Tero Saarinen

The Werkstattbühne theatre space will be the venue for three music theatre works as enthralling as they are different: Borrowed Light, Study for Life and Emily – No Prisoner Be, which put the focus on devotion and community, spiritual freedom and powerful sensory experience.

For the first two productions, in late July, the Tero Saarinen Company will be making its first guest appearance in Bregenz. Well-known Finnish choreographer Saarinen’s huge international success Borrowed Light will be performed here on 23 July 2025. The piece – a hypnotic fusion of movement, music and light – has captivated more than 50,000 since its premiere in 2004. In Borrowed Light, Tero Saarinen was inspired by the traditional songs and dances of the Shakers, a religious movement founded in the USA in the 18th century that is known for its strict, ascetic principles on how to live, its strong sense of community, and the quality of its craftmanship. The central theme of the piece is not the Shaker movement itself, however, but universal issues like spirituality and community. Saarinen’s choreography, underscored by the powerful traditional songs of the Shakers, communicates a feeling of human communion and collective surrender. 

In Borrowed Light, Saarinen collaborates closely with The Boston Camerata, one of the leading vocal ensembles for early music, and also with his creative partners of many years, lighting designer Mikki Kunttu and costume designer Erika Turunen. The piece employs light as a powerful religious metaphor and plays with contrast: heavy felt material meets airy, transparent fabrics, while the lighting design brilliantly evokes the alternation between mystical shadows and dazzling brightness.