JoJo’s program in 2026 consists of premieres and visiting performances.
Valvesali
Fri 4.12. at 18.30!!!
The evening includes four miniature works or excerpts from a larger work, each with a maximum duration of 20 minutes. The total duration of the intermittent evening is approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes.
After the performances, an artist meeting will be held in the form of an audience discussion.
The Dance Gala brings a diverse selection of works representing different dance styles to the Valvesali stage, from contemporary flamenco and hip hop to movement-based contemporary dance and multidisciplinary stage performances. This line-up is guaranteed to make an impression!
The gala features both emerging artists of the future and seasoned performers. Each work has a connection to Oulu, and all of them engage with the concept of time in some way. The artists behind the works share a history with Oulu as well as a connection to the city today. In the performances, Oulu is present both as a memory held in the artists’ embodied experiences of the past and as material that informs the content of the works.
The gala brings together different layers of history and weaves them into the present-day Oulu. What kinds of embodied experiences do these works bring into the world, drawing on different starting points and representing a variety of styles? And how might watching these performances attune the audience to different ways of experiencing the body?
Welcome to the Dance Gala!
Canela Dance Company’s powerful contemporary flamenco performance 4 Jinetes brings the masters of flamenco back to Oulu. The performance offers a unique opportunity to experience how the remake of this sensational work, originally created over 20 years ago, resonates with the present day. How do its physicality and themes – war, disease, death and hope – speak to us today?
The work’s choreographer, Israel Galván, recently captivated Oulu audiences with his performance Carmen. Now, at the Dance Gala, his choreography 4 Jinetes will be performed by Finland’s charismatic flamenco virtuosos.
Choreography: Israel Galván | Dance: Erika Alajärvi, Anna Palmio, Annatuuli Saine, Milena Urmas | Music: Enrique Morente & Lagartija Nick | Lighting and sound design: Juha Westman | Costumes: Sari Pikkarainen and the working group | Production photos: Pirjo Lempeä | Production: Canela Dance Company | Premiere: 26 October 2002, Kanneltalo
“intense”, “breathtaking”, “a relentless barrage of energy” – JoJo’s programming team
Lempikollektiivi was formed during the dance teacher education studies at Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The group’s work JEALOUS explores the theme of jealousy in depth, examining its physical and psychological landscape.
Rather than offering a straightforward interpretation of emotions, JEALOUS invites the audience to reflect on their contradictions, their humanity and the ways they affect us. This contemporary dance work for four dancers consists of two distinct scenes. The first portrays symbiotic attachment, while the second depicts the tormenting feeling of envy and a state of mind in which others are perceived as a threat to oneself.
Direction & choreography: Emma-Liina Naumanen | Dance: Tiia-Maria Kivimäki, Emma-Liina Naumanen, Iisa Ojala, Hilja Tapio | Sound design: Akseli Vesenterä | Costumes: Iida Kujala | The performance contains flashing lights.
“an intriguingly haunting atmosphere”, “skilful”, “impressive contemporary dance movement” – JoJo’s Artistic Select Committee
Taivallus puhukoon is an interdisciplinary dance work in which choreographer and dancer Nadja Pärssinen, who spent her childhood in Oulu, and Turku-based sound artist Ruby Louise Rose explore the embodied experience of hiking through a dialogue between movement, sound and video.
The work maps out and brings into view and sound the relationship between the body and language, text, materiality and video art, drawing on the vast mountain landscapes of Norway and the selfie and drone cultures experienced there. At the same time, it explores the relationship between hiking, local mythology and memories. An important source of inspiration for the work has been the chapter “Blue” from A Field Guide to Getting Lost by American writer and researcher Rebecca Solnit, which explores the themes of getting lost and wandering.
For Pärssinen, a central question is what hiking reveals and brings to light in a performance context. She approaches this question through her own hiking experience on Norway’s Trolltunga trail in 2020.
Choreography & dance: Nadja Pärssinen | Sound design: Ruby Louise Rose | Lighting design: Mia Jalerva | Touring lighting technician: Oskari Kaarne | The performance contains nudity.
“delightful”, “breathing”, “a sense of embodied presence” – JoJo’s Artistic Select Committee
25 e, regular ticket / 20 e, pensioners, students etc / 12 e, JoJo member-priced ticket
Tickets from Ticket Sales Office in Cultural Centre Valve and Ticketmaster.fi. Shipping and handling costs will be added to tickets purchased from the online store.
Kaikukortti: 6 tickets
Numbered seats.
Please notice! Gather together at least 3 persons to celebrate Christmas time and you’ll get discounted tickets 20 e / ticket.
Tickets will be available on Tue 3.11. at 16
