One dancer slides onto the floor, bringing his chin level with his feet. Another walks backwards, hands first. A third plays air guitar with his foot. The performers of 10000 gestures make a total of 10,000 different moves without repeating a single one.

In its glowing review, British newspaper The Guardian called it “a thrilling blizzard of movement”, but it’s a performance that could just as well be described as antichoreography. When the dancers meet each other on the floor, they don’t mirror each other’s gestures or look for a common theme. It’s a cacophony of dance, with 25 dancers all approaching movement from different angles.

Choreographer Boris Charmatz has said of 10000 gestures that it’s a choreographic anti-museum – it does not preserve anything but rather always invents something new. Each moment is unique. Every move disappears to give way to the next.

The event is organised by Helsinki Festival.

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