Finland at Tanzmesse

Present at booth 61: Alpo Aaltokoski Company | Carl Knif Company | Dance Theatre Minimi | Ella Effendy | Full Moon Dance Festival | Hanna Kahrola | Johanna Nuutinen + Collaborators | Kinetic Orchestra | Liisa Pentti +Co | Maria Nurmela | MimoArt Company | Regional Dance Center of Eastern Finland | Reetta-Kaisa Iles | Sivuun Ensemble | Tsuumi Dance Theatre | Valtteri Raekallio | Zodiak – Center for New Dance

Alpo Aaltokoski Company

Alpo Aaltokoski Company: Pyörteitä ©Marko Mäkinen

Alpo Aaltokoski’s language of movement is unique, which he has developed for more than 30 years. At the heart of his art is human, the human body, and the movement it produces. The choreographer’s goal is to understand a human, humans relationship to another human and the world around them. Aaltokoski’s works touch with their humanity and bring out a current perspective on the world. Choreographies appeal to audiences across cultural boundaries and raises private experience to the level of shared experience. www.aaltokoskicompany.fi

Present at the booth 61:
Elina Aholainen, Executive Producer, elina@aaltokoskicompany.fi

Carl Knif Company

Carl Knif Company: Fu­gue in Two Co­lors ©Yoshi Omori

Dancer, choreographer, director Carl Knif founded his own contemporary dance / physical theatre company in 2012. Since the beginning Carl Knif Company has risen to the forefront of Finnish performing arts with a blend of highly recognizable narratives and virtuoso dancing. Knif has created more than 20 pieces for his own company, in co-production with theaters or as commissioned works. Some of his works are non-verbal based on power of movement and dance, some are more towards theater. The works fit into various genres thus forming an own “Carl Knif Company’s genre” in which Knif combines dance and theatre skillfully. www.carlknifcompany.com

Present at the booth 61:
Marjo Pyykönen, Managing Director, mar­jo@carlk­nif­com­pa­ny.com

Dance Theatre Minimi

Dance Theatre Minimi: Atlas ©Mikko Pirinen

Dance Theatre Minimi produces performances balancing on the borders of circus, dance, physical theatre and other bodily performing arts. Minimi produces creations from both house and guest artists aiming to develop employment of freelance artists and to collaborate with a variety of partners like dance companies, theatres and different art organizations annually. Productions are often planned for touring and occasionally to be performed in outdoor venues and public spaces. Dance Theatre Minimi’s association was founded in 1991. Currently Minimi’s home venue is located at the city theatre in Kuopio, Finland and the company operates independently with a great synergy inside the city theatre. www.minimi.fi

Present at the booth 61: 
Mikko Makkonen, Artistic Director, mikko@minimi.fi

Ella Effendy

Ella Effendy: Layers of Shhh ©Esa Huusari

Ella Effendy is a Finnish-Indonesian freelancer working with dance, performance and choreography. She is currently researching what she calls: ”the sleeping physical quality awareness that is present in all human bodies”. Her background is in a long line of training with various styles. She studied street dance in one of Europe’s most appreciated street schools, Åsa folkhögskola in Sweden and acquired a diploma in contemporary dance and performance from North Karelia college in Finland. Effendy makes it a practice to actively expand her perspective by taking part in creative processes all over the world. Her network reaches from the nordics to Germany, USA, Southeast Asia and further.

Present at the booth 61:
Ella Effendy, Dance Artist

Full Moon Dance Festival

Full Moon Dance Festival is a 31-year-old dance festival in Pyhäjärvi, Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. A small country town provides an ideal setting for artists to encounter their audiences. Works by leading names in Finnish and international dance will be performed on black box stages, in urban spaces and in the Great Outdoors, with several courses, lectures and discussion events also included in the festival programme. www.fullmoondance.fi

Present at the booth 61:
Johanna Ikola, Artistic Director (August 2022 – ), johanna@fullmoondance.fi

Hanna Kahrola

Gussarov, Hoffmann, Kahrola, Paras & Toomistu: In Between II_The Name of us is Luborg ©Terje Toomistu

Hanna Kahrola (born 1985) is Tampere based dance artist and performer who studied in Copenhagen. Occasionally her field of work extends to other parts of Finland as well as Baltic and Nordic countries. Kahrola has been working in the free field of dance since 2014. She is passionate about performing and also likes to create herself. In recent years, she has been funded to work in collective, hierarchically conscious and interactive artistic processes. Her recent dancer work moves around the issues of humanity, its problems and interfaces such as being otherwise (Toisintoja, work in urban space of fema artist collective, 2021), death (Unina, solo performance, 2019) or trafficking (Bypassed, living exhibition, 2021). Through art, Hanna strives for the power of embodied humor, moving influence and present expression. www.hannakahrola.com

