About Maria Nurmela

Has been working as a freelance dance artist since 2002, collaborating with internationally known choreographers including Theo Clinkard (The Days Project, 2018-), Susanna Leinonen (Susanna Leinonen Company 2019-), Susanne Linke, Helena Franzén and Yuval Pick among many others. Nurmela has been dancing with Tero Saarinen Company since 2003, as well as working as a repetiteur of Saarinen´s creations and teacher of TERO technique. In 2012–2016 she was in charge of TSC’s community outreach project Apollo tanssii.

Her own choreographic work consists of transdisciplinary collaborations and site-specific performances combining different theatrical tools, contemporary dance and  music and visual arts. Her latest co-productions are Sarastuksia (Dawnings, 2017) as part of of the official Finland 100 programme) and Susurrus project (2017-) initiated with Australian choreographer Renae Shadler. Susurrus has been presented among others at Tomas Saraceno´s exhibition ON AIR at the Palais de Tokyo Museum (Paris, October 2018).

Alongside her artistic engagements  she  is working as a guest teacher at various institutions and special pedagogical projects, as well currently as a part time lecturer in the MA Degree Programme in Dance Pedagogy at University of the Arts Helsinki. Her artistry has been recognized by a Ballet/Tanz Year Book nomination as one of the most remarkable female performers of 2008, as well as by numerous grants and residencies. Nurmela holds an MA in Dance pedagogy (University of the Arts Helsinki, 2007) and a BA in Dance (Folkwang University, 2002) and she has also studied Dance and Movement Therapy at Eino Roiha Institute (University of Jyväskylä, 2013–2014).

About Avidan Ben giat

Was born in 1990 in Jerusalem, Israel. Studied at the Highschool of the Jerusalem Academy for Music and Dance Jerusalem.

Between the years 2008-2010 dance at the Ensemble of the Batsheva dance Company with the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin and house choreographer Sharon Eyal.

Between the years 2011-2014 worked in the Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Dance Company,  simultaneously worked with Ido Batash for a solo piece called ‘Bread and Circuses Blood’. Nowadays Avidan works with several dance projects. ‘Scarabeo Angle and the Void’ by Andrea Costanzo Martini that was selected to be as part of Aerowaves 2018. ‘The Jewish Connection Project’ by Lisi Estaras & Ido Batash & ‘Q&A (the 36 questions)’ by Rachel Erdos.

Throughout the years Avidan produced and collaborated in multidisciplinary projects in Israel and around the world.

This year had the opportunity to collaborate in ‘School for the Blind’  with the Helsinki/Turku based dancer/choreographer Maria Nurmela and with the Jerusalem based graphic designer Talya Weitzman.