Collaborations
Sysäys Ry
Sysäys ry promotes professional contemporary dance and circus activities in Orivesi.
The non-profit association was founded in 2025 after organizing the first Sysäys festival.
Three artists from Orivesi, Tuulia Soininen, Merri Heikkilä and Onni Toivonen, decided to put their dream into action and thus the first Sysäys festival was born in July 2025. We want to bring high-quality and current dance and circus art to our own hometown of Orivesi. It is important to us that art is visible here, where we live and work, and at the same time that we are able to employ local artists.
The Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is a contemporary circus collective, creating shows about Nordic identities and making circus based on the artists collective Northern heritage.The Nordic Council was created in 2017 by Merri Heikkilä (Finland), Bjarni Árnason (Iceland) and Jakob Jacobsson (Sweden), whilst the three performers were still studying at Codarts Circus Arts in Rotterdam.
The company was founded on the common sense of humour and shared experience of the three artists, and therefore it is logical that this was also the inspiration for the first show of the trio.
The first show was created as a way to share their common heritage both with audiences who have a direct relation to the north, but also to share it with audiences for whom the material is completely foreign. Bringing audiences together with their particular amalgamation of Nordic cultures has since been the motivation for their continued touring and creations.
Nuua Company
Nuua Company is a Finnish contemporary circus and visual theatre group founded in 2013. With Its Experimental works, Nuua has redeemed its place in the international performing arts scene.
On its ten-year journey, Nuua Company has been selected for a Circus next program, Nuua’s award-winning performances have received notable mentions from critics and books about the contemporary circus, and the performances have been touring in 20 countries.
Nuua wants to provide a safe environment for creative work where one can question the norms of the circus, learn new skills, and contribute to the process in a collaborative way that makes each creation rich and adventurous.
Nuua renews juggling as object theatre, concepts connecting body and object movements and explores circus techniques as tools of expression. Depending on the viewer’s personal experiences, our multilayered performances open up to everyone differently. We are awakening the emotions, imagination, and sensitivity into an empowered state where experientiality takes precedence over narratives, and the spectator becomes more receptive to new dreamlike experiences