Tero Kalevi Saarinen (born September 7, 1964, in Pori, Finland”Saarinen, Tero Kalevi”, Kuka kukin on: Henkilötietoja nykypolven suomalaisista 2011, p. 869. Helsinki: Otava, 2011. . ) is a Finnish dance artist and choreographer, and Artistic Director of Tero Saarinen Company. Saarinen has made an international career as both a dancer and choreographer.Haapanen, Irmeli: Tanssi kannattelee inhimillisiä perusarvoja. Turun Sanomat, 5.5.2011, s. 28. Tero Saarinen Company
As a choreographer Saarinen is known for his uniquePlacenty, Cecly: Tero Saarinen Company - Poetry Dancing May 2006. Ballet Dance Magazine movement language that plays with balance and off-balance, combining influences from Butoh and martial arts to classical ballet and Western contemporary dance.Ahonen, Piia: What is Tero Saarinen's dancing made of? 2002. Finnish Dance in Focus. Saarinen's movement language has been described as “organic” and “inventive”, “like Butoh with wings.”Hutera, Donald: The Mighty Finn 1.10.2001. Danze Magazine.
He began his career at the Finnish National Ballet in 1985. His long international career as a soloist took off in 1988, after he won first prize at the Concours International de Danse de Paris.
Saarinen left the Finnish National Ballet in 1992 to seek new influences in Western Europe and Japan, where he studied traditional Japanese dance and Butoh from 1992 to 1993.
Saarinen founded his own group, Tero Saarinen Company, in 1996. By April 2018, he has created 46 original works, many of them for other dance groups. Nederlands Dans Theater, the French ballets of Lyon, Marseille and Lorraine, the Portuguese Ballet Gulbenkian, the Israeli Batsheva Dance Company, the Swedish Gothenburg Opera ballet, the Finnish National Ballet, and others, have featured Saarinen's works in their repertoires. Tero Saarinen Company
Saarinen has received numerous acknowledgements for his work as an artist. In 2001 he was awarded the Finland Prize, and in 2005 the Pro Finlandia medal. In 2008 The Finnish Cultural Foundation gave him an award for his achievements as an artist. International recognition includes the international Movimientos Dance Prize for Best Male Performer, and the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, granted by the French government, both in 2004.
Career
Early years As a child Tero Saarinen was always involved in one hobby or another, at different times he played ice hockey or football, cross-country skied or trained in gymnastics.Lappalainen, Tiina: Boundary pusher vol 2, 2011. Blue1 Dream. In middle school he became inspired by the visual arts, and his other hobbies had to give way, until a dance school opened in Pori and Saarinen's father encouraged him to take up jazz dance.Sommers, Sanna: Horjahduksen partaalla. MeNaiset, 11.8.2005. This interest in visual arts can still be seen in Saarinen's choreographies: he has said he sees the stage as his canvas.Ilvesheimo, Gerry Birgit: Ihmisinstrumentti 26.3.2005. Kauppalehti Presso.
Saarinen was 16 when he started taking dance classes in Pori.Anderson, Jack: From Finland, wearing large tutus 26.3.2006. The New York Times. He soon developed a passion for dance, and his dance teacher Liisa Nojonen sent Saarinen to Helsinki to take the entrance exam for the Finnish National Opera Ballet School. Saarinen was accepted for the ballet school in 1982, at the age of 17.Launonen, Krista: Glorian lähikuvassa tanssija, koreografi tero Saarinen: Yhtä tanssin kanssa. June 2002. Gloria. He had practised dance for a little over a year when he started at the school, while the other students were only 12 years old.
Career beginnings in Finland Saarinen studied at the National Opera Ballet School from 1982 to 1986. In 1985 he was taken on as a dancer at the National Ballet. He was soon given soloist's roles and became one of the National Ballet's audience favourites, alongside Tommi Kitti.Räsänen, Auli: 30.3.1993. Helsingin Sanomat Kuukausiliite. Boccadora, Patricia: Tero Saarinen and "Tootchpick" 7.12.1998. www.culturekiosque.com.
In 1988 Saarinen won first prize in the contemporary category at Concours International de Danse in Paris with Jorma Uotinen's choreography B12.B12 (solo) Tanka - the Finnish Dance Database. Dance info Finland. After his victory in this prestigious competition, his career began to soar both in Finland and internationally.Isola, Samuli: Spring-Summer 2007. Welcome to Finland.
Saarinen started creating his own choreographies, and began receiving invitations to appear in productions outside of the National Ballet.Sommers, Sanna: Horjahduksen partaalla. MeNaiset, 11.8.2005. He was a visiting soloist with the Helsinki City Theatre's dance group in 1989-1991.
Saarinen's first choreography was a Japan-inspired solo choreography Ondekoza (1989). This was followed by another solo piece Kehtolaulu (1990), which addressed personal concerns; the hardships of taking responsibility, and growing pains.Jyrkkä, Hannele (toim.): ”Tero Saarinen – Paljaan tilan etsijä”, Tanssintekijät – 35 näkökulmaa koreografin työhön, s. 183. Jyväskylä: Like publishing Ltd., 2005. . Saarinen's first opportunity to make a group piece came when his former dance teacher Liisa Nojonen asked him to create a work for her company. They then gave the result, More Milk, its premiere in 1991.
The start of an international career After his competition victory in Paris, Saarinen toured the world as a soloist. Alongside Jorma Uotinen's solo piece B12 Saarinen got to interpret Déjà Vu, a solo piece by Murray Louis, which had previously only been permitted to be danced by the choreographer himself and Rudolf Nureyev.
