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DanceAbility Finland (Association)

and

Kaaos Company

What is DanceAbility?

Primarily DanceAbility is about finding new ways to express ourselves and to communicate with others and to build an sense of community through movement and dancing together. It is a study of movement improvisation that is suitable for anyone who would like to dance. It originated in the 1980s from movement explorations into the idea that anyone could dance if they had the desire to do so. 

Alito Alessi (Eugene, Oregon, USA) pioneered the method into a tangible form so that any group of people could meet together and share the experience of dancing and so DanceAbility was born. DanceAbility has traveled very far since those early days with the method continually being developed from the bodies of those who have attended the workshops over the last 25 years from all around the world. Meeting from a place of equality we work with elements present in the group using that as the creative stimulation for the improvisations so the method is always evolving and original to who is present in the group. Alito continues to teach workshops and teacher trainings all over the world providing many people with new experiences of themselves and their bodies. There are many DanceAbility teachers all over the world and the numbers are continually growing.

Read more about Alito Alessi and his DanceAbility International and JointForce Dance Company here.

DanceAbility in Finland

DanceAbility first came to Finland in 2004 and 2005 at the Pyhäjärvi Full Moon Dance Festival. Among the participants of the 5 day DanceAbility workshop teached by Alito Alessi were Gunilla Sjövall and Pauliina Lappi-Ruhanen who later started to promote DA in Finland.

DanceAbility Finland ry (non-profit org.) was formed in 2008 to host the DanceAbility Teacher training in Helsinki 2009. Since its inception we have been actively promoting integrated dance through teaching, workshops and performances. Our mission is to create environments and situations that both educate and challenge and to provide the opportunity for anyone who wishes to dance the opportunity to do so. We are continually developing DanceAbility Finland so we can find new ways of growing integrating dance in the community in Finland and Internationally. 

There are 9 DanceAbility teachers in Finland. We have regular weekly dance classes at Kodiak Centre for New Dance, Helsinki on Sundays in B2 from 2-4 it is taught by different DA teachers.

The Board (2011) 

Gunilla Sjövall (Chair) has been a DanceAbility teacher since 2006 and was the driving force behind the formation of DanceAbility Finland. She is passionate about performing and dancing and feels her dance career is just beginning.... She has taught DA in the Day Center for adults with CP and in the autumn she will start to teach dance at Ruskis School for children with disabilities offering herself as a teacher and role model and as a reflection of the truth of that everybody can dance. 

Sally Davison (Vice Chair) has been a DanceAbility teacher since 2007 and is inspired to create performances that offer new perspectives. She is passionate about DanceAbility and the positive effect is has in the community and feels that when people come together "magic happens". Sally is very excited about the new piece she will choreograph in the Autumn called "Frameless - beyond boundaries".

Outi Ivaska (Treasurer) became a DanceAbility teacher in 2009 and has had a active background in the performing arts and is a qualified Drama Instructor. She has been actively teaching in the DanceAbility community in Finland. Outi has been one of the driving forces behind the creation of Utopia Helsinki, a new project that offers truly accessible cultural activities for all youth and will be teaching DanceAbility as part of their program in the autumn.

Maija Karhunen (Secreterary) has been a DanceAbility teacher since 2009 and is continually forging new pathways in dance that reflect strength and new possibilities for everybody. In the Autumn she will start to study at Amsterdam School of New Dance Development.

Tuuli Helle
is one of the pioneers of integrated dance in Finland since the early 1990’s. She is a member of Dance group Rajat’on and has performed regularly with the dance piece Olotila “state of being” (choreographed by Tomi Paasonen) in Finland and Internationally.

Hanna Mäkelä (Deputy member) has been a DanceAbility teacher since 2009 and is teaching dance in different schools for children and adults.

Kaaos Company

Kaaos Company was formed in 2010 to be the creative and performing group of DanceAbility Finland. The company is working towards having a repertoire that can be perform at festivals, schools and in theatres. Our first full length piece "Kaleidoscope the unbearable beauty of difference" was premiered last October in Helsinki and received positive feedback. We are looking forward to working on a new piece in the Autumn as we believe through the medium of performance we can opens new doors in perception like the following quote reflects from someone who said after seeing Kaleidoscope: 

"The prejudices fell like a stone wall collapsing and I saw only the art" 
Markku Huhtamo, actor

See the excerpts from Kaleidoscope on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdIrSe7QbT8 
You can order your own Kaleidoscope DVD by sending us an email to myynti (a) danceabilityfinland.com

Want to support us?

If you would like to become a member of DanceAbility Finland or to support our work please contact us and we can send you the membership form in English. If you need any information please contact us:

info (a) danceabilityfinland.com
kaaos (a) danceabilityfinland.com

 
 
 
 


Kaaos Company









 
DanceAbility Finland ry
info(at)danceabilityfinland.com
myynti(at)danceabilityfinland.com
DanceAbility Finland ry
Jakeluosoiite/Postal addr: Yhtiöntie 23, 02700 Kauniainen, Finland
Y-tunnus/Business ID: 2285905-1 || Yhd.rek.nro/Reg.Nr: 201517
KAAOS Company
kaaos(at)danceabilityfinland.com