JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre is a part of the national network of regional dance centres in Finland and a cultural partner of the City of Oulu.
JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre is involved in the European Capital of Culture Oulu2026 with Stretch Further 2026 – Exploring Identity – Keđja Stretch x Kiertoliike x OuDance – an international project combining the international Keðja Stretch event and the national Kiertoliike Professional Forum of the Regional Dance Centre network, with the annual OuDance Festival serving as a platform for the event in the fall of 2026.
The theme of the event is the impact of the environment on identity and how a person´s locality versus being European, Nordic or Baltic affects the construction of an artist´s identity and professional field. The cross-cutting perspectives of the event are the Sámi people and the effects and opportunities of digitalisation. The festival strengthens the visibility of the City of Oulu as a significant dance city and promotes equal access to dance art, regardless of residence and wealth.
The event takes place on the annual date of the OuDance Festival in September 7th-13th (week 37). The programme consists of expert speeches, lectures, panel discussions, audience outreach projects, dance performances, films and club nights held mainly in the Oulu city centre area, both in public spaces open to all and in performance spaces aimed at performing arts. Through the participants and the public, the area of activity will spread throughout Finland and abroad.
The project has received 70,000€ of funding from the Oulu Cultural Foundation as part of the official Oulu2026 Capital of Culture programme. JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre has main responsibility for the event production. The member organisations of the networks come from Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Slovenia and Great Britain. At the last meeting of Keðja network, the leadership of the network transferred from Susanne Næss Nielsen, the leader of Davvi-Centre for Performing Arts in Norway, to JoJo’s executive director Helena Lindqvist.
Regional Dance Centre Network.
The network of regional dance centres 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.
Keðja Network
Keðja Network is a community that supports the strengthening and networking of the professional field of contemporary dance in the Baltics, Nordics, Slovakia and Scotland. Projects have provided opportunities for dance artists, as well as dance producers, journalists and other professionals, to meet, exchange ideas and work across borders since 2008.
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.
JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre is a professional dance production centre, festival organisation and guest theatre that offers local, national and international dance repertoire and audience work all year round, and produces the international OuDance festival every September. JoJo serves as a production centre and visiting theatre for professionals, and offers open activities to the public; participating in audience work does not require previous experience in dance or watching dance performances. JoJo is a member of the national network of regional dance centres and is one of the cultural partners of the City of Oulu. Operations are funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the City of Oulu.
More information:
Executive director Helena Lindqvist, helena.lindqvist@jojo.fi, p. 050 4644 880
