It is unusual that a dancer so relentlessly carries on her intense, open, and outspoken commitment to the core values of democracy as Pia Lindy does. For her, art represents inquiry but is also the source for answers.

From the start, Lindy’s work has in some way succeeded to embody our society. She believes that it is of utmost importance for her as an artist to have the ability to be firmly rooted in inquiry.

This need for questioning has led Lindy from theaters to the streets. Her evolution has morphed from a creative artist to that of a documentarian, from an observer to an artist who actively yearns for a change.

In the early 1990’s she studied in Amsterdam at the School for New Dance Development. Her training was not intended to provide her with all-inclusive answers but to equip her with the instruments necessary to continue her inquiry and exploration.

- My way of working is a fusion of contemporary dance, visual arts, and performance art. Many of my pieces have taken place in the live art context. It is an open and unrestricted setting with no predetermined definitions or boundaries.

For Lindy asking questions has been one way to talk about dance and life in general. It is also her way to create performative settings that facilitate encounters and connections with people during  their daily life.

Towards the end of the 90’s was the first time she deliberately started to examine the relationship between her works and the audience. She heeded the feedback and revised and altered her performances accordingly.

At first her interactions with people consisted mostly of musing about dance and art.

- All the experience and understanding I have gained over the years has broadened the scope of my inquiry. It is no longer confined just to questions about artistic experiences, she says now.

- My experience and understanding acquired through dance have hugely influenced my present disposition. You could say those are the backdrop to who I am, and determine what kind of projects I choose to do or what I communicate as an artist.

Ten Years of Improvisation

Lindy is in a habit of making long-term plans.  A decade ago she decided that she was going to spend the next ten years improvising. In 2001 through her About to Dance project, she directed her energies to contemplate dance and the human body in everyday life.

- In the 90’s I still believed that art and dance would save the world. My outlook had been strongly shaped by certain cultural thinking patterns. That kind of Western arrogance that had affected me has started to crumble.

The About to Dance project consists of videos, installations, conversations, writings, workshops, and performance works About to Dance (2001–2003), Joku tai Kohta! (Somebody or Soon 2004–2005), S(h)ort of Magic (2006–2007) and Raaka-RAW (2008–2011).

The common thread through her performance works is the blending of minimalism and playfulness. The titles hint towards the many nuances of language. The movement and spoken language contained in her works are extremely concise and compact, resembling aphorisms.

During the project Lindy and her videographer have also pounded the pavement to interview people and get their input and opinions to questions about dance and life.

How do you feel about the word “dance”? Is there a particular movement that comes to your mind hearing the word? Is there a movement you would like to teach me? What kind of movement or motion reflects life itself? These interviews have taken place in Eastern Finland, Helsinki, Lapland, Prague, Saint Petersburg, New York, Barcelona and Hammerfest.

In fall 2007, a bunch of Finnish Parliament members joined her project to answer her questions with movement and dance. About to Dance, Swing of Politics video production premiered at the Finnish Parliament during spring 2008.

It was important for Lindy to connect with politicians as ordinary people. Focusing on moving and one’s own physical being allowed the more humane qualities of the politicians to emerge. They gave Lindy cold feet, but she made them a bit nervous as well.

Overall the vibe was positive, while also somewhat revealing. In the end thwe project became a series of works offering meaninful comments on society.

Conveyor of Messages

In spring 2011 Lindy, cultural researcher Juhana Venäläinen, and photographer and community artist Annuska Dal Maso started to collaborate on a new project About to Dance – CONNECTING. This project focuses on the roles of art and artists as communicators and conveyors, and connecting with people in general.

In CONNECTING Lindy and her workgroup convey messages collected from citizens to the politicians. For example, one of the messages is a personal account of experiences at the state employment office by a 20-something young adult.

- What really shines through is how little people are encouraged to think on their own, and how little adults really are aware of the origins of that preferred lifestyle they are shoving down young people’s throats.

Lindy strives to increase tolerance for the incomplete.

- When you learn to live with or to look at something that is imperfect and unfinished, it will make you more resilient to face the unknown.

Lindy’s upcoming solo performance Oh Lightness constitutes elements of About to Dance - CONNECTING. In Oh Lightness messages sent by people and other experiences gained during the project are infiltrated into her performance. In the piece she also examines the perils of success and loss.

- People have shared many tough stories. What should happen after we have delivered that message to the politicians, what then? Is it our role just to bring issues to the daylight, or should we follow up and take it further?

Other Ways to Connect

Art helps us to comprehend differences, and it also helps us to think independently. Therefore, art builds a foundation for democracy.

Lindy creates encounters, listening and connections, with the hope that people would have the courage to think and question freely and independently. For Lindy, dance and art are ways to cognize the world, and that ability will deepen and strengthen as time goes by.

- I wouldn’t say that I have changed as an artist. Over time my perception and senses have sharpened and have become more fine-tuned to interpret this world and thus help me to continue my dialogue.

She finds it important to introduce alternative ways to meet people, not just during theater performances.

- You can reach a thousand people from a big stage. On the street I might meet only three people. However, the end result might turn out to be that over the years those three street encounters will radiate and reach thousands and again thousands of people.

(The article was first published in Finnish Dance in Focus magazine 2012- 2013.)