KAJ's sauna dance has become a phenomenon in itself. Behind the choreography lies Jennie Widegren, one of SVT's permanent number creators. The first time she met KAJ, the trio was clear about what they wanted to do:
They really wanted to offer entertainment, and they wanted to build a sauna on stage. Then it was up to me to fill the number with choreography, she says.
Revue and restraint
To find the right feeling, Widegren devoted a lot of time to studying what KAJ had done previously as a comedy group. She found a lot of revues in the archive, and she also took off from KAJ's origins in Österbotten.
My Finnish friends are quite restrained. It's like no big laughter, but you say more restrained that something is fun. I wanted that to be the basic feeling in the choreography.
What did KAJ think when you presented your ideas?
They thought I had interpreted it correctly, what they wanted to do. They liked how they first sit around the fire and grill sausages, how the sauna starts to be built and how they then sit in it.
And the choreography itself?
At first, they thought it was on the verge of being too difficult. It had to do with the fact that they sing live at the same time. But they are such hard workers, so they went home and rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed, and when they came back it sat.
It fits together
How big a role do you think the dance played in winning Melodifestivalen?
People love when what you see and what you hear and what you feel fit together. We would have certainly loved Loreen even if she had sung "Euphoria" straight up and down, but her "crab dance" made it possible to visually hang it on something.
How does it feel for you as a choreographer that the sauna dance has become a phenomenon in itself?
It feels completely fantastic! I love dance and it's so much fun to be involved and contribute to people dancing more!
The "Only sauna" step:
The refrain starts with a characteristic step, where you have your hands behind your head and open and close your elbows twice.
The "Water sprinkler":
I have a friend who always does the disco step "sprinkler" at parties, and that step gets to be in the refrain. You stretch out your left hand and push with your elbow. In that way, KAJ dances from restraint to disco.