Present at the booth 61:
Hanna Kahrola, Dance Artist, hanna.kahrola@gmail.com

Johanna Nuutinen + Collaborators

Johanna Nuutinen + Collaborators: Surge ©Sakari Viika / Finnish National Ballet

The production platform Johanna Nuutinen + Collaborators was formed in 2016 to support the work choreographer Johanna Nuutinen creates with a team of highly talented and visionary sound, light and costume designers as well as performing artists and dramaturgs. The sensing, sensitive, poetic and vulnerable, yet strong and versatile body together with bold visual worlds are at the core of their artistic work. Johanna Nuutinen is a Helsinki-based choreographer. She has directed her own productions for the cinema and stage, at the junction of visual and performing arts, since 2011.  Nuutinen has pursued a freelance career since 2017, after a successful 15-year tenure at the Finnish National Ballet, where she danced in the soloist roles of several productions. www.johannanuutinen.com

Present at the booth 61:
Lilja Lehmuskallio, Creative Producer, lilja@johannanuutinen.com

Kinetic Orchestra

Kinetic Orchestra: Gravity ©Petra Tiihonen

Founded in 2009, Kinetic Orchestra is a contemporary dance company based in Helsinki, Finland, directed by choreographer Jarkko Mandelin. Kinetic Orchestra’s mission is to create fascinating and easily accessible dance art with high-quality. The company is known for its distinguished style of movement that combines acrobatic partnering with a strong artistic vision. The company’s annual schedule consists of dance productions, touring in Finland and abroad, and of dance workshops that are often organised together with performance events. www.kineticorchestra.fi

Friday, September 2, at 14.00 & 16.00:
Kinetic Orchestra: Gravity @Open Studios (tanzhaus nrw, studio 5) | Read more >

Present at the booth 61:
Jarkko Mandelin, Choreographer
Sofia Suomalainen, Producer, info@kineticorchestra.fi

Liisa Pentti +Co

Liisa Pentti +Co: Ref2020 ©Sari Antikainen

Liisa Pentti +Co is a Helsinki-based dance group whose central values are artistic relentlessness and ingenuity. Founded in 2000, the group’s artistic profile is situated in a field between dance, performance art and contemporary theatre. Experimentation and searching for new forms of expression are emblematic of Liisa Pentti +Co’s work. Teaching, residencies, various kinds of dance events and seminars as well as articles are an important aspect of the group’s operation. www.liisapentti.com

Present at Tanzmesse (booths: Dance Info Finland nr 61 & Low Air / Compagnie Humaine / Studiotrade network):
Hanna Nyman, Managing Director, hanna@liisapentti.com

Maria Nurmela

Maria Nurmela: Falling Through The Disappearing Light ©Vesa Loikas

ABOA Cultural Price 2020 recipient Maria Nurmela has been working as a freelance dance artist since 2002 in the field of contemporary dance and performance. Since 2016 Maria has been creating mostly her own works, which have been presented at various Festivals in Finland and abroad. Her work takes place on interdisciplinary interfaces and in different performance spaces, communally and in film format. She collaborates regularly with Finnish filmmaker Vesa Loikas. Their first short film ECHOES / Kaikuja (2022) was nominated for Prix Lumieré Prize 2022 in Cinedansé Festival, Quebec, Canada in March 2022. Maria has worked with many internationally esteemed choreographers (Tero Saarinen, Susanne Linke, Susanna Leinonen).  Currently she also leads The Days Project (2018-) together with Finnish dance artist Ville Oinonen and English choreographer Theo Clinkard. The Days Project has been touring since its premier in 2018 in Europe, North America, Russia, UK and Canada. In addition to her work as a freelance dance artist, Maria also teaches contemporary dance and movement, mentors and works as an advisor. Maria’s artistic work has been recognized by numerous grants and awards. In 2008 she was nominated in the Ballet/Tanz Year Book as one of the most remarkable female contemporary dancers in Europe. www.marianurmela.com

Present at the booth 61: 
Maria Nurmela, Dance Artist, nurmela.maria@gmail.com

MimoArt Company

MimoArt Company: Fades Away ©Kai Kuusisto

MimoArt Company, founded in 2016, is a Helsinki based performing art group that produces artistic and pedagogical work of Mimosa Lindahl and Arto-Oskar Reunanen in the fields of dance, theatre and circus. The productions are created collectively by an international team of selected artists. The interdisciplinary thinking of MimoArt Company steers clear of known genre definitions: Their work operates in contemporary dance, physical mime and -theatre, butoh, clownery, visual- and sound art. MimoArt Companys debute BODY NOTES was awarded Best Performance at the PANPHYS-festival in North-Macedonian National theatre in 2019. www.mimoartcompany.com

