Elias Girod (b. 1988) is a dance artist and education student based in Helsinki. He trained at the Finnish National Opera Ballet School and studied for a Bachelor’s degree in Dance at the Theatre Academy in Helsinki and at the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm. He danced for three years in ballet companies in France and Estonia and has worked as a freelance contemporary dancer for 12 years. He has collaborated extensively with Weld Company, Mette Ingvartsen, Sidney Leoni, and Veli Lehtovaara. In recent years, he has played the lead role in the film FLY, performed in Mikko Hyvönen’s piece Kosmos – Reunion, and worked as a choreographer for Porttiteatteri.
Jani Hietanen is a sound and media artist working broadly across the fields of sound and new media, from interactive installations to film, radio, performing arts stages, augmented and virtual reality content, and AI research through artistic means. His work often centers on themes such as immersion, generativity, and interaction. More holistically, Hietanen’s artistic interest is increasingly oriented toward free improvisation, embodiment, performance, and installations. He is particularly fascinated by silence, vibration and harmony, natural rhythms, the visualization of sound, working within frameworks defined by different spaces, and the new creative and interactive possibilities offered by technology.
Milka Luhtaniemi (b. 1992) is a poet, dramaturge, and performance artist. She graduated from the dramaturgy program at the Theatre Academy in 2020. Her debut poetry collection Kirnu (2021, Gummerus) was nominated for the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize and received the Silja Hiidenheimo Memorial Grant. Her second collection Tauoton (2024) was awarded the Kalevi Jäntti Prize. Milka’s writing resonates with the subtle rhythms of natural cycles and bodily vitality. She works across the fields of literature, performing arts, and visual arts, often at their intersections.
Sofia Simola is a dance artist and Pilates instructor whose work centers on creating conditions for dance and embodied experience. She is part of the collective Maan puolustusvoimat (“Earth Defense Forces”), whose work intertwines forest activism, sociological microbiology, environmental education, and permacultural thinking. Sofia seeks to find and nurture sustainable working methods in various contexts. She graduated as a dancer from SEAD and the University of the Arts Helsinki (2014) and has also studied forest sciences at the University of Helsinki.
Veli Lehtovaara (b. 1982) works broadly in the fields of dance and theatre as a choreographer, performer, and artistic director. His works have been presented at major festivals and venues in Finland, Europe, and North and South America. Veli’s artistic practice focuses on the intersections of choreography, ecological thinking, and the performing dancing body. He is the artistic director of the Tanssin aika festival and is pursuing doctoral research at the University of the Arts Helsinki. He has also worked as a teacher and mentor, and in evaluation, expert, and planning roles at the Theatre Academy.