Transit

Created by internationally renowned Finnish choreographer Tero Saarinen, Transit is a large-scale contemporary dance production that explores humanity’s relationship with nature in a world undergoing profound ecological and social transformation. Premiered in 2020 as a collaboration between the Tero Saarinen Company and Skånes Dansteater, the work combines dance, music, visual art, and technology into a powerful multidisciplinary experience.

Rather than telling a linear story, Transit unfolds as a ritualistic journey through landscapes of destruction, renewal, and hope. Saarinen examines the fragility of ecosystems and the consequences of human actions while searching for possibilities of reconnection and coexistence. The choreography alternates between moments of explosive physicality and meditative stillness, creating a dynamic dialogue between individual bodies and collective forces.

Music plays a central role in shaping the emotional and dramatic arc of the performance. The score is built around composer Sebastian Fagerlund’s orchestral trilogy Stonework, Drifts, and Water Atlas, whose sweeping textures evoke the power and unpredictability of natural phenomena. These compositions are interwoven with the spatial sound design and electronic music of Tuomas Norvio, creating an immersive sonic environment that surrounds the audience and intensifies the physical impact of the choreography.

The visual world of Transit is equally striking. The stage is dominated by an animated film installation created by the acclaimed artist duo IC-98, whose moving imagery forms a constantly evolving landscape suspended between reality and imagination. Lighting and set designer Minna Tiikkainen enhances this environment through sculptural lighting that transforms the stage into a living ecosystem. Costume designer Teemu Muurimäki contributes elegant, organic costumes that echo both natural forms and futuristic aesthetics.

Performed by an ensemble of exceptional dancers, Transit exemplifies Saarinen’s vision of dance as a total artwork where movement, sound, and visual design merge into a single expressive whole. The result is a visually stunning and emotionally resonant meditation on survival, change, and the possibility of new beginnings in an uncertain world.