As I was cleaning out my cupboards I stumbled upon an old cassette of mine from the nineties. It looked as though it had been bought from a service station, Great Love Songs Vol 3, featuring Elton John, Marvin Gaye, The Bangles... all so touchingly familiar. I put it on and danced at home by myself, happily immersed in unabashed nostalgia. This experience inspired me to choreograph a piece that is wildly melodramatic and pathetic yet also sincerely intimate and highly personal. I wanted to see how a professional dance artist would enact the steamy intimacy of the last slow dance.

The Greatest Love Songs (Zodiak, Centre for new dance Helsinki) is a syrup-scented dance cavalcade by dance and performance artist Maija Mustonen. It portrays the great love stories of the century – tales of heartbreak, jealousy and romantic fulfilment. The work unfolds as a series of ten mini-choreographies, with each performer revealing a love song that has special meaning to them.

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Concept & director: Maija Mustonen

Performance & choreography: Hanna Ahti, Elina Hauta-aho, Anne Hiekkaranta, Katri Kainulainen, Jarkko Lehmus, Janne Masalin, Maija Mustonen, Masi Tiitta, Saara Töyrylä, Emmi Venna

Lighting design, images: Anton Verho

Dramaturgy & sound design: Laura Murtomaa

Production: Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Maija Mustonen

Supported by: Taike

📷 Anton Verho