The workshop by Mikko Niemistö explores states of playfulness through practices that combine games and intuitiveness. The workshop has been developed through the process of The Tormentor, where Mikko revisited his past studies in physical theatre, especially clownery and bouffón, combining them with his choreographical practice. The exercises consist of playing and dancing together but also diving into the layers of movements that we carry through our history of corporeality, exploring the grotesqueness and the outskirts of our bodies.
Choreographic Convention parcours 8, 9
Mikko Niemistö is a choreographer and performer based in Helsinki. He creates stage pieces where contemporary choreography and theatricality engage in dialogue, often with a special focus on sound and music. He graduated as a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography from Stockholm University of the Arts in 2017. In his works, Niemistö explores the formulation of the self through silent knowledge and accumulations of bodily memories. He focuses on the shadow zones of everyday reality, like dreaming, psychedelia and the supernatural. During 2026–2027 he is embarking on an artistic journey that aims to revisit and deconstruct his background in physical theatre and the corporeal and historical manifestations that it brings to light.
Niemistö’s works have been shown at e.g. Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Moving in November, and Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Finland, Inkonst in Sweden, far° festival in Switzerland, CCN de Caen en Normandie in France, and ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival in Austria, where his solo work Odd Meters received the jury’s special mention in the [8:tension] Young Choreographer’s Series in 2022.