With success, Saarinen found it increasingly hard to settle for the male roles and opportunities as a dancer offered by classical ballet.Manning, Emma: The Big Rendez-vous - Last words June–July 1999. Dance Europe. His breakaway came with the solo piece Takana (1992), a declaration of new beginnings and of leaving the past behind. This process first led to Saarinen taking a year off, and eventually resigning from his tenured post at the National Ballet in 1993.
At first Saarinen journeyed to Nepal for two months, where he travelled and studied Nepalese dance at the Kala-Mandapa Institute in Kathmandu, under the instruction of Rajendra Shestra. In the fall of 1992 his interest in the minimalistic expression of Japanese arts took him to Tokyo, Japan, to study various dance genres. Saarinen studied traditional Japanese Kabuki theatre at the famous Fujima School of Tokyo, specializing in onnagata (female) roles. Kabuki schools do not usually accept foreign students, but Saarinen got special permission from his teacher Yoko Fujima after giving him a sample display of his abilities. Saarinen studied Butoh dance – a dance form born in Japan after World War Two and originating in the sub-conscious – under the guidance of the great Japanese Butoh artist Kazuo Ohno in his house in Yokohama. While in Japan, Saarinen also trained in aikido.Tuomaala, Vaula: Japani lumosi tanssijan December 2008. Mondo.
In addition to Kazuo Ohno and other influences from Asia, Saarinen often mentions Carolyn Carlson, Tommi Kitti, Marjo Kuusela and Jorma Uotinen as important artistic role models.
Years as a freelancer Upon his return to Finland from Asia in 1993, Saarinen started working as a freelancer. Most of his time was spent on tours with various dance groups in Germany, Italy, the US, and elsewhere, as part of Daniel Ezralow's group and, together with Ismael Ivo and Mara Borba, in the triumphant production of Francis Bacon directed by Johann Kresnik.
Saarinen performed as a freelance dancer in designer Issey Miyake's fashion shows in Paris in 1993-1995.Räsänen, Auli: Tero Saarisella on näytönpaikka. Helsingin Sanomat, 25.4.1998. Curriculum Vitae Tero Saarinen Company He was a visiting soloist with Teatro Comunale di Firenze in its production of Aida in 1994. The conductor was Zubin Mehta, and the production toured Italy and Japan.
During his time as a freelancer Saarinen created choreographies for several dance groups. His first choreography after returning from Asia was Vajonneet, premiered at the Finnish National Opera on 6 May 1993. Hurmaa 1, created for the Tampere-based dance theatre MD Mobita Dansco in the fall of 1993, launched his still ongoing close cooperation with lighting designer Mikki Kunttu.Räsänen, Auli: Light 2006. Ballet-Tanz. Wanha, which Saarinen created for himself and Kenneth Kvarnström, received its premiered as a licensed work for the 1994 Kuopio Dance Festival. Saarinen also created Lifewheel (1994) for PDC, as well as Lelulaatikko (1995) for Tampere Hall and Sirkus Bohemia (1995) for the Kuopio Dance Festival.Saarinen, Tero Tanka - the Finnish Dance Database.
Wanha started Saarinen on the road to a career as an internationally acclaimed choreographer. After seeing it, Ohad Naharin, the director of Batsheva Dance Company, commissioned a work for his Israel-based group. Saarinen's choreography Flock premiered in Tel Aviv in late December 1994.
Tero Saarinen Company Saarinen wanted to work on a more permanent basis with inspired artists who shared his values. In the fall of 1995 he assembled his own dance group, called Tero Saarinen & Company Toothpick. Alongside Saarinen, the founding members were his colleagues Henrikki Heikkilä from the Finnish National Ballet, Yuval Pick from the Batsheva Dance Company in Israel, and lighting designer Mikki Kunttu. Company Toothpick was jokingly named in memory of the matchstick factory in Pori, where Saarinen was born.Wessman, Lili: 25.10.2009. Satakunnan Kansa.
The group's first piece, Westward Ho! Tero Saarinen Company premiered at Stockholm's Dansens Hus on 18 February 1996. In 1997 an invitation was received to perform piece at the first Aerowaves platform held in The Place Theatre in London. The performance was to be Saarinen's international breakthrough as a choreographer, and the group began receiving invitations from all over Europe.
In 2000, Company Toothpick acquired an office in the Alexander Theatre in Helsinki. In 2001 the group took on its first full-time employee, when its current Managing Director Iiris Autio began working as Saarinen's manager and the group's producer. In 2002 the group changed its name to Tero Saarinen Company, and in 2004 it became eligible for regular state subsidy under the Finnish Theatre and Orchestra Act, and began receiving operational funding from both the State and the City of Helsinki.Annual report, Tero Saarinen Company, 2016.
Nowadays Tero Saarinen Company is considered one of Finland's leading cultural exports.Haapanen, Irmeli: Opetusministeriö jakoi kulttuuriviennin kärkihankkeisiin 1,7 miljoonaa euroa, Kevyt musiikki ja Tero Saarinen tuetuimmat 21.3.2008. Turun Sanomat. The company's own works are created as international co-productions, and include many of Saarinen's best known choreographies. Tero Saarinen's richly original choreographic style is characterized by his distinctive movement language and multidimensional artistry - expressive dancers, live music, and striking visuals.Horsley, Francesca: nro. 12, 2008. Danz Quarterly. The group has performed in nearly 40 countries, and an international teaching programme has been a part of its operations since its foundation.
Saarinen has produced 46 original works altogether, many of them for other dance groups. The Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT1), the French ballets of Lyon, Marseille and Lorraine, the Portuguese Ballet Gulbenkian, the Israeli Batsheva Dance Company, the Swedish Gothenburg Opera Ballet, Finnish National Ballet and others have featured Saarinen's works in their repertoires.