Karoliina Loimaala
Saturday, 6 June 2026 at 2:45pm
Place du Châtelet, Paris
Charge is a site-specific dance performance that investigates the act of charging itself – and dares the human body to become a battery.
The piece draws its energy from an eclectic constellation of inspirations: superheroes and their mythologies, electro-acoustic and techno music (including the iconic Technotronic hit Pump Up the Jam), the euphoria and exhaustion of the dancing body, the intoxicating speed of Formula 1, the hypnotic loops of video games, and the trance-like power of repetition. At its core, Charge interrogates the unsustainable logic of Western energy production — and searches, with playfulness and urgency, for ways to become its own bionic light source, its own fleshy, self-renewing battery.
Selected from 324 projects submitted across 47 countries, Charge is among 20 finalists performing at Danse Élargie 2026 – one of the world’s most prestigious open-discipline dance competitions.
The work was originally created for Parrulaituri in Helsinki, built around Alicja Kwade’s contemporary sculpture Big-Be-Hide – a piece that functions simultaneously as a portal to other dimensions and as a solid, silent co-performer. The location itself is charged with meaning: situated in the urban Kalasatama district, Parrulaituri sits at the intersection of the energy company Helen, raw urban infrastructure, and open water – all of which resonate with the thematic core of the piece.
Human figures – fleshy, relentless batteries that never run out – form the living landscape of the performance. True to its name, Charge operates across many registers of energy: the intoxication of techno trance, the electric stillness of tingling immobility, the kinaesthetic pulse between bodies, the empowerment of absurd superhero personas, the drug-like rush of speed, private rituals made public, the comedy of artificial death and video game immortality, and a continuous, crooked pulse of characters lifted straight from the soapy, glittering aesthetics of 90s music videos.
In 2026, Charge continues to tour: to ART-Oulu in Oulu, to the Night of the Arts in Tuusula, and to the performing arts festival Manifesti in Turku – alongside its appearance at Danse Élargie on Place du Châtelet in Paris.
The version created for Danse Élargie runs 10 minutes.
Discover the full programme at www.danse-elargie.com.