addition to single works of dance MAD Production has come together now and then and realized week-long festivals and one-night shows consisting of several different performances: Tanssi-iltamat 1995, Raippa ja Rutistus festivaali 1997, Lumelääkettä 2004, MADfest 2005, FreeMeet 2006, MADfest 2006, MADfest – dance and the city 2009 and LOIKKA dance film festivals 2008-2010.


Visits by international choreographers and the MADdance co


The first international choreographer to be invited was Mylène Riou from France in 1999. The result was the choreography Whithout Romeo that opened at the Full Moon Dance Festival in Pyhäjärvi 29.7.1999. The energetic and sparkling work of dance by Mylène Riou was an interesting combination of European dance performed by the force of Finns. The performance was co-produced with Zodiak – Center for New Dance. Inspired by the experience MAD Production initiated an annual international choreographer program, which evolved in the fixed dance group MADdance co in 2001-2003. 
Before the dance group was founded a production was made together with the Full Moon Dance Festival, Helsinki Festival and Zodiak. Two choreographies, Rebonds and Persephassa, by Apostolia Papadamaki from Greece to the Greek composer Iannis Xenakis music were very well received by the audience both in Pyhäjärvi and Helsinki. The Xenakis – an Hommage opened at the Full Moon Dance Festival 29.7.2000.
The MADdance co dancers were Anne Hiekkaranta, Tuovi Rantanen, Suvi Ruotoistenmäki, Vera Nevanlinna and Liisa Ylä-Outinen. The dance group was founded in 2001 and the dancers were picked by an audition held in spring 2001 for some 80 dancers. The group was supported together with Full Moon Dance and the versatile repertoire consisted of both Finnish and international choreographers’ works (2001 Paula Tuovinen ja Katarina McAlester,  2002 Rosane Chemecki, Andrea Lerner (USA/Bra) ja Marjo Kuusela, 2003 Tim Feldmann (D)). One of the contributors to the project was the European Social Fund. The support of ESF ended by the year 2003. The dance group cut itself loose from MAD Production in 2004. The dancers still work together as an independent group inviting guest choreographers. The group of five individual dancers calls itself nowadays Varjoryhmä. 
Open production 2001-2004
A high artistic ambition and interesting artists has been the foundation for the work from the very beginning. In the choice of course outside experts in dance have sometimes been used in the decision making. In 2001-2004 MAD Production opened its production to artists outside the group. Then support was given to e.g. Jenni Kivelä’s Kukkia Sidontaa (2002), Anna Veijalainen’s Odonata (2002) and Simo Kellokumpu’s Fallen Ones (2004). The productions were decided upon by an artistic chair of five people.

10 year celebration and MADfest


To celebrate the ten year journey of MAD Production the festival MADfest was organized. The festival presented the four current choreographers of MAD. The events took place at the Savoy theatre and at Kanneltalo. The quartet of choreographers, Katarina McAlester, Kati Kallio, Mia Malviniemi and Hanna Pajala-Assefa, has been taking care of both artistic and organizational work in the association from the beginning. In 2004 the association decided to begin a new era by offering the quartet an opportunity to focus on the artistic process in the near future, as the association commits to produce mainly their choreographies
.

MADfest 2006


MAD Production organized a four-day festival MADfest 9-12.11.2006. The festival presented world premieres of 2006 and revivals from 2005. Opening at Helsinki was Mia Malviniemi’s Kwaidan, parts III-V, based on P.H. Nordgren’s music and Japanese ghost stories and Katarina McAlester’s solos, choreographed together with the dancers, Name Card 1 and 2. As a revival Katarina McAlester’s sensual duetto Ennen Yötä was shown.

