During the residency Milla Koistinen together with Jin Lee (KR), Nitsan Margaliot (IL), Eli Cohen (FR) and emeka ene (GB) start the first research phase of a new creation Lay your head. The work explores touch, tenderness, permission to be physically close and daring to let someone near. The somatosensory system, the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch, as well as temperature, body position and pain will be in the main focus during the research period.

We will investigate different types of touch: light touch, tactile pressure and tactile and haptic perception. The materials of the space and how they are used throughout the performance will emphasise the haptic experience and allow the audience to participate in different tactile ways.

The project is supported by Culture Moves Europe, a project funded by the European Union.

Milla Koistinen (FI)

Berlin/Helsinki-based Finnish choreographer Milla Koistinen studied at the Theatre Academy in Helsinki and obtained an MA in choreography from the HZT Berlin. Repetition, pedestrian elements, gestures, stillness and movement, order and chaos, shifting from real to imagined space, recognizable and everyday to the strange and poetic are central in her work.

She tours her own work internationally and teaches in various contexts. In 2020-2024 Koistinen’s work is supported by apap – FEMINIST FUTURES – a project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.