Butoh, Qigong, Chi Kung, Visual Arts

The short film "The Spell of the Sensuous" is video poetry about the dance, which exists on a fragile surface, on crossroads of rivers, on a top of the trees, on a border of different Worlds. It's a dialog between a human being and his shadow.

"That was the time when Words were like Magic.
The human mind had mysterious powers.
A word spoken by chance
might have strange consequences.
It would suddenly come alive
and what people wanted to happen could happen -
all you had to do was say it.
Nobody could explain this:
That's the way it was."
- Nalungiaq, an Inuit woman

Film by Maria Salangina
Performance by Osku Leinonen
Music by Johan Troch
MO theatre 2015

Werde der du bist
(Become the person, who you are)
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Integrity is a name of short film, inspired by Guillaume Apollinaire’s prose poem «Rotten wizard» (“L’enchanteur pourrisant”). The genre of this story is a philosophical parable, supports the main idea of film - searching of the way to your true self. Metaphysical images reflect deep feelings and emotions, conflicts of human and society, the dualism of essence in visually transcendent. Film uniquely combines super 8mm film shootings and 35mm still photography.

Director, editor, camera man, photographer and sound editor Masha Salangina
Idea, script, author of texts and performer Osku Leinonen
Music by Magyar Posse and Roman Dubinnikov
Produced by MO theatre
2013/ 12 min 24 sec/ colour/b&w/ 4:3/ PAL DV

Short film about connection of human body with nature. Environment as a reflection of a mind. Inner dance and art of presence.

Filmed and performed in Soidinsuo swamp, Finland, at 2009

A film by Masha Salangina
Performers Osku Leinonen, Natalia Zhestovskaya, Grigory Glazunov, Reija Stenius, Saara Holmberg, Mirva Mattila
Costumes and installations Merja Malkki

”The idea to make the film Wetland was inspired by The Kalevala – epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology. It is regarded as the national saga of Finland.

My motivation to explore Kalevala was my great passion to learn and understand Finnish culture through myths and legends, in where the wisdom of ancestors is preserved. ”To know your future, you should learn your past” – this is the ultimate goal of my work; to be ”here and now”, to widen up the boundaries of experimental film genre and enrich the art of cinema.” Masha Salangina 2010

The Cave
super 8mm, black&white
Russia-Finland, 2010
A film by Masha Salangina
Performance Osku Leinonen and Masha Salangina
Camera Lilya Borozentseva and Masha Salangina

”Above the ground I feel my feet
Under the water I hear my beat
Outhwith mouth I taste what's sweet
At dusk I see my eyes
In mist I smell white roses
Through Myths worlds come closer
Myths — stories within us”
Osku Leinonen

Creation of the performance: Osku Leinonen and Masha Salangina
butoh.name Mythopoetic Theatre (MO theatre)
Video installation: Liudmila Kartoshkina
Camera man: Ilmari Ikkonen

Myths — stories within oneself
Author Osku Leinonen

Myths is a picture book of text and photographs that aims to capture the moment otherwise lost in the millions of minutes of speeding time.

It freezes what else would melt into the forgetfulness of all our yesterdays. Photos are from the butoh performance Myths and from ever-surprising nature.

Butoh arises from the subliminal myths of our dormant recollections. It is a moving record of the half-forgotten. Butoh is the living mirror of our shared lives.

Butoh dancers Masha Salangina and Osku Leinonen
You can find the book "Myths — stories within oneself" for example from Amazon.co.uk

Butoh performance BeTwin in Hurmuri festival 2009, Outokumpu, Finland
Video projection created by Masha Salangina
Performers Osku Leinonen & Masha Salangina, music by Ivan Afanasyev

Daylight with Johan Troch's music Images. Rather memorable performance in a river, Haihunkoski rapids in Finland 2010. Johan Troch has added his own beautiful music here. The video clip, our butoh performance Daylight, continues it's own life now. Nature and a man’s inner nature, landscape of life, merging into something new and old, time within time, space within space. Performance by Osku Leinonen and Masha Salangina

Empty Hills festival 2009, Russia
Odddance Theatre
butoh.name Mythopoetic Theatre (MO theatre)

BeTwin in the Empty Hills festival 2009, Moscow. Part of the beginning
Performance by Osku Leinonen & Masha Salangina
butoh.name Mythopoetic Theatre (MO theatre)
Music, video and video art by Alexander Naymushin (VJ Kirsan)

Uncounted sceneries eventful memories - Osku Leinonen and Masha Salangina. MO theatre (former name butoh.name Mythopoetic theatre).