{"id":387,"date":"2014-06-28T18:45:15","date_gmt":"2014-06-28T18:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/?p=387"},"modified":"2014-08-30T20:03:56","modified_gmt":"2014-08-30T20:03:56","slug":"interview-with-ilona-jantti-creator-of-a-one-woman-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/interview-with-ilona-jantti-creator-of-a-one-woman-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Ilona J\u00e4ntti: Creator of a One Woman Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ilona<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ilona J\u00e4ntti studied circus at Circus Piloterna in Stockholm and contemporary dance at Laban Centre in London obtaining a master’s degree in choreography. Ilona has collaborated with a diverse range of circus, dance and theatre companies and venues including Shakespeare\u2019s Globe, Royal Opera House, The Place and Darwin Centre at National History Museum in the UK, Circo Aereo and Flow Productions in Finland and Cirkus Cirk\u00f6r in Sweden. She has been a resident artist at V&A Museum of Childhood since 2010. Ilona has been awarded a three-year Artist Grant by the Finnish Government, starting in 2012. We were lucky enough to snag an interview with her between shows at the 2014 Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. Special thanks to Circus Building<\/a> for hosting the Meet & Greet event.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: How did you get started?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A: I started ballet when I was about 7. Then I did rhythmic gymnastics for a little while. That was something I really liked. I\u2019m not sure I was any good, but I just loved it. I hated competing, and I hated the leotard. What I really loved was manipulating the objects \u2013 like the ribbon. All the crazy things you could do with it. Then I started dance. I stopped competing and started dancing. I felt like something was missing with the dance\u2014something with objects. When I was 19, I heard of a circus school (in Finland) and so I called them up. I was able to take a class and I knew. I just knew that this was thing for me. \u00a0I don\u2019t know how you can instantly know that, but I did. I thought, well, this is the thing that combines the dance and gymnastics and the \u201csomething else\u201d that I was looking for.<\/p>\n

Everyone else in the class was around 12. I couldn\u2019t climb, so they couldn\u2019t put me in the advanced group (with the older students). I looked more into the school to find out what the requirements were to get in. \u00a0 I didn\u2019t think they were going to accept me but I got in. I don\u2019t know how. Looking back, it seems like each year, they accepted one person who was a dancer and not as skilled in circus, and I happened to be that one person. I did circus school there for 3 years.<\/p>\n

During those 3 years, it was hard. Of course, everyone else there had been doing it a long time, since they were very small. Of course, gymnastics and dance helps, but it doesn\u2019t really help with the strength. It is hard to be really bad for 3 years. \u00a0It\u2019s hard to be so much worse than everyone else, like technically. \u00a0Mentally as well, it was just really hard. Of course, I am really happy I did it all.\u00a0After the circus school, I came out very strong. Then I applied to the Laban Center of London. It was a really good thing to do after circus school. I love aerial and all that, but the circus school did not give me that many tools for making something new or creating.<\/p>\n

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Q: When you travel, do you have other people who travel with you to help out with the one-woman show?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

A: It\u2019s really just me. The visa thing is so difficult and expensive. The flight is expensive. I make running the animations\/projections not as hard so that I can have the local people run it. If it\u2019s a one person show anyway, then bringing more people, many festivals would likely think that it\u2019s just not worthwhile. And they are right. They have people here who can help run everything. \u00a0The show is made up of 3 pieces that are separate. Of course, there are times when I want the set changed faster, but I also need to get changed, so it\u2019s okay. Every venue is different. It makes the show slightly different every time. \u00a0The initial rigging part is always nerve-racking. If something doesn\u2019t work out, you have to make something else up and make it work out. Of course it always works out, but it doesn\u2019t stop you from wondering each time if it will all work out okay.<\/p>\n