Helsinki Flamenco Bienal

Helsinki Flamenco Bienal is a new international art festival. The festival to be held in Helsinki in the spring of 2025 will present flamenco performances in its most contemporary form without forgetting its past. The program also includes films, panel discussions, and club nights. During the festival, flamenco enthusiasts and professionals can also enjoy workshops by top international performers. COMPAÑÍA KAARI & RONI MARTIN is responsible for planning and implementing the Helsinki Flamenco Bienal. The group is one of the most significant contemporary flamenco groups outside of Spain and it has received recognition not only in Finland but also in international arenas.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

We are looking for an innovative flamenco piece by a young (35 years old or under) professional dance artist. The proposed piece can be a premiere or an already existing work. Our interest is in rather intimate pieces with a personal point of view. It can be experimental, political or surrealistic, and it can combine traditions. Be wild and surprise us!

The proposal may include a working team consisting of dancers, musicians, and/or other artists. Live music is a big plus! It is essential that the proposal includes a sound technician and a lighting technician, and the total traveling team should comprise no more than 5 people. The piece should be approximately 1 hour long and it should be performed by professional artists.

There will be two performances, on 25th and 26th of April 2025. The venue will be the Pannu Hall at the DANCE HOUSE HELSINKI. The piece should have simple technical requirements and it should be adapted to the Pannu Hall’s stage setup and technical equipment. The set-up time will be on 25th of August, the same day as the first performance, from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

Helsinki Flamenco Bienal will provide a fee of €1200 per person for both performances. There can be a maximum of 5 persons traveling in the working group, including musicians, managers, and/or technicians.

Traveling expenses will be covered by the festival. For international travel from outside of Europe, we will cover flight expenses for up to €350 per person, with any additional costs exceeding this amount to be covered by the artist. To support fundraising efforts, we can provide an invitation letter upon request. If a visa to travel to Finland is required, we will assist with the application process and provide necessary documentation to support the application.

Accommodation will be provided, as well as per diem according to Finnish regulations for traveling artists.

At Pannu Hall the performer will have access to three technicians (lights, sound, and stage).

HOW TO APPLY?

Please apply through THIS FORM and provide the following information:

A PRESENTATION LETTER

maximum of 5000 characters, that explains the overall idea of your piece.

A CURRICULUM AND A BRIEF HISTORY

of you, your working group or your company (max. one page).

A VIDEO OF THE WHOLE PIECE

(if not premiered yet, a recording of the rehearsals works fine), preferably a Vimeo link, but Youtube is also fine.

YOUR TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

adapted to the pannu hall (see the STAGE PLAN ATTACHMENTS). We will continue with the technical requirements in detail with the selected piece. The technicians should be able to communicate in English with our technical team.