Finland’s first event space dedicated to dance opens in Helsinki

Tanssin talo (Dance House) was officially inaugurated on 2 February

Finland’s first event space dedicated entirely to dance officially opened its doors on Wednesday, 2 February. Named Tanssin talo (Dance House), the venue offers dancers and performers 5,400 square metres worth of space to practice and showcase their talents. 

According to a press release by the Finnish capital, the Dance House consists of a modern building and part of a renovated factory building. Expanding on this, the new site has an area of more than 5,000 square metres, while the older structure covers nearly 1,500 square metres.

Largest dance hall in the Nordics

Inside the Dance House, one can find a lobby, office space, gym, and two halls. The smaller hall can seat an audience of up to 235 people while the bigger hall has a capacity of 700. On its website, the new event space explains that the large hall (Erkko Hall) is the largest performance space for dance in the Nordic countries. More specifically, its stage has a width of 25 metres, a depth of 16 metres, and a total height of 24 metres. 

Another interesting element of the Dance House is that its halls are adaptable. In other words, the seating area, stage, and side stage can be split up to form different event spaces or combined into one large area that can accommodate up to 1,000 people. 

The City of Helsinki and the Ministry of Education and Culture, among others, financed the construction of the Dance House. In total, the construction of the event space cost almost EUR 42 million, with the Finnish capital contributing EUR 9.95 million. On the day of the opening ceremony, Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen commented on the significance of the Dance House, releasing a statement on Twitter:

“Today is a historic day for dance culture, the performing arts, Helsinki and the whole of Finland when Tanssin talo [the Dance House] celebrates its opening. Dancing as a wonderful art field gets the prestige it deserves with its own house.”

Due to the pandemic, the Dance House has cancelled all February events. Nevertheless, it has scheduled numerous performances for late spring.