The new choreographic pilot COURTSHIP DISPLAY (BIRDS OF PARADISE) by Tiia Kasurinen is Finland’s very first participation for the finals of the Danse Élargie choreographic competition which will take place at the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris on 15-16 June 2024. Kasurinen’s choreography will be performed on 15 June 2024 at 6.15pm. See the full program and book your free ticket here.
COURTSHIP DISPLAY (BIRDS OF PARADISE) is an abstract drag king show inspired by mating strategies of the male birds-of-paradise. Wearing costumes from the collection “No Pain No Glamour” by Leevi Ikäheimo (38th Festival d’Hyères Fashion Finalist), the performers morph into utopian birds; practising and performing extravagant courtship dances inspired by the Tekken 3 arcade game, boy bands, club culture and post-Internet humans. Through both animalistic and human-resembling rituals of seduction, the performance taps into the themes of masculinity, gaze, display of power as well as dominance hierarchies.
The full-length piece, BIRDS OF PARADISE, is planned to premiere in 2026. The project is part of the pARTir initiative funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Tiia Kasurinen is an artist and choreographer based in Helsinki, who graduated from Stockholm University of the Arts in 2017. She is interested in themes such as identity, gender, the gaze and pop culture, and explores them in her works through visual transformation, music and motion. Learn more here.
