Companies and choreographers
Here you can get to know dance companies and choreographers based in Finland. For more information please visit the artists’ websites and social media – the links can be found in the contact cards.
- All
- Dance Theatre
- Community Dance
- Contemporary Dance
- Show & Street Dance
- Young Audiences
- Ethnic & Folk Dance
- Ballet
© Johanna Vehkanen
Aladin Pauliina
Dance Theatre|Community Dance|Contemporary Dance
Pauliina is a dance artist, dance teacher and social circus director. She enjoys working as a performer, choreographer and art pedagogy. She graduated as dance teacher 2005 and social circus director 2014.
Lonh © Jari Puranen
Alajärvi Erika
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance|Ethnic & Folk Dance
As a dancer and choreographer my aim is to create a work inspired by corporal language and music of flamenco and using it without losing the natural character and dramaturgy of the traditional flamenco dance.
© Pette Rissanen
Alakunnas Kimmo
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance|Young Audiences
Kimmo Alakunnas is a dancer and choreographer, who graduated from Theatre Academy Helsinki 2010 with a Master of Arts degree. Kimmo has worked as an actor, dancer, choreographer and short film director. His previous works have been dance performances and contemporary dance short films.
© Teemu Silvana
Borghi Beniamino
Contemporary Dance
Beniamino Borghi born in Milan, is a dancer, choreographer and media artist. He has education in Interior Design, trained as professional dancer in Biennale of Venice and has participated in several international dance and physical theatre workshops. He works as a dance teacher and choreographer, he leads video-dance workshops for professionals and amateurs, and also performs by himself as dancer and performing artist.
Hanna B. © Nico Backström
Brotherus Hanna
Contemporary Dance|Dance Theatre|Community Dance
Hanna Brotherus is a choreographer, director and dance teacher, who is known from her work with different groups of people. She has made dance pieces for example with old people and asylum seekers. Many of her work has been performed in the Finnish National Theatre.
Stop Daydreaming © Eino Ansio
Bukareva Diina
Contemporary Dance
Diina Bukareva is a choreographer and performer Graduated from Trinity Laban (London, UK) and currently based in Tampere, Finland. She works as a freelancer developing her individual projects and collaborating with various artists.
Harjunpää Leena
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance
Leena Harjunpää is a dance artist and choreographer based in Helsinki. In addition to working as a choreographer, she has performed both in dance pieces and plays.
Creatures from the Dark © Aki-Pekka Sinikoski
Hirvanen Maija
Contemporary Dance
Maija Hirvanen’s performances have been presented internationally and in Finland. Hirvanen’s work is based on a symbiosis of choreography, performance and visual art. Hirvanen has participated as an invited artist in number of international artist laboratories.
Ritva Tiikala
Hirvonen Minnamaria Minni
Dance Theatre|Community Dance
Minni Hirvonen is a dance and performance artist, producer and community artist.
One of her characters named Miss Catastroph is part of her life long work on the theme of nature conservation.
Minni also campaigns for accessible art, applied art and culture. Her integrated and inclusive art collective is called Able Art Group.
© Hanna Koikkalainen
Iles Reetta-Kaisa
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance|Ethnic & Folk Dance
Choreographer Reetta-Kaisa Iles (MA) is particularly focused in her work in the interaction between dance and music. She is currently working as an artistic director of the Dance Theatre Tsuumi and working as a dancer and a singer in Puhti-duo.
Jotakin kuin Grey Gardens © Aino Kannisto
Jenni Kivelä & Kind People
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance|Dance Theatre|Young Audiences
Since 2002 this company creates dance performances that combine features from dance and theatre, which moves between the conceptual and the concrete. Jenni Kivelä has a strong and recognisable choreographic style.
PISS © Mika Ailasmäki
Kallio Kati
Dance Theatre|Community Dance|Contemporary Dance
Kati Kallio is a Finnish dance filmmaker and choreographer. Her films have been shown internationally in festivals and on tv. Since 2015 she has worked as artistic director of International Loikka dance film festival.
