Tempo

Premiere, August 2025

Tempo is a captivating exploration of time—its acceleration, deceleration, and moments when it seems to stand still. At its core is a mundane event turned extraordinary, highlighting life’s fragility through moments of falling, stumbling, and near-accidents.

Directed by visual artist and magician Kalle Nio, with choreography by Fernando Melo and music by Samuli Kosminen, Tempo blends text, movement, and mesmerizing stage illusions where time reverses, gravity vanishes, and the laws of nature dissolve. Dreamlike, wordless scenes alternate with rhythmic compositions for prepared metronomes and Harry Salmenniemi’s poignant text about time’s strange elasticity.

Through magic and movement, Tempo invites audiences to pause, reflect, and truly feel the present moment.

CREDITS

Direction: Kalle Nio
Choreography: Fernando Melo
Text: Harry Salmenniemi
Performers: Barbara Kanc, Winston Reynolds, Luigi Sardone, (Iiro Näkki)
Music and Sound Design: Samuli Kosminen
Costume Design: Georgina Spencer
Lighting Design: Johannes Hallikas
Stage Manager/rigger: Hedda Liukkala
Lighting Manager: June Horton-White
Text translation: Lola Rogers
Props: Matti Niinimäki, Sami Paavola, Kalle Nio
Tour Production: Axel Satgé / Yellow Everything
Photography and Trailer: Kalle Nio

Production: WHS

Co-Production:
Helsinki Festival
Lutkovno Gledališče Ljubljana, Slovenia

Support:
Alfred Kordelin Foundation
Saastamoinen Foundation