MADfest –Dance and the City

Urban movement, contemporary dance, movement theatre and performances on Sept 30th - Oct.17th 2009, in Helsinki. Nearly three week long city festival -Dance and the City- combined contemporary dance, movement theatre and club culture into events and performances. The festival spread out to the city, shopping centres, streets and private apartments. In the event dance became a part of the city dwellers' daily lives and appeared in surprising places and moments all free of charge.
Kati Kallio's piece ‘Encounters & passers by’ searched both the visible and invisible boundaries of the performer and the audience challenging the rules of public performance. Olive Bieringa and Otto Ramstad (USA) created a new relationship with city surroundings, while passing through the downtown streets in their project 'The Body Cartography GO'. The internationally praised solo piece 'Näyttö' by Hanna Pajala-Assefa, came finally back to Helsinki, performed in private apartments. 'Pia Lindy's and Steffi Lund's Scandinavian project 'Physicalities' was performed in Sanomatalo. 'ScoRemix' by TransFluxCollective was shown in the opening club at Mbar and the closing club at Siltanen bar. The hip-hop influenced piece combined dance, music and
live-visuals into a unique and energetic performance. Furthermore, there were Pia Lindy's 'Joku kohta tanssii' motion interview videos New York, Helsinki and St. Petersburg. In both clubs were also music playd by dj Osame. MAD fest - Dance and the City- programme was compiled by dance artists Kati Kallio and Hanna Pajala-Assefa. The event was supported by Helsinki Cultural Centre (Helsingin kulttuurilautakunta) and a group of volunteers.

Other festivals

Tanssi-Iltamat 30.11.-10.12.1995

This is where it all started…


We came out successfully by organizing ten performances of Tanssi-iltamat together with the Theatre Museum. The program consisted of four world premieres in contemporary dance and surprise performers. The choreographers were Katarina McAlester, Timo Loponen, Hanna Pajala and Minna Vainikainen.

Raippa ja Rutistus- dancefestival 8.-25.5.1997


Raippa ja Rutistus (Whip and Hug/Press) was a dance festival co-produced by MAD Production and Zodiak – Centre for New Dance, arranged in Helsinki at the Cable Factory. Four world premieres and one revival formed two entireties presented on separate evenings. On the first festival week 8-15.5.1997 Mia Malviniemi’s Triankeli and Hanna Pajala’s and Kati Kallio’s co-solos Kaksi Yhdestä were presented. Timo Loponen’s Pitkät Jäähyväiset and Suvi Ruotoistenmäki’s Kirkkaudenmeri were presented the second week of the festival 18-25.5.1997.On both occations Minna Puolanto and Jatta Lukkari performed in recess with their work Radiotanssia.

Lumelääkettä (Placebo Medicine) 22.2.-3.3.2004

Dance in wintertime at the Studio Stage (Media Centre Lume)


On Friday 20.2.2004 the Lumelääkettä composition of dance works opened: Simo Kellokumpu’s world premiere The Fallen Ones, Hanna Pajala’s Valkoinen (White) and Mia Malviniemi’s Jäitä lihassa (Ice in the Flesh). 
The Fallen Ones brought to the stage clear moments of meetings between two pople. It is about the force that brings people together. Sometimes this force also separates people. The dancers were Simo Kellokumpu and Sofia Karlsson, music by Jean Sibelius and Max Reger, lights and set design by Pekka Pitkänen.
Valkoinen is a work with strong movement for one female and one male dancer. It is about the inadequacy of one’s body and the acceptance of that. The dancers were Hanna Pajala and Joona Halonen, music by Abdissa Assefa.
Jäitä lihassa is an ice cold dance thriller about the lack of intimacy and love. In a leading role as Miss A. The dancer was Riikka Kekäläinen, music by Olivier Messiaen.

FreeMeet 26.-29.4.2006

The meeting of freelance dance artists


MAD Production and Simo Kellokumpu Company arranged an evening of contemporary dance at the Cable Factory the 26.-29.4.2006, where Kati Kallio’s Sine and the world premiere of Simo Kellokumpu’s solo I saw you dancing were seen.
The aim of the event called Free Meet was to bring together two of the new generation choreographers and to emphasize the effect of synergy when freelance dance artists produce performances together.
 The theme of the productions was the loneliness of a human.