Helsinki Ballet Academy © J.Kirjonen
Kirjonen Juha
Ballet
Juha Kirjonen makes choreographies for both solo artists and dance groups. Kirjonen also choreographs new ballet and contemporary dance for international ballet competitions. He is the founder of Helsinki Ballet Academy, which provides classical ballet education.
Harmonia - Harmony © Rita Denisova
Koistinen Laura (Vesterinen)
Contemporary Dance|Young Audiences|Community Dance
Laura Koistinen (Vesterinen) is working both as a choreographer and dancer. Besides that she organizes workshops for amateurs and professionals for example in Lohja, Turku, Helsinki and also abroad.
Cut and Run © Lennart Laberenz
Koistinen Milla
Contemporary Dance
“Milla Koistinen is a dancer-choreographer working in Berlin and Helsinki. Her works have been played among other locations in HAU Hebbel am Ufer, tanzhaus nrw, Uferstudios, Mad House Helsinki and Jojo.”
On Equilibrium - Remake © Rita Denisova
Koistinen Saku
Contemporary Dance
Saku Koistinen is a dancer/choreographer living in Höynölä. His ambition is to make uncompromising and passionate work, whatever the project and the role is. In his creations he approaches world with a warm and philosophic touch.
© Anton Verho
geishaphoto series © Jean-Claude Néron
Kuosa Wilma-Emilia
Dance Theatre|Community Dance|Contemporary Dance
Jazz dance artist Wilma-Emilia Kuosa is a dancer, choreographer and teacher. In her work Kuosa is updating jazz dance to today with her socially critical multi art concepts. She often collaborates with musicians to create the art work together.
© Pekka Mäkinen
Kuula Sannamaria
Dance Theatre|Community Dance|Contemporary Dance
Sannamaria Kuula is a Kuopio based freelance dance artist with an MA in dance. She works in the field of dance as a choreographer, performer and teacher. Kuula is interested in the essence of movement and moving, as well as the interplay between sensation and movement.
©Patrick Beelaert
Lapitskaya Vera
Contemporary Dance|Young Audiences|Dance Theatre
Works both in Finland and abroad. She uses a multidisciplinary approach combining dance with music, paintings, poetry and other art forms. In 2014 she established NotaBene duet – an artistic group which creates performances for different target groups (www.notabeneduet.com).
© Jukka Nuutinen
Lehmus Jarkko
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance
Jarkko Lehmus has worked as a dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, director and actor since 1995 in Finland and internationally.
LehmusWorks deals with physicality, imagination, emotions, empathy and the meeting ground of art and science.
Poroporo 2015 © Jari Haavikko
Milla Virtanen & Company
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance
Since 2007 Milla Virtanen has created 10 dance theatre performances, which have been performed more than 80 times in 8 countries around Europe and in South-Korea. She has graduated from Fontys Dansacademie, Holland in 2008, specialising in dance theatre.
© Thibault Monnier, photography Mikko Rasila
Monnier Thibault
Contemporary Dance|Ballet
Thibault Monnier is dancer and choreographer, performer and visual artist. His performance vocabulary and body language are inherited from dance traditions and inspired from other art sources, such as photography, fashion design and film.
Nordic Roots © Niina Airaksinen
NADP – Niina Airaksinen Dance Productions
Contemporary Dance
Niina Airaksinen Dance Productions (NADP) produces international productions combining arts and science. Airaksinen explores new worlds, different cultures and time-periods, and transforms found phenomena into movement on stage, photography and video.
The Horse Show © Ilkka Aaltonen
Nenonen Noora
Dance Theatre|Community Dance|Contemporary Dance
Noora Nenonen works as choreographer, director and perfomer in various contexts from contemporary dance to opera and community art. Her artistic focus within different communities lies on dialogues and narratives where bodies and voices are manifested.
Niina Manninen
Dance Theatre|Young Audiences|Ballet
Niina Manninen works as a dance teacher and choreographer. She is also a chi ld and youth psychiatric nurse and a cultural well-being professional, and trains various workers on supporting children’s psychological well-being through dance and movement.
