Arctic Ghost Train by RAF with Stellaris Dance Theatre

Arctic Ghost Train by RAF featuring Stellaris DansTeater in Narvik Museum on the 2nd of August at 15.00, 2024

Finnish accordionist Timo Kinnunen and Irish harpist Anne-Marie O’Farrell bring a unique approach to these two characterful instruments. Incorporating a wide sonic spectrum and new techniques they place these more historical instruments into a completely new context. They mix traditional and modern, folk and early music melodies into themes of contemporary life, also by experimenting and improvising.

In this Narvik concert there is a special world premiere, one movement of ”Sleeping Nessie”. It is composed by Ruta Vitkauskaite (Lithuania/Scotland) and the work is connected to RAF’s Loch Ness project Scotland in 2025. Duo is accompanied by Finnish dance artist Titta Court who with her unique and playful way is kinaesthetically reading the music, place and audience.

In Narvik the trio will be featuring with Stellaris DansTeater from Hammerfest. Halvdan Nedrejord composer, performer and teacher from Karasjok will bring the Sami culture through his joik and ethnic drumming and Solveig Leinan-Hermo from Hammerfest her nearly 50 years long experience as dance artist working in the Barents Region/Northern areas.

Rapid Art Force (RAF) is an experimental, multidisciplinary music-making ensemble consisting of highly skilled international artists from various fields such as music, theatre, dance, circus, and visual arts.

RAF’s philosophy is performance and action in close contact with the various phenomena of life.

Its way of thinking is fuelled by deepening the relationship with nature and defending and promoting courageous creativity and freedom.

RAF’s members (more than 20) come mainly from different European countries, Asia and America.

Moving Art Collaboratorium through Europe is one of the main creative activities 2024-2027. ”Arctic Ghost Train” is part of it.

Founder and artistic director: Timo Kinnunen (Fin)

Artist presentations

Titta Court is a north Finland –based dance artist who works as dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, producer and mentor. Site, situation and audience, collaboration and improvisation are key to her work. She has produced work for numerous public spaces, factories, hospitals, private homes and nature not to mention stages and venues across Finland and the extensive Barents Region and further. She is Artistic Director for the northernmost dance collective RasaCollective together with dance artist Marjo Selin. In 2014-2015 she was nominated as the community dance artist of the year in Finland and in 2020 The Union for Dance and Circus Artists Finland awarded Titta Court for her persistent working in contemporary dance. https://www.tittacourt.com/

Timo Kinnunen is one of the leading figures of Finnish creative contemporary music phenomenon’s and international modern cultural innovation projects. He started his international career after having won the World Championship for Accordion at the age of only sixteen. He is the founder of many surprising cultural projects and events in Finland and abroad like the Time of Music Festival in Viitasaari, where f.ex. John Cage and many leading composers and artist visited. He has premiered more than 350 solo-, multi-art and chamber music works worldwide and has co-operated with composers Vinko Globokar, John Cage, Astor Piazzolla, Alvin Curran, Hans Joachim Hespos and many others. Kinnunen is also a remarkable improvisational artist. . He sees the world with a certain liberty, and his extensive background in music, sharp eyes, gentle and lively humor is refreshing for all his fellow musicians and different audiences. He is the artistic director of the Rapid Art Force (RAF). http://timokinnunen.eu/

Anne-Marie O’Farrell is a leading harpist of her generation, who has significantly extended the boundaries of what was considered possible on the Irish or lever harp, broadening its repertoire chromatic range. On pedal harp she brought the instrument into a new content, in contemporary and improvised music, by expanding its chamber repertoire through her composition, and with her continued transcription of repertoire new to the pedal harp. As a composer, Anne=Marie is widely recognized of her immediacy of communication and equally at home writing for orchestra, choir and voice as she is in writing for multi-genre instrumentalists. She is winner of numerous composition awards including the BBC Baroque Remixed Composition Competition, and has been awarded a PhD in composition from Queen’s University Belfast, where she studied with Piers Hellawell. https://annemarieofarrell.com/

Halvdan Nedrejord – from Karasjok, the political and administrative center for Sami culture in Norway. He has worked as a performer and teacher of Sami joiks, ethnic drumming, keyboard playing and composing since the early 70s. He has composed music and soundscapes for exhibitions, museums, theaters and dance performances and also educational material. In addition to being involved in choirs with compositions and arrangements, he has worked as church organist and composer of liturgy and hymns for the Church of Norway. He has toured Norway for National Concerts and held around 3,000 concerts. The collaboration with Stellaris DanceTheater and Solveig Leinan-Hermo started in the 80s and has continued since then.

Solveig Leinan-Hermo (Norway) studied dance and pedagogy at The Norwegian Opera Ballet where she had her first professional dance job, later studying theatre, cultural subjects, choreography, dance techniques and management at college and university. Founding Stellaris DansTeater in 1980 formed the basis for professional dance activity in northern Norway, specifically the Barents Region/Northern Areas, and contributed to the growth of dance as an art form locally, nationally and internationally. She worked to establish both DanseFestival Barents and Dansearena nord in Hammerfest, and was a founding member of Forum for nordnorske Dansekunstnere (FnnD). In 2025 she will celebrate 50 years as a dance artist and 45 years of Stellaris DansTeater. www.stellaris.no

She has worked with Halvdan Nedrejord since the 80`s.

 Stellaris DansTeater (SD) is a professional independent dance company based in Hammerfest              (Norway), which mainly works and tours in the Barents Region/Northern areas. Established in 1980, the company is  the oldest independent dance company in Norway, and probably the northernmost of its kind.

SD has placed great emphasis on cultural exchange, and today they collaborate with various professional  artists, institutions and businesses in The Barents Region (Norway, Russia, Sweden, Finland), The Baltic Region (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania) and Aotearoa New Zealand.