Ninni Perko

Ninni Perko is a Helsinki-based dance artist and the artistic director of Dance Theatre Sivuun Ensemble. Sivuun Ensemble is a multidisciplinary collective founded in 2011. Ensemble’s performances are intensive conversations between different art forms. Motion, music, image and text entwine into a collage of entities, opening seminal interpretations to current issues, significant for individuals and communities alike.
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As a choreographer-director, dancer, and pedagogue, Ninni Perkoapproaches societal questions from the perspective of an individual. Her realistic, yet poetic works have dealt with domestic violence (Jäljet 2011), memory loss (Vain rakkaudesta 2012), loneliness (Vieraskirja 2014) and insatiability (Jatkot 2017). Perko tirelessly sheds light on otherness and marginality. Her works have been performed on and off stages, such as at Zodiak – Center for New Dance, the Finnish National Theatre, international festivals, housing centers, schools, and hospitals.

Perko has studied dance at SNDO in Amsterdam, and also completed studies as dance and theatre teacher in Finland. She utilizes various physical theatre techniques in her work. Perko received the City of Helsinki award of Artist of the Year in 2017.