Maria Nurmela & Pauliina Silvennoinen

Dance artists

Maria Nurmela, dance artist

Maria graduated as a professional dancer from the ballet school of the Finnish National Ballet in 1997 and the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen in 2002, and also completed a Master’s degree in dance teaching from the Department of Dance and Pedagogy of the Theatre Academy Helsinki in 2007.

Since 2002 she has worked freelance for many dance companies, including the Tero Saarinen and Hanna Brotherus companies in Finland, and various projects with Alan DanielssonPiet RogieMalou Airaudo and others in the Netherlands, Germany and the United States.

The most recent independent work by Nurmela was an audio and modern dance performance called Hotel New York, which premiered in 2007. Maria is especially drawn to collective and cross-disciplinary working methods, and also to the possibilities for performers and audience alike presented by out-of-the-ordinary presentation spaces.

Pauliina Silvennoinen, dance artist

Pauliina believes strongly in the potential of art to contribute to achieving more holistic human experiences. Her objective in her work is to produce enriching experiences for both the performers and the audience.

Among those with whom Pauliina has worked are Petri KekkoCarl KnifMarianne Rouhiainen and New Yorkers Philippa KayeAirelise and David Appel. She has performed with several dancers and musicians in collaborative works, and has curated cross-disciplinary evening performances in New York and the Nordic countries. Her work in New York was supported by a stipend from the American Scandinavian Society.

Pauliina studied dance at the Arts Academy at Turku University of Applied Sciences, graduating from there in 2005. She has also studied at the Dance Academy of Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Tilburg, the Netherlands, and has taken dance classes at various dance studios in New York.

The dance piece Elämää ja kuolemaa (Life and Death) presents two consecutive stories about two different characters. The stories then intertwine to form a dialogical whole from the two separate monologues. During their stay at the Saari Residence, the dancers became immersed in each other’s stories and engaged in each other’s movements. The two weeks produces a truly creative improvisational experience for all involved.