The first house in Finland entirely dedicated to dance and dance culture celebrates its inauguration on Wednesday 2 February. Finnish dancers will perform at the Dance House Helsinki gala. You can tune in to the show on Yle Teema and Areena from 20.00.
Tero Saarinen Company, Tsuumi Dance Theatre, Helsinki Dance Company & Kinetic Orchestra and Pimeä hedelmä feat. Amanda & Lydia will take the stage along with a dancers’/choreographers’ salutation to the Dance House Helsinki composed under the direction of Reija Wäre.
Dance art, competitions, celebratory performances and concerts coming up in spring
All events planned for February at the Dance House Helsinki have been cancelled due to the coronavirus situation. However, a lot of dance performances and events for people of different ages have been announced for later in spring. New performances and events will be added to the programme. Please check the programme for up-to-date information and possible changes.
Performances and events are produced by actors in the field of dance and by the House itself. The House has already opened a dance studio, which it rents out for dancing. Dance House Helsinki’s programme partners are Cirko – Center for New Circus, Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth, Tero Saarinen Company and Zodiak – Center for New Dance.
The first Sparks production will be seen in autumn 2022
Dance House Helsinki’s development project Sparks will produce six premieres. The audience will get to see, among other things, performances by artists at the beginning of their careers in the Pannu Hall and on the big stage in the Erkko Hall.
The project is composed of a research and development period, a residency period and a production period. One of its functions is to establish contact with international networks. Four international experts were invited to participate in the project by sharing their expertise and experience in choreography, dramaturgy, production, networking and touring practices.
Mathilde Monnier is an esteemed French choreographer and former director of Centre National de la Danse, Antony Hamilton is an award-winning Australian choreographer and the Artistic Director of the Chunky Move company, Bia Oliveira is Head of Producing and Touring at Sadler’s Wells Theater in Great Britain, and Katherine Profeta is an American dramaturge and a Professor in the Practice of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism at Yale University.
A building designed on the terms of dance
Dance House Helsinki contains more than 5,400 square metres dedicated to dance. It offers a superb setting for performing and experiencing dance and circus.
The premises comprise a new building of a good 5,000 square metres and renovated premises in the old factory building of the Cable Factory of almost 1,500 square metres. The Erkko Hall, with 700 seats, the Pannu Hall, with 235 seats, and the Lobby are found at the heart of the building. The House also has a training studio and offices.
The venues are flexible and versatile. For example, the auditorium, stage and side stage of the Erkko Hall can be divided into separate event spaces or combined into one large space that can accommodate up to 1,000 people. In addition to dance and circus performances, Erkko and Pannu are suitable for e.g. concerts.
The building is designed by JKMM Architects and ILO architects.
The construction of Dance House Helsinki was financed by e.g. the City of Helsinki, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation and Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo. The total cost for the Dance House Helsinki and the Glass Courtyard of the Cable Factory with other improvements in the facilities was almost 42 million euros. The share of the City of Helsinki was 9.95 million euros.
The operations are financed with public funding and the revenue of the association.
Read more
Inauguration programme
Programme
for the spring and autumn
Yle
Areena: Kohti Tanssin taloa.Tanssijat juhlivat uutta
Tanssin taloa
ILO architects > Video of Dance House Helsinki
JKMM Architects
Photo: Tuomas Uusiheimo