Circusinfo Finland has awarded its (semi-)annual Sirkuksen Lumo prize to Race Horse Company’s show O’DD and its artistic working group: circus artist Rauli Dahlberg, musician and sound designer Miro Mantere, light designer Jere Mönkkönen, choreographer Jarkko Mandelin, costume designer Tiina Valve, technical designer Eero Alava and producer Antti Suniala. The award was presented to the working group at Race Horse Company’s new rehearsal and residency space in Tapanila, 16 February 2022.
O’DD premiered in October 2020 at Espoo City Theatre. After the premiere, it has been performed in Oulu, Helsinki, Edinburgh, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, and Espoo. The seamless cooperation of a cross-disciplinary professional team polished the show to a shine and it rose from the middle of a pandemic like a phoenix.
An hour-long solo work designed and performed by Rauli Dahlberg, O’DD forms a coherent whole and an artistic diamond that amazes the spectator not only with immense skill and daring but also with its depth and vision. The different parts of the work mesh seamlessly together, combining in equal parts physical and expressional talent, visual elements such as set design, lighting and costume design, and live-looped music into an impressive dramaturgy.
The performance moves from the depths of outer space into deep waters. The creators describe their work: “The premise of the show is man’s aspiration towards a better tomorrow through rebirth. Can a person ever begin life as a clean slate, when even from birth they are a part of humanity’s continuum?” Working from this ambitious starting point and idea the working group has in their process reached something unique. The show leaves the spectator with powerful afterimages in their mind and as a viewing experience really gets under your skin.
The Sirkuksen Lumo Prize is awarded by Circusinfo Finland as an acknowledgement for work done to promote Finnish circus art. The jury consisted of journalists Annikki Alku, Nina Jääskeläinen and Maria Säkö and artistic director Pirjo Yli-Maunula.
More information about O’DD: https://www.racehorsecompany.fi/odd