Everything Special About the Nuua Company

Jouni Ihalainen graduated from the Salpaus Circus line in Finland in 2005 and completed his studies in 2008 in Paris at Academie- Fratellini. Ihalainen has been working with the French new circus pioneer group Cirque Baroque, Théatre NoNo, and in the performances of Kitsou Dubois.

The most well-known solo work of Ihalainen is Black Pearl, which has been touring around the world at various festivals in Italy, France, Finland, Germany, Japan, and the Reunion Island. Black Pearl won the Budapest Circus prize at the Cirque de Demain festival in Paris in 2008. Now, Jouni is focusing on his photo- and videography and stage technic.

Web site

Artistic director of Nuua Company, Olli Vuorinen, a mover, juggler, prop builder, and performer / director, has been on an obsessive creative journey for the past decade. Vuorinen did two award-winning performances at Cirque de Demain Festival, and Nuua company got selected in 2012 for an EU-funded Circus Next project. He graduated from the French circus school Academie-Fratellini in 2011.

Olli Vuorinen is a very productive Finnish contemporary circus artist. In past years he has been performing over 20 different countries. Vuorinen is passionate about creating performances with his primary focus on object-movement relations, innovative juggling techniques, and varied object theater skills.

Facebook

Teo Lanerva is a freelance lighting and video designer (MA, Theatrical Arts) based in Helsinki, Finland. He works with contemporary performances, concerts and events ranging from small underground clubs to festivals.

He has been granted a SÄDE-award and his designs have been performed in more than ten countries. Lanerva’s recent works include Nuua’s Vaarna at Cirko in 2021, choreographer Mikko Niemistö’s solo Odd Meters at Zodiak in 2019, opera FLASH FLASH composed by Juhani Nuorvala at Musica Nova Festival 2019, and light art piece Liquid Line at Lux Helsinki 2019.

Web site

Thom Monckton is an entertainer from Patea, South Taranaki, New Zealand: a circus artist, and co-director of the State Prize-winning company Kallo Collective in Finland. Thom trained in circus in Christchurch and physical theatre at Jacques Lecoq in Paris. 

His performances have been touring to over 30 different countries, with every solo show presented at Edinburgh Fringe (The Artist, Only Bones v1.0, and The Pianist) being nominated for the Total Theatre Awards. Thom’s debut solo show Moving Stationery won six awards across three festivals and garnered him Actor of The Year 2012 in Wellington’s Theatre Awards. Currently, Monckton is performing his new solo, The King of Taking.

Web site

Finnish musician Konsta Leinonen fuses his experience working with film, recording studios and multiple performative arts to find new ways to bring his perception of (post-)modern living into sound and music.

Leinonen merges live instrumentation with highly dynamic hands-on electronics and has a fascination for new technological frontiers via generative AI music & multimedia. At the moment working mainly in the contemporary circus field, Leinonen enjoys working closely with artists to reach a consistent, shared artistic vision.

Web site

Graduated from Stockholm University of the Arts in 2016, his original and energetic juggling has since been seen on stages in 16 different countries. Cirque de Demain special jury award winner 2017. Toivonen has been working with contemporary circus companies Cirko Aereo, Sirkum Polaris and Nuua Compnay. He created and performed his first dramatic work Amalgam in 2019. Onni is creative artist who seamlessly combines juggling and contemporary dance.

Facebook

2013 Merri decided to pursue a professional career, and he studied in the circus department of Codarts University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from where he graduated in June 2017. Combining movement and acrobatics with juggling. Merri seeks to create performances that develop a new vision of the circus, aside from working with Nuua company and Sirkum Polaris. Merri is also a founding member of the contemporary circus company The Nordic Council.

Web site

Isak Lindberg had his education at “Le Lido, Centre des Art du Cirque” in Toulouse and got selected to Circus next in 2008 with the show “Grusvagen 7” which they called the “Post-Modern New Circus.” After four years of working in France, Isak returned to Sweden in 2011 to create his own theater and culture house in Borrby.

Isak started to work with Nuua company in 2012 as the outside eye of the first Nuua show, Lento. Founder of Tide and Vu companies, He has worked with surrealistic scenes, odd humorous illusions, and immersive installations that prioritize theatrical artifice and visual pleasure. With his background in magic and Circus together, he makes captivating hybrids of performance arts.

Facebook

Jenni Räsänen is a Master of Arts graduate from Aalto University majoring in Costume Design. She has worked as a costume designer and scenographer in various productions in the field of performing arts. Her latest works have mostly been related to contemporary theatre and dance.

In her artistic work, she is often inspired by experimentation and multidisciplinarity. Recently, Räsänen has been interested in non-human agency, special materials, material-based working methods, and poetic expression that appears as many.

Facebook

Tuomas Honkanen is a lighting designer (MA), visual designer and artist who lives in Helsinki. In his work, Honkanen considers it important to spend enough time wandering aimlessly so as to be able to discover something new and interesting. He has recently worked repeatedly with emotion, presence, interactivity and spatial scales. As an artist, Honkanen is interested in different spatial-temporal impressions and the tensions they create. He is currently working with performance and installation art as a total visual designer.

Web site

Esa Valkeajärvi is a producer who has worked as an assistant art director, location manager and technical supervisor in various productions in the field of performing arts and television.

He has worked for example in an Exhibition Centre WeeGee, Tapiola Culture Centre, Yellow Films, Film Service Finland and as a producer for Susanna Leinonen Company.

One of his best qualities is his ability to understand ‘the big picture” In his work, he is inspired by the unknown and talented people around him. Learning new things is also a constant source of inspiration. In his free time, he enjoys good food and wine, music and the company of his friends and family.

Linkedin