Valtteri Raekallio, a dancer and choreographer who has led his own company for 10 years, will take up the position in August 2024 for a three-year term.
Valtteri Raekallio, the newly appointed director of Helsinki Dance Company, the dance company of Helsinki City Theatre, worked as a dancer with the company from 2006 to 2013.
“I am really grateful for this opportunity to return to my ‘home theatre’ in this new role. I think the Helsinki City Theatre and the dance company have done some excellent things in recent years. My goal as director of the dance company is to continue to develop the company to its full potential as Finland’s leading professional dance company and a key part of Helsinki City Theatre,” he says in a press release.
Raekallio is one of the most prominent Finnish choreographers of his generation and is known for his collaborations with Finnish writers, large-scale immersive works and dance films. He has worked as a dancer for over 20 years and performed in 40 different countries. Raekallio’s own group Raekallio Corp. celebrated its 10th anniversary this autumn. The anniversary performance Credo was presented at the Dance House Helsinki.
“In my opinion, the future of the company is to be a versatile artistic ensemble with a crew capable of creating contemporary dance productions of international standard, working sovereignly and professionally on Broadway musicals and meeting all the other artistic challenges of a modern city theatre” Raekallio continues in the press release.
Helsinki Dance Company is a contemporary dance company founded at the Helsinki City Theatre. The dance company celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. In addition to independent dance works, the dancers perform extensively in the City Theatre’s productions and choreograph works. The current artistic director, Antti Lahti, takes up a new position as director of Kuopio City Theatre in August 2024.