Helsinki Dance Company

Helsinki Dance Company is a contemporary dance company founded in 1973 in connection with the Helsinki City Theatre. Helsinki Dance Company has worked with several renowned artists over the years and has also had a significant impact on the professionalization of dance art in Finland. In addition to independent dance productions, dancers have performed and worked as choreographers in a wide range of theatre productions, from plays to musicals. The company is known for its charismatic and expressive dancers, as well as its visually polished and movement-strong works. At the moment, the group produces two premieres a year, one in the autumn season and one in the spring season.

The dance group was founded in 1973, when Seija Simonen and six permanent dancers were hired as dance masters at the City Theatre. The following year, the number of dancers rose to eight. In 1982, Jorma Uotinen was chosen as the company’s dance master, and under his leadership, the company became independent and developed to a new level artistically. The dance group’s own productions were increasingly invested in alongside assisting spoken theatre performances. During Uotinen’s nine-year term, the company reached its current high artistic level as an independent dance company, as evidenced by which it was awarded the State Prize for Dance in 1992. Foreign tours also became part of the group’s activities.

The group has performed on all stages of the Helsinki City Theatre and has visited domestic and international arenas.

The group consists of seven permanent dancers. The artistic directors of the group have been Liisa Priha, Jorma Uotinen, Carolyn Carlson, Marjo Kuusela, Kenneth Kvarnström, Ari Tenhula, Nigel Charnock, Ville Sormunen, Jyrki Karttunen and Antti Lahti. Since August 2024, the group has been led by Valtteri Raekallio.

Helsinki Dance Company is a contemporary dance company founded in 1973 in connection with the Helsinki City Theatre. Helsinki Dance Company has worked with several renowned artists over the years and has also had a significant impact on the professionalisation of dance in Finland.

In addition to independent dance works, dancers have performed and choreographed extensively in theatre productions from plays to musicals. The group is known for its charismatic and expressive dancers, as well as their physically challenging and visually strong works. Currently, the group produces two premieres a year, one in the fall season and one in the spring season.

The founding date of the company can be considered 1973, when Seija Simonen and six permanent dancers were appointed dance master at the City Theatre. The following year, the number of dancers rose to eight. In 1982, Jorma Uotinen was chosen as the company’s dance master, under whose leadership the company became independent and developed to a new level artistically. The dance company’s own productions were increasingly invested in alongside assisting in theatre performances. During Uotinen’s nine-year term, the company reached its current high artistic level as an independent dance company, as evidenced by the fact that it was awarded the State Prize for Dance in 1992. Foreign tours also became part of the group’s activities.

The group has performed on all stages of the Helsinki City Theatre and visited domestic and international arenas. The group consists of seven permanent dancers. The artistic directors of the group have been Liisa Priha, Jorma Uotinen, Carolyn Carlson, Marjo Kuusela, Kenneth Kvarnström, Ari Tenhula, Nigel Charnock, Ville Sormunen and Jyrki Karttunen and Antti Lahti. Valtteri Raekallio will start as the group’s leader in August 2024.