Nine lives is a strong performance of a Western woman in a global world. It questions the Western way of thinking by challenging the spectator into a debate. The piece brings up the confrontation of

happiness and contentment, discusses the unfairness and the lottery of life. Why do people’s fates differ so much? Why is someone lucky and someone else isn’t? Does a Western woman stumble on her excessive goals and ambition?

Willman Dance Company is a contemporary dance company based in Helsinki, founded by choreographer Marjaterttu Willman. The company brings together artists who share a passion for dance and stage art, creating contemporary dance pieces which always focus on movement of dance. Around that movement, the personality of each dancer, the power of music, the individuality of costume design and the atmosphere of lighting give each production its final shape. The company's goal is to create original contemporary dance pieces that focus on the central questions of humanity.

Marjaterttu Willman (1976) graduated from the ballet school of the Finnish National Opera and is a member of the Finnish National Ballet, within which she danced in numerous classical ballets and contemporary works. She started creating her own choreographies in 2002. In her work, she believes in movement and its ability to convey emotions. Dramaturgy based on associations, storylines supported by music, expressive movement and the tight relationship between dance and music make Willman’s choreographic world unique. “Without music, there is no dance,” says Marjaterttu Willman. „Even in silence dancers feel music in their bodies“, because movement always has a rhythm. Willman wishes to portray her inner world and develop current themes trough the means of art. Her goal is to process and portray the marks and scars that human interactions can leave in an individual and to show the diminishing of humanity all around us. Willman believes that dance can speak powerfully about the laws that bind us and the assumptions we cultivate. With the body as the tool for communication, the many layers of humanity become visible in a delicate way.

The realization of guest performance was supported by: TelepART, Arts Promotion Centre Finland and Arts Council of Uusimaa