Floor is Lava is a performance where professional dancers meet the embodiment of children’s imagination. This performance is a space for shared reflection on a world shaped by crisis and on the human impact on other species and one another.
Floor is Lava is for both primary school children and adult audiences. It invites the audience to process floods, rainstorms and blazing red sunsets through artistic expression. The performers play drums, dance and sing; the children build a hut, climb and embody extinct animals and extreme weather.
The performance was developed through a series of workshops with children and professional dancers. In these sessions, movement, rhythm and physicality offered ways to navigate our changing world and to discover new forms of connecting with others.
Floor is Lava will premiere in autumn 2025 at two primary schools in Helsinki for young audiences. It will also be presented at Pannu Hall in Dance House Helsinki during spring 2026.
This performance offers a glimpse into the worlds of today’s children. It has been built on their voices and interests, while intentionally avoiding references to popular entertainment, familiar shows or fairy tales. The result is a meeting point of fantasy and movement that speaks to all ages.
Floor is Lava is part of the Zodiak Youth -project and continues the practice of choreographer Janina Rajakangas’s in which stepping beyond conventional performance spaces and reaching audiences less familiar with contemporary dance is embraced. Janina believes in recognising everyone who contributes to a performance and creating content rooted in their ideas and perspectives. In Floor is Lava, children and professionals collaborate to create contemporary art for both young and adult audiences.
Choreography and direction: Janina Rajakangas
On stage: Tashi Iwaoka, Maija Reeta Raumanni, Janne Aspvik, Mea Holappa, Vappu, Sofia, Ukko, Vicente, Zahra, Veronika, Anna, Céleste, Eemeli ja Wisal
Drummer: Janne Aspvik
Sound design: Tuuli Kyttälä
Lighting and spatial design: Katinka Ebbe
Costume design: Kirsi Gum
Photos: Ilkka Saastamoinen
Production: Entirely Moved I Kaikki Liikkuu ry, Zodiak - Centre for New Dance and Annika Sillander
In collaboration with: Regional Dance Centre of Ostrobothnia, Regional Dance Cnetre of Western Finland, Reality Research Centre and Annantalo
Supported by: Arts Promotion Centre Finland, City of Helsinki, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Svenska kulturfonden, Konstsamfundet, KulturÖsterbotten, Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation
PREMIERE