Loiske Ensemble: BabySauna

We are celebrating Loiske Ensemble’s 20-year journey as creators of performances for babies with BabySauna. The BabySauna performance offers an artistic experience and sensory experiences for babies and introduces audiences to Finnish sauna culture. In addition to the baby audience, other guests have also been invited to join the celebration. The performance evokes a peaceful sauna atmosphere through the sounds of water, dance paced by sauna stones and colourful washing buckets. BabySauna also features familiar washing gestures and the joys of playing with water. After the performance, the audience can try out the elements they have experienced and seen during the performance. The performance lasts 30 minutes, followed by a shared washing moment of approximately 15 minutes. The target audience is children aged 0–1 with their companions. Tickets can be booked as of 23 August on Annantalo's website: annantalo.fi. Concept, choreography and performance: Riikka Siirala Concept and direction: Antti Larmola Sound design and music: Suvi Isotalo Costume design and implementation: Saija Siekkinen Stage design consultation and technical implementation: Sampo Pyhälä Photos: Dorit Salutskij and Jonna Strandberg Production: Loiske Ensemble and OSIRIS Theatre Textiles for the performance: Lapuan Kankurit BabySauna premiered at the Hurraa! Children’s Theatre Festival in Helsinki in March 2015, and the performance was selected as the 2015 pikku-ITU performance idea by the Association of Finnish Children’s Cultural Centres. BabySauna has toured in Finland, France, Lithuania, Norway and Japan.