KAJA

Kaja (2026) is a solo piece merging flamenco with contemporary dance, it is a dance on uncharted territory. A journey outside flamenco classrooms and about fear and desires of mastering a new art form. This piece was developed during the summer residency in June granted by Humina ry. Photos provided by Humina ry.

Credits:
Original work by Maria Gatsal

* Video features music; live performance was without music. The performance followed a discussion on the creation of the piece, on learning flamenco, among other topics. Event 28.06.2026 at Humina ry space at 14.00 o'clock.

KUINKÄ ÄKÄPUSSI KESKYTETÄÄN

Kuinkä Äkäpussi Keskytetään (2024) from the Helsinki Theatre Academy's acting students,  presents Shakespeare's classic play The Taming of the Shrew as their 2023–2024 production. Choreographed by Maria Gatsal. 

The performance is a lively and musical interpretation of the story, focusing on the power struggle between Petruchio and Katherina. The play explores themes such as power, manipulation, relationships, and gender roles. 

The production also asks how much society and people have changed since Shakespeare's time. The classic characters are presented in a modern way, with contemporary music from artists such as Apulanta and Erika Vikman.

Credits:
Theater: Teatteri Tuike, Ormuspellontie 1
Director and co-choreographer: Juha Suihko 
Choreography: Maria Gatsal 
Music Teacher: Tiina Hei
Production and photos: Helsinki Theatre Academy

DETACHMENT

Detachment (2023) explores the wisdom and strength of the menstrual cycle, serving as a personal healing journey for myself. It aimed to encourage the audience to confront stigmas and question the marginalization of menstruation.

Credits:
Original choreography and danced by Maria Gatsal. Performed at Humina ry in Helsinki, Finland. Music composition by Susanna Silvenus and poem by Aga Sadowska. Hosted by Humina ry. 

UNCANNY VALLEY

Uncanny Valley (2018-2019) explores life in algorithmic worlds intertwined with our emotions, fears and hopes. It is a choreography by Lin Verleger originally created for the Schrittmacher Just Dance! Festival and later on presented also at the Tanztreffen der Jugend and other venues in Heerlen and Cologne. 

Uncanny Valley blurres the performer-audience line, creating a shared narrative. Featuring body percussion by Jimi Renfro, duets, solos, and a personal apple solo, aiming to restore balance in a digital era.

Credits:
Duration: 50 minutes (without interval)
Choreographer: Lin Verleger
Body Percussion: Jimi Renfro 
Composition: Marie-Christin Sommer and Ophelia Sullivan Lighting: Maud Wedick and Emma Zaalberg 
Costume: Lin Verleger
Production / Dramaturgy: Yvonne Eibig 
Dancers: Ronja Luka Bellhoff, Femke Brons, Sharon Habets, Maria Gatsal, Mohamed Ben Salah, Jerome Schickschneit 

Co-production: Schrittmacher Festival GENERATION2 — Kulturbetrieb der Stadt Aachen, Parkstad Limburg Theaters, Huis voor de Kunsten Limburg.

DANCE FOR TWO

Dance For Two (2024) celebrates ten years of the Inkorpora Dance Project, founded by Silvia Verges. The performance integrates various dance styles—Ballet, Contemporary, Argentinian Tango, Lindy Hop, and Brazilian Zouk—into a cohesive narrative focused on time, generations, and the transmission of dance among dancers. The evening features recorded and live music, culminating with the performers engaging in conversation. Performed at the Aleksanterin Teatteri in Helsinki, Finland. Photos taken by © Alirezar.

Credits:
Choreographer: Silvia Verges (for the ballet and contemporary pieces). Contemporary dancers: Nina Pastel & Maria Gatsal 
Ballet dancers: Marco Di Salvo, Lyylia Koivuniemi, Silvia Verges and students. 

Original work and dancers
Maria & Jeve (Argentinian Tango), Kay Werndli & Tanja Wingerter (Lindy Hop), Freddy & Andressa (Brazilian Zouk).

Pianist: Hanna-Mari Zinovjev 
Cellist: Mika Seppänen 
Sound Design: Sébastian Kurten
Costume Design: Tutu Studio Borealis 

FRAGMENTOS

Fragmentos (2024) is a movement-dance street performance that explores what happens when we approach strangers, when we are rejected or accepted, and what this means to our body. Every encounter was steered by consent, distance, and intuition, as presence and absence danced around a bucket of water and a scatter of flowers — sometimes offered, sometimes kept, sometimes received. Strangers, unaware, became fleeting co-creators, stepping into a choreography that could never be repeated. In the end, what lingers is the space that remains, and the quiet resonance of having truly been seen.

Credits:

Performed and created by Maria Gatsal in Vantaa, Finland. Part of the event "One-Day Stand Series" hosted and organized by The Other Side in collaboration with Catalysti Transcultural Artists' Association. Photos taken by 

© Aman Askarizad. 

BORDER_SHIFT 

Border_shift (2019-2020) is an interactive dance performance that used real-time 3D tracking to map each dancer's body into shapes, lines, and shading projected live, creating a responsive digital stage. The piece explores themes of borders, focusing on interactions between bodies and the idea of sharing space. The mapping influenced the choreography, creating unique patterns from the dancers' movements. The performance also raises the question of what happens when the sixth dancer isn't human, presented by Compound Company from Aachen, Germany.

Credits: 
Choreographer, producer and research: Yvonne Eibig 
Stage, digital art and research: Dr. Simon Virgo
Dancers: Hermann Bär, Olga Blank, Beomseok Jeong, Bernd Pierre Louis, Maria Gatsal 
Photos and videos: © Julian Koncos

Links: artbewegt.de, ludwigstiftung.de