Departures © Maija Nurmio
Nurmio Maija
Dance Theatre|Community Dance|Contemporary Dance|Ballet
Dance artist Maija Nurmio works in contemporary dance, performance and fine art scene. Nurmio graduated with MA Choreography from Theatre Academy in 2009 with prior studies at Laban. She works in close collaboration with other artists in different artistic assemblies.
HATCHED © Joonas Tikkanen
Nuutinen Johanna
Contemporary Dance
Johanna Nuutinen´s works are built on highly physical contemporary dance and she collaborates with distinguished artists in the fields of visual art and sound in order to create worlds which shake emotions and activate your kinaesthetic empathy.
Paasonen Tomi
Contemporary Dance
PAA – Public Artistic Affairs is Tomi Paasonen’s platform for artistic expression. Through diverse artistic mediums, he aims to confuse the periphery with the centre and embody mainstream alternatively. PAA – Public Artistic Affairs creates performances and installation.
History of a Love ©Tanja Ahola
Pajala-Assefa Hanna
Contemporary Dance
Hanna Pajala-Assefa is an awarded contemporary dance artist, whose work crosses various disciplines of choreography, dance research and dance film. Currently she works with an interdiplinary method of movement, music and cutting edge technology.
© Anna Rouhu
Palmgren Sari
Community Dance|Contemporary Dance|Young Audiences
Sari Palmgren is working as a freelance choreographer, dancer and dance teacher in Finland and abroad. She is working widely in the dance field: with stage works, theatre, different social choreography and community projects and dance films.
© Simon Beyer-Pedersen
Pippingsköld Heli
Dance Theatre|Contemporary Dance
Pippingsköld is a professional dancer and dance artist who works mainly in North Finland and Denmark. The past years she has been working in a collaborations with Satu Tuomisto+Comp, Taikabox, Anu Sistonen, Milla Virtanen and Palle Granhoj (Denmark).
© Anna Salmi
Robinson Elina
Dance Theatre|Ethnic & Folk Dance
Elina Robinson is a flamenco dancer, choreographer and pedagogue. She is working with The Imperfecto Collective which combines traditional dance and modern media, creating a visually impressive urban setting.
Terhi Töyry
Salama Sanna / SalamaDance
Contemporary Dance|Show & Street Dance
Sanna Salama works in the professional dance field of South Karelia. Main focus of her movement is based on contemporary dance and streetdance fusions. Salama works currently as a freelancer, dance teacher and choreographer in Lappeenranta.
@ Alan Ruić
Seppälä Heidi
Contemporary Dance
Heidi Seppälä is a dancer, choreographer, researcher and movement educator. A global citizen, her artistic work deals with freedom, “otherness” and altruism. Heidi holds BA’s from TrinityLaban and Viljandi Culture Academy, and an international Master’s in dance science.
© Teemu Ullgrén
Taijonlahti Iina
Dance Theatre|Community Dance|Contemporary Dance
Iina Taijonlahti is a dance artist and teacher from Helsinki, who is working also in Asia and United States. She has mainly worked with dance film, non-dancers and different kind of art collectives.
Soolojen saaristo © Erica Kovanen
Tuittila Satu
Contemporary Dance
Freelance choreographer and dance artist. Interested in improvisation as part of performance, collaboration with other artists particularly musicians and site specific.
Folha Seca © Aino Ojanen
Venäläinen Anna
Contemporary Dance
Choreographer-dancer based in Joensuu, Venäläinen makes project-based co-operation with different artists. She finds it important to explore extreme physicality and think with the body. She is constantly developing her dance technique that is fusion of contemporary dance and capoeira.
L'AUTRE @ Chris Senn
Vera Ortiz Favela
Contemporary Dance
Finnish-Argentinian choreographer Favela Vera Ortiz is based in Helsinki. She works with different working groups both in Finland and abroad. Favela has worked in several artist residencies e.g in Paris, Berlin and Buenos Aires.
