Swan dance
Swan Dance – Kuhmo Dance Festival is a Kuhmo-based contemporary dance festival whose annual themes are inspired by nature and Kalevala. The festival was held for the first time in 2018 and its ultimate idea is to combine nature, dance and creativity into an experiential experience.
Swan Dance connects nature, dancers and viewers in three ways
- The festival offers paid camps and courses open to dancers of all levels and ages. The camps and courses are mainly held in the natural surroundings of Kuhmo’s Kalevala Village area, providing a variety of environments from pine forests to sandy beaches. Course participants have the opportunity to perform in the festival’s final show.
- A small group of professionals is invited to a residency to paddle and stay overnight in the Lentua archipelago. This so-called Lentua Collective translates their nature experience into dance at the end of their residency. The artistic outcome is presented in the festival’s main performance at Kuhmo Arts Centre (Kuhmo-talo).
- During the festival week, the audience is offered dance performances related to the year’s theme. These organized performances are both paid and free, taking place in various locations around Kuhmo, mainly in natural settings.
The driving forces behind the Joutsentanssi Festival are nature, growth, and community. The nature theme aims to strengthen people’s relationship with nature by incorporating it into the dance creation process, such as preparing course performances. The growth theme helps individuals discover their inner strengths, offering the opportunity to grow both as a person and a dancer. The community theme creates a safe space for participants to be themselves and express themselves in their unique way.
You are warmly welcome to develop or discover your dance skills at the Joutsentanssi – Kuhmo Dance Festival! The festival offers a wide range of genres in both courses and performances, ensuring there is something for everyone.
Read more about the festival on the website: https://joutsentanssi.fi/in-english. The driving force behind the Joutsentanssi Festival is the board of Joutsentanssi ry.
