GöteborgsOperans Danskompani enchanted at Kuopio Dance Festival
Cover photo: Lennart Sjöberg
The 57th edition of the Kuopio Dance Festival took place from 8–14 June. This year’s international highlight was the 36-member GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, which visited Kuopio with four different productions. The programme featured works by four acclaimed choreographers – Hofesh Shechter, Sharon Eyal, Botis Seva and Marcos Morau. The performances were strikingly different from one another, showcasing the company’s versatility, adaptability and remarkable artistic range.
The festival’s Gala, which was nearly sold out featured some of Finland’s leading contemporary dancers alongside a work by Albanian-born choreographer Mateo Mirdita. During the Gala, the Young Dance Artist Award was presented for the third time. This year’s recipient was Sofia Ruija, a dance artist originally from Kuopio. The festival concluded with a sold-out joint performance by the Ballet School and the Dance Camp participants.
This year’s festival marked the final edition under the artistic direction of Kenneth Kvarnström.
“The visit by GöteborgsOperans Danskompani created an exceptional programme. It was a unique opportunity for our audience to experience four very different works by the same world-class company during a single festival. It was also the first time the company itself had presented such a concentrated programme within one event. Arena proved to be an excellent venue for a production of this scale from a technical perspective,” he says.
“It is also important for the festival to showcase Finnish dance talent, which is why this year’s Gala featured primarily Finnish dancers.”
The new venue for the free entry programme worked well
The festival opened with the popular Carnival Parade and Dance Challenge. The Dance Pavilion, which had been located at Kuopio Market Square in recent years, took a break this summer due to the construction of the new Market Square stage and reduced funding. As a result, most of the festival’s free programme took place at Circus Live in central Kuopio.
“Circus Live proved to be an excellent weatherproof venue with strong technical facilities. It was also wonderful to support a local entrepreneur and help raise awareness of this versatile new venue,” says Festival Director Salima Peippo.
The festival’s new Artistic Director is choreographer and dance artist Samuli Emery, who shared his thoughts on his upcoming role:
“One of the greatest joys of this year’s festival was getting to know the audiences and seeing how warmly the people of Kuopio have embraced the festival as their own. The strong sense of local identity can be felt everywhere, from the Market Square stage to the theatre. In the coming years, we will continue to celebrate that local spirit while also bringing exciting international influences and performances to the programme.”
The next Kuopio Dance Festival will take place from 7–13 June 2027.