Kimmo Pohjonen & Helsinki Nelson: Accordion Wrestling
August 9th, 2012 by Mr. C
I wasn’t sure what I was witnessing at first glance with the Finnish Accordion Wrestling performance at Damrosch Park on the grounds of Lincoln Center but the show ended up being quite a unique & pleasant spectacle to the eyes and ears! This hybrid theatrical performance – part music, wrestling, art, & dance was headed by Kimmo Pohjonen, the accordion player and featured at least 10 Finnish wrestlers including 2 women wrestlers. This eclectic show was paying homage to Finnish wrestling from the early to mid-1900s when an accordion player would actually provide the musical accompaniment for the wrestling matches. The lighting, narration, and projected images on the stage would set the background for the story as the wrestlers would interact with each other & as solo players using training drills from their craft as bodies were flying be it from hip tosses, to fireman like throws, trips, flips, body rolls, tumbles, & to other neat looking takedowns. There must of been mics attached to the wrestlers or perhaps on the mats as we heard thuds from the bodies being tossed around and grunts from our Finnish grunts in stereo! While the powerful, yet graceful techniques were being demonstrated by these warriors – the accordion player would lay the mood with his play to tell a story but his sarcastic gestures to the wrestlers with ‘strong necks and a little brain’ would rile them up fueling a confrontation at the end! The performance was beautiful, peaceful, & fluid yet offered a sense of chaos and destruction at the same time which reflected their struggles in Finland at the time. The sounds that melded together including the grunts, groans, bodies crashing on the floor, to the chants, and accordion playing all combined into a flowing unit of experimental and holistic harmony! The sounds combined with the visuals really transformed the performance into a haunting tribute that brought those Finnish wrestlers from the early to mid-1900s back to life!
Visit the official web page of KIMMO POHJONEN ACCORDION WRESTLING for more information.
Tags: accordion, finnish, wrestling
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