Nina Kurtela : 365 Routines (2017)

“365 routines” is a yearlong choreography composed of a daily exchange of short dance videos alternately shared between visual artist Nina Kurtela and choreographer Hana Erdman. The work culminates in a 48-minute video whereby the 365 videos are edited together to form one long dance phrase. It is an ongoing communi- cation between different environments, locations, languages, identities, spaces, and times. During the daily routines the artists engage in an imaginary space of belonging that is no longer physi- cal or territorial. It is an emotional and abstract space, but nonethe- less a space of communal sharing and sheltering. The collection of videos originates at different locations around the world — from Taipei to Los Angeles, mapping the peaking pulse of contemporary workerism. It documents a desire to stay connected, despite pre- carious conditions of making and working. It is a dedication to an ongoing practice and exchange, exposing the personal, the inti- mate, and the private. Dancing the choreography is a way to keep alive the dialogue between the two artists and friends. A remote togetherness unravels on screen, dancing becomes home for the two. In continuation of the original, Nina Kurtela committed to learning all of the 365 routines from the movement archives as one inces- sant sequence. Through an ongoing daily practice she reiterates the choreography. By that a 48 minutes long live dance piece has been constructed. During the live performance the original video is juxtaposed with learned movements, which might synch or might not. The performing body seek a refuge in the filmed body.