Past projects

Circus in Focus was a Finnish-Swedish networking and peer learning project for presenters and performing arts support organisations. The aim of the project was to increase the participants’ knowledge of the other country’s performing arts scene and to discover how networking and cooperation can develop the prerequisites for operation in the field of contemporary circus.

Circus & Dance Info Finland’s project partners were Subtopia and Region Stockholm in Sweden and Cirko – Center for New Circus in Finland. The project was supported by the Finnish-Swedish Cultural Fund.

Digital Leap project offered opportunities for dance and circus professionals for deepening their understanding of digital tools and the possibilities they offer for performing arts. Is it possible to create, promote and disseminate performing arts digitally, without compromising the essential live feeling?

Digital Leap has organised four learning modules for artists and producers working with circus and dance. The first module kicked off in spring 2022 and the last one took place in the beginning of 2023. The five-day events were held in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Catalunya and France. The participants – approximately 28 in each module – were selected in an open call aimed at the professionals working in the partner countries.

The contents of each learning module have been compiled in the form of online learning resources – cookbooks. The cookbooks contain practical tips, essential theory of digital platforms, and thoughts from the experts and artists taking part in the modules. The materials are openly available on the project website.

The project has approached the topic from four different perspectives: promoting artistic work on digital platforms, adapting and creating live performances for digital environments, disseminating artistic work and ideas digitally, and reaching and engaging audiences through digital means. The programme was based on practical exercises and theory. The project invited experts from various fields to work as teachers, mentors and facilitators. As a part of the project, the project partners organised seminars in their respective countries to disseminate the learnings of the project with the local performing arts sector in spring 2023.

Read more about the project and discover the online materials on the project website

Circus & Dance Info Finland was the main coordinator of the project. The project was realised in collaboration with the project partners: Artcena (FR), Arts and Theatre Institute (CZ), Danscentrum Sverige (SE), Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, Institut Ramon Llull (ES) and Performing Arts Hub Norway.

The project received funding from the European Commision’s Erasmus+ project.

Samovar Circles was a collective catalyst and boiler of ideas on how to tackle new challenges and opportunities for the performing arts in the post covid era. 21 artists, presenters and funders within the Nordic and Baltic contemporary circus and performing arts field formed the core group that was invited to a series of intimate and highly participative meetings on the following themes: the future of international collaboration, diversity and representation and preventing a lost generation of artists. The project also organised discussions and seminars that were open for everyone.

Samovar Circles was a short term network initiated and organised by Subtopia (Sweden), CircusInfo Finland (Finland), Performing Arts Hub (Norway), Teatronas (Lithuania), New Theatre Institute of Latvia (Latvia) and Wildtopia (Denmark). The partners represented different missions, contexts, knowledge and practices.

The aim of the programme was to facilitate international exchange and long-term collaboration between Korean and Nordic performing arts professionals and to create tangible projects. The themes of the project were young audiences (2017–18), accessibility and inclusivity (2019), art and technology (2020) and aging population (2021).

The project was realised as background research, networking and study trips, and a seminar. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the programme planned for 2020 was eventually done as online meetings and workshops.

The partners of the Korea-Nordic Connection programme were Korean and Nordic organisations: Korea Arts Management Service, Assitej Korea, Swedish Arts Council, Assitej Sweden, Assitej Finland, Performing Arts Hub Norway, Dance Info Finland and CircusInfo Finland.

In 2014 Dance info Finland together with the Embassy of Finland in Moscow started the project, which aimed to establish a more intensive cooperation between Russia’s and Finland’s contemporary dance scenes.

Finnish-Russian dance exchange programme increased the collaboration between Finnish and Russian dance companies, organisations and dance artists, for example in sharing information and know-how, education and dance events.

The programme was suspended in 2022 with the remaining funds used for asylum residencies for Ukrainian dance artists, in cooperation with the Artists at Risk organisation.

The Keðja projects offered Baltic and Nordic dance artists, producers, journalists and other dance professionals opportunities to meet, exchange ideas and work across borders. From 2019 onwards, a series of Stretch events will function as a follow-up to the Keðja projects. Read more: kedja.net

• NuoraNORD Incubator 2020
• NuoraNORD – Baltic-Nordic development project for young circus companies 2018–19
• NuoraMentors– artistic or productional mentoring for young circus companies 2017–2018
• Nuora – mentoring project for young circus artists 2015–2016

NuoraNORD Incubator was an international project to empower up-and-coming circus initiatives of the Baltic-Nordic region with both material and immaterial resources. Project partners were CircusInfo Finland (coordinator), Dynamo Workspace for Circus (Denmark), Cirkus Cirkör (Sweden), Arts Printing House / Menu spaustuve (Lithuania), Riga Cirks (Latvia) and Eesti Tsirkusekeskus (Estonia). The project was supported by Nordic Culture Point.

NuoraNORD project was aimed at young Baltic and Nordic circus companies struggling in becoming established. Coordinated by CircusInfo Finland, the project focused in providing the young circus companies with knowledge and skills on strategic thinking and planning as well as long-term sustainable development. In total four workshops were arranged, one in each partner country. From each country, two producers or artists took part in the workshops. Other project partners were Pievilcigas pilsetvides biedriba / Re Riga! Festival in Latvia, Menu spaustuve / Arts Printing House in Lithuania, Manegen in Sweden and Baltic-Nordic Circus Network. The project was supported by Nordic Culture Point.

