Central Finland Dance Centre The Jyväskylä Dance Festival 2026

WELCOME TO THE JYVÄSKYLÄ DANCE FESTIVAL

I believe that the richness of dance art stems from the diversity of bodily experience and from the ways in which different cultures and communities engage physically with the world. I am grateful that this year’s festival will feature several artists and works from Sápmi. Another significant theme is artistic thinking and work emerging from the experiences of queer and trans people. In addition to these, the program highlights the intersection of the local and the international.

The festival opens with an evening of two solo performances. The work mikä estää olemasta (what prevents from being) by Katja Sallinen, an artist from Central Finland, explores the physical experiences caused by imposter syndrome through the mediums of dance and performance. Leevi Rauhalahti, who lives in Pirkanmaa, presents Wounding the World, a work that deconstructs patriarchal culture from the perspective of a non-binary conscientious objector.

Thursday is dedicaded to Theoria—an intimate duet by two seasoned artists, Kid Kokko and Hanna Ahti. The dynamics of desire and uncertainty resonate on stage. The music composed by Alsa Ojala and the lighting design by Meri Ekola make the room sparkle with pleasure.

On Friday, the dancing body will encounter Alvar Aalto’s architecture when Heidi Miikki performs her piece Extracts of Hope on the wall of the University of Jyväskylä’s main building. Miikki is known for her work at the intersection of environmental protection and site-specific performing arts. Ehsan Hemat, a dance artist originally from Iran and based in Belgium, will perform a duet with an 18-kilogram brass plate at the festival. Behind the striking imagery lie questions about the histories of exploitation related to natural resources and the deterioration of ecological diversity.

Saturday will feature the festival’s second international guest performance, as the legendary artist duo Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargin present two works: The Quiet Dance (2005) and The Unison Piece (2025). Gáddjá Haarla Pieski’s solo work Nocturnal Bird – Stuorra Skuolfi calls the figure of an eagle owl onto the stage. The evening concludes with a concert by Emma Award winning duo Hildá Länsman and Tuomas Norvio, in which the ancient Sámi luohti—or joik—tradition meets modern electronic soundscapes.

At a traditional Sunday brunch, artist and researcher Satu Herrala will lead the local community in a discussion about embodiment in the practices of creating and presenting art. Jussi Ulkuniemi’s photography-performance, Textures of Queer Intimacy, highlights embodied encounters and sexual diversity in an exceptionally moving way. Sunday will wrap up with Liikeveistämö demos, where the audience has the opportunity to witness the core of the artistic process and participate in the discussion.

The video installation Guhte gullá / Here to here by Outi Pieski and Biret and Gáddjá Haarla Pieski is on view at Paulaharju Hall from Wednesday through Saturday. In the work, women of different generations listen to the voices of their foremothers through dance and duodji, traditional Sámi handicrafts. Curated by Kati Kallio, the evening of dance films focuses on the perspectives of Sámi artists and the changing reality of the North in the midst of the climate crisis. The only screening is on Friday at 9 p.m. in Blomstedt Hall.

Veli Lehtovaara, artistic director

Gilbbesjávri, June 2026