Present at the booth 61: 
Mimosa Lindahl, Artistic Director

Regional Dance Center of Eastern Finland

I surrender, I surrender – plunges in the blind spot of physical pop culture ©Mikko Mäntyniemi

The Regional Dance Center of Eastern Finland (ITAK) operates in Northern Savo, Southern Savo and North Karelia. Its objective is to strengthen the diversity of cultural services in the area as well as the role and accessibility of professional art as part of local culture. ITAK provides information about dance to the public and other target groups, grants partial production support, organizes visiting performances and events and promotes the networking between dance artists and other parties in the region. At its own performance venue, ITAK stage, the center provides interesting and current premieres and visiting performances from the region as well as international artists. www.itak.fi

Present at the booth 61:
Veera Lamberg, Artistic Director, veera.lamberg@itak.fi

Reetta-Kaisa Iles

Johanna Elovaara, Reetta-Kaisa Iles: We Called her Bertha ©Mortti Saarnia

Dance artist Reetta-Kaisa Iles (b. 1976) is a versatile freelancer working as a choreographer, dancer and a singer. In addition to her adventurous artistic carrier she has also been working as a pedagog with music, dance and acting students in The University of the Arts Helsinki. Being particularly passionate about exploring the intersections of dance, movement, music and sounds, Iles often reaches for unity between musicians and dancers. She is fascinated about holistic performers who are able to throw them selves in to the performance with their distinct bodily presence and voice. www.reettakaisailes.fi

Present at the booth 61: 
Reetta-Kaisa Iles, Dance Artist

Sivuun Ensemble

Sivuun Ensemble: Silentopia ©Tanja Ahola

Sivuun Ensemble, founded and steered by choreographer-director Ninni Perko, is a multidisciplinary collective. Ensemble’s performances are intensive conversations between different art forms. Movement, music, image and text entwine into a collage of entities, opening seminal interpretations to current issues, significant for individuals and communities alike. The whole of Ensemble’s function, its raison d’être, is driven by the search for equality and equity. The collective’s stage and touring pieces, communal projects and workshops reflect the belief their creators have in art justified by defending human values. www.sivuun.net

Present at the booth 61: 
Inari Pesonen, Producer, inari.pesonen@sivuun.net

Tsuumi Dance Theatre

Tsuumi Dance Theatre: A Couple of Humans ©Petra Tiihonen

Tsuumi Dance Theatre is a Helsinki based professional dance theatre with over 20 years of experience. The company finds its unique strength in exploring folklore and creating new artistic ways to bring it on stage. Tsuumi Dance Theatre is a collective of professional dancers, choreographers and musicians. Tsuumi’s works consists of contemporary dance, Finnish folk dance, theatre and live music. www.tsuumi.com

Present at the booth 61:
Heidi Yli-Yrjänäinen, Marketing & Communications Manager, heidi.yli-yrjanainen@tsuumi.com

Valtteri Raekallio

Valtteri Raekallio: Uranium lamp ©Valtteri Raekallio

Choreographer Valtteri Raekallio’s work explores the boundaries between multiple art forms. He creates bold performances that combine complex narratives and themes with strong visual imagery and well crafted movement. He is also an internationally recognized teacher in high demand at dance workshops and universities. His recent productions reach from immersive or site-specific works to stage work and to film projects of different approaches. As a dancer Valtteri Raekallio has worked with major international and Finnish choreographers in over 70 productions in 40 countries. He has appeared in contemporary dance performances, opera and theatre productions and films. Finland’s Minister of Science and Culture awarded the Finland Prize to the dance company Raekallio Corp. in 2019. The same year Valtteri Raekallio received the City of Helsinki Artist of the Year award. In 2018 he was an Aerowaves Twenty 18 artist and the performance Oneiron was selected for the Ice Hot Nordic Dance Platform in Reykjavik. www.raekallio.fi

Present at the booth 61:
Valtteri Raekallio, Choreographer, valtteri@raekallio.fi

Zodiak – Center for New Dance

Henriksson & Mustonen: Eros ©Hertta Kiiski

Zodiak – Centre for New Dance is the only producer and venue in Helsinki focusing solely on contemporary dance. Zodiak’s main task is to co-produce and present new works by freelance artists working in Finland. Zodiak’s program of performances is artistically curated and primarily based on an open call. On a yearly basis Zodiak presents 10–12 premieres plus the international Side Step Festival, organized in February. Zodiak works actively in international networks. Currently Zodiak is one of the partners of Big Pulse Dance Alliance, a network of European dance festivals and organizations, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. www.zodiak.fi

Present at the booth 61:
Harri Kuorelahti, Artistic Director, harri.kuorelahti@zodiak.fi