NuoraMentors was a mentoring project for young circus companies, divided into three parts: 1. Production support to companies for employing a producer. 2. An individual mentoring programme, containing either artistic or productional mentoring. 3. Master classes and intensive workshops provided for all in the field. Eight artists and/or producers were selected as the mentees via an open call. In addition, production support and advice was given to five circus groups. The project was carried out by CircusInfo Finland with the support of Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Nuora, a one-year project offered groups expertise and direct resource to the stabilization and development of their production structures. The project aimed to increase and develop cooperation within the field and to improve artists entrepreneur–producer knowledge. This was accomplished by direct mentoring and open workshops. The project was funded by Ministry of Education and Culture.

A networking project that offered a chance for Finnish and Canadian circus artists to network and participate as guests in two international, circus-focused showcase and marketing events during summer 2019. The project partners were CircusInfo Finland and La Tohu, supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Provincial Government of Quebec.

This project by CircusInfo Finland, La Tohu from Canada and Subtopia from Sweden, brought together young 25–35-year-old performing arts producers from Finland, Canada and Sweden. In addition to developing their professional skills, the project aimed to bring young producers in touch with the development of circus art. The meetings organised by the project were held at performing arts showcase events CINARS (Montreal 2018) and Subcase (Stockholm 2019). The Nordic producers’ networking was supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Canadians’ by the Provincial Government of Quebec.

Creative Meeting Point: Hong Kong x Finland 2016–2019 supported artistic work and artistic development and helped the emergence of collaboration between Hong Kong and Finland. The aim was to create connections on a broader basis between the Finnish and Hong Kong dance scenes, job opportunities and connections for dance artists and partnerships and capacity building for organisations.

The collaboration program was between West Kowloon Cultural District and Dance Info Finland, Zodiak – Center for New Dance and Dance House Helsinki. Dance Info Finland acted as the coordinator of the Finnish partners.

Dancing Finland 2017 was a national dance project and event which offers dance activities for everyone. The campaign was a part of the programme for the centenary of Finland’s independence in 2017. The idea behind the campaign was that dance is possible for us all.

The Erasmus+ funded programme aimed at building capacity in the field, focusing especially on young artists. The programme had 7 European and American partners: La Grainerie (France), CircusInfo Finland, Cirko (Finland), Subtopia (Sweden), La Central del Circ (Spain), La TOHU (Canada) and Luni Produçoes (Brazil).

CASA was a European support programme designed by five arts organisations: MiramirO (Belgium), CircusInfo Finland (Finland), Cirqueon (Czech Republic), FiraTàrrega (Spain) and Subtopia (Sweden). Together organisations joined forces to equip professionals from the contemporary circus and outdoor creation sectors to work and cooperate transnationally. CASA was co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, Ministry of Education and Culture Finland and Swedish Arts Council.

Dance Info Finland ran a residence exchange collaboration programme with the Finnish Institute in Japan and Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Number 1 during 2007–2009. Another collaboration programme was carried out with Zodiak – The Center for New Dance and Japan Contemporary Dance Network in 2011–2012. A residency program for Finnish dance artists was realised in collaboration with the Art Museum in Kôchi in autumn 2016.

FokusSirkus was a support programme for professional circus practitioners and students in Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands. The project aimed to facilitate collaboration that brought together practitioners from all three countries to discuss the future of circus and circus as an art form, and to develop new production practices. The other partners were Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux, Cirko – Center for New Circus and Circuscentrum.

Dance Info Finland and Australia Council for the Arts coordinated a collaboration programme, in which the partners were organisations of dance field from both countries.

The EU-funded project aimed to increase the knowledge and expertise of circus critics and writers across Europe by organising residencies for journalists during circus festivals. Vlaams Centrum voor Circuskunsten, Ghent Belgium, was the project coordinator.  Other partners in addition to CircusInfo Finland were CIRCa pole national (France), Crying Out Loud (UK), KIT (Denmark), Mala performerska scena (Croatia), Stichting Rotterdam Circusstad (The Netherlands), Subtopia (Sweden), Humorologie festival (Belgium) and Les Halles de Schaerbeek (Belgium).

TAIVEX consisted of two projects aimed at performing arts intermediary tier professionals: TAIVEX export training and TAIVEX² work placement programme.

TAIVEX² was a work placement programme for theatre, dance and circus producers, realised in 2012–13 with funding from the European Social Fund.

The programme consisted of 32 work exchange periods and a study module focusing on leadership and strategic planning. In addition, the project did a wide study on performing arts producers’ well-being at work and published an article collection on this subject in 2014. The project was coordinated by Theatre Info Finland and its partners were Dance Info Finland, CircusInfo Finland and the cities of Helsinki, Turku, Tampere and Pori.

Effective Circus was an ESF (European Social Fund) project administrated by the Centre for Practise as Research in Theatre at the University of Tampere. The goal of the project was to increase professional employment in the circus field by developing the potential of circus organisations as employers in the field of social and applied circus and advance methods for researching the wellbeing effects of circus.