Fine5 Dance Theatre “I.P. – LONGING. WITHOUT BORDERS.”

“I.P. – Longing. Without Borders.” was born when two dancers with different professional backgrounds but a sensitive social conscience decided, through a collaborative creative process, to tell a story in which the need for mutual respect and closeness would prevail over hatred, mindless hostility, individualism and indifference. It is about experiencing self-discovery through the miracle of caring for another, and about trust and longing for another person. The main themes of the production are love and crossing the boundaries of time and space. In addition to our everyday lives, the source of inspiration for the dance production “I.P. – Longing. Without Borders.” is Michael Ondaatje’s novel “The English Patient”, which helped find a distinctive emotional level and create an existential and psychophysical world of movement.

Choreographers and dancers: Tuuli Peremees, Simo Kruusement
Music and dramaturgical support: Liisa Hirsch
Costumes: Kirill Safonov
Lighting designer: Ants Kurist
Visuals: Merje Rääbis
Consultants: Tiina Ollesk and Renee Nõmmik
Recommended age: 13+

Throughout their significant professional careers, Tuuli Peremees and Simo Kruusement have encountered different approaches to movement and creative methods—one in classical ballet and the other in contemporary dance. They now challenged themselves to change their accustomed perspectives, synchronise with each other, and find a new visual language as well as a new way of thinking about movement.

Tuuli Peremees: “Ballet is a young person’s art, but even after dancing at the Estonian National Opera for 20 years, my passion for dance has not disappeared. In addition to physical improvement, it has directed me towards striving for spiritual beauty and balance. Through my personal search and example, I wish to encourage others to follow their dreams, despite the notions rooted in our cultural sphere that dance is primarily for young people. Care and empathy are unfortunately disappearing in today’s world, which makes them all the more important values.”

Simo Kruusement: “My previous collaboration with Tuuli at the Estonian National Opera plays an important role. This concerns both the dance-specific and purely human aspects, giving us the opportunity to consider what kind of outlet in our cultural sphere might exist for older ballet artists with extensive experience whose passion for dance is still alive. Whether and how can they continue working in the dance world after a ballet career? Do they have the desire and strength to challenge themselves in a world shaped by contemporary dance technique and thinking? To search on a level that moves deeper than form and in different directions, while nevertheless not losing form?”

TEMUKI 2025, no. 11, A. Rander, H. Einasto: “The production brings to mind the film’s enchanting, poetic atmosphere. There is much tenderness here, as well as tensions, some of which are resolved and some not. We did not recognisably find The English Patient here, but we did find boundless longing, romantic desire for the unattainable. And yet: the woman embodied by Tuuli Peremees brings to mind Juliette Binoche’s role as a woman with a battered heart who tends to the wounded in war in order to forget her emotional pain, while Simo Kruusement’s multifaceted man evokes memories of Ralph Fiennes, whose role captivates through its magnificent embodiment of human nature that conceals everything.”

“The production does not settle in the memory as a logically structured narrative, but as something much hazier and deeper: an experience that is at once painful and delicately touching.”

Read the full article here: https://www.temuki.ee/2025/11/piirideta-perekonna-ullas-haal/

Writer Meelike Saarna on the production: “This performance is multilayered and invites reflection. If you have read Ondaatje’s novel The English Patient or seen the film of the same name, it is easier to recognise the references and deeper layers. But even without knowing anything about the source material, the themes of the fragility and courage of human life, the longing for love, and its strength and endurance—despite anything—reach the viewer. The dancers and choreographers of the performance, Tuuli Peremees and Simo Kruusement, embody the idea of the production excellently. The intimacy of the space, the visual design of the stage and the emotionally precise choice of music also contribute. I recommend it!”

Supporters: Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment