A major international event Stretch Further will be held at Oulu as a part of OuDance Festival at 7.-13.9.2026
The international dance event explores the theme of artist identity. Keynote speakers at the event are Tale Næss from Norway and Leena Kela from Finland. Registration for the event is open until 31st of July.
As part of the European Capital of Culture Oulu2026 year, JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre is producing the major international dance event Stretch Further – Exploring Identity. The event, which will be held in Oulu on Wednesday and Thursday, September 9-10, 2026, combines the international Keđja Stretch event and the annual Kiertoliike professional forum of the Finnish national network of regional dance center. The event will be part of the annual OuDance Festival, which will be held from September 9 to 13, 2026.
The content and themes for Stretch Further – Exploring Identity have been planned in collaboration with Keđja network and The Finnish network of regional dance centre. The event will delve into artist identity as a lived, experienced and academic concept.
Stretch Further Event speakers are published. The event’s keynote speakers will be playwright, dramaturg and researcher, PhD Tale Næss (NO), and performance artist, artistic director, director of the Kone Foundation’s Saari residence, PhD Leena Kela (FI). Næss will explore what professional identity consists of. Kela’s speech will delve into the impact of place on identity. Artistic comment speeches will be given by Eva Svaneblom (SE) and Katrín Gunnarsdóttir (IS). The event is moderated by Petri Kauppinen (FI). Another highlight will be an international panel discussion on the impact of age and different stages of career on artist identity.
Overall, the themes of identity will be approached from diverse artistic, cultural and national perspectives, as the event is international. The event participants will be able to delve into the themes and topics of the speeches and panels through a variety of workshops and small group discussions. The event’s workshops and discussion groups will be led by a group of artists from Keđja partner countries and the national art field. The member organizations of the Keđja and Kiertoliike networks come from Finland, Iceland, Great Britain (Scotland), Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and Estonia.
Stretch Further – Exploring Identity brings international and national dance professionals together in the northernmost ever European Capital of Culture, Oulu. The event offers professionals the opportunity for communality, networking and deepening their own professional identity and artistic vision.
Registration for the event is open until 31st of July. More information about the event can be found at JoJo’s web page: https://jojo.fi/en/stretch-further-en/
Tying together three events, The Keđja Stretch x Kiertoliike x OuDance Festival event week (9-13 September 2026) includes expert and artist talks, a panel discussion, a variety of workshops, dance performances, dance films, and evening clubs. The event entity will take place mainly in the Oulu city center, both in public spaces open to everyone and performance spaces dedicated to performing arts. JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre is the primary producer of the event week.
Keynote speakers:
Tale Næss (PhD) is a playwright, dramaturg, and researcher. She works across many disciplines and has published drama, poetry, and prose. Currently, she leads ArtLab at Davvi — Centre for Performing Arts in Tromsø.
Leena Kela (PhD) is a performance artist, artistic director of the New Performance Turku Biennale and director of the Saari residence maintained by the Kone Foundation. She has performed in numerous performance art festivals and exhibitions in Finland and internationally, on all continents except Antarctica.
Partners:
Keðja Network
Founded in 2008, the Keðja network is a collaborative platform supporting the strengthening and networking of contemporary dance professionals across the Baltic countries, the Nordic region, and Scotland. Keðja’s projects have provided dance artists, producers, curators, and other professionals in the regions with opportunities to meet, exchange ideas, and work across national borders. Read more
Keðja network is looking for new partners from Sweden and Denmark
Is it you who we’re looking for? Come meet the Keðja network partners live in Oulu, Finland Tuesday 8 September 2026. You are also invited to stay in Oulu for the Stretch Further – Exploring Identity event 9-10 September and the OuDance festival 9 – 13 September.
Find out more about accommodation offers and mail your interest to meet the partners to Mira Kolanen (mira.kolanen@jojo.fi), Producer at JoJo – Oulu Dance Center
The Finnish national network of regional dance center
The Finnish national network of regional dance center is a national expert body in dance, developing the structures of the field and the expressive power and quality of the dance. The network launched in 2004 and consists of 6 regional dance centres run by 7 background communities. Read more
Oulu2026
The Oulu Cultural Foundation is responsible for the Oulu2026 activities. The foundation develops Oulu as a city of culture and events, promotes the operating conditions of artists and the cultural sector, and participates in activities that develop the cultural sector nationally and internationally. Read more
JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre
JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre is a professional dance production centre, festival organization and guest theatre. JoJo offers local, national and international dance productions and performances and audience work all year round. The international OuDance Festival is held yearly in September. For dance professionals, JoJo serves as a production centre and a visiting theatre. For the public, JoJo offers activities open to everyone, participation in which does not require experience of dance or being a spectator of dance. JoJo operates in the Finnish national network of regional dance center and international Keðja network, is a member of the Association of Finnish Theatres and one of the City of Oulu’s cultural agreement partners. Its activities are funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the City of Oulu.
For more information visit https://jojo.fi/en/stretch-further-en/ or contact producer Mira Kolanen mira.kolanen@jojo.fi
