Juha Vanhakartano
DIRECTOR

ARTIST PROFILE - JUHA VANHAKARTANO

CHOREOGRAPHER – DIRECTOR - PERFORMER

• Juha Vanhakartano graduated from Finnish National Opera Ballet School and entered Finnish National Ballet in 1975 followed by engagements with prestigious European companies such as Dusseldorf Ballet - Germany, Basler Ballet - Switzerland and as a soloist with Dance Theatre Reinhild Hoffmann -Germany.

• His professional career spans over twenty-six years performing, directing and choreographing dance, theatre and opera productions throughout Europe and recently in Australia. He has performed in over 100 professional productions and choreographed over thirty opera, theatre and dance productions.

• As a dancer he has toured to New York, France, U.K., Holland, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Soviet Union, Switzerland and Scandinavia.

• In 1990 Juha was commissioned to choreograph his first full-length dance theatre production Nijinsky -Divine Dancer for Finnish National Ballet. Following the success of the production Juha was invited to choreograph and direct for distinguished dance, opera and theatre companies in Germany, Sweden and Finland including Staatstheater Stuttgart, Oper Bonn, Kolner Theater, Malmo Musiktheater and the Ballet of Mannheim National Theater.

• Juha Vanhakartano has toured his dance productions to several European festivals and theatres.

• In 1996 Juha moved to Australia and created a project based dance company, Icebreaker Dance Productions (since 2003 Icebreaker Arts Projects producing multimedia and stage productions)

• In 2003 Juha completed an advanced year study of film & video production at MAPS ( Media Arts Production Skills) Adelaide.

• Juha has been regularly invited back to Europe. In 1996 he choreographed and danced in Pergolesi Project at the Staatstheater Stuttgart and in 1998 Juha returned to Europe to teach at the International Dance Project in Bielefeld, Germany. His choreography Commedia Machine premiered in June 1999 in Adelaide followed by a tour to six international arts festivals and theatres in Germany and Finland.

• Continuing his international success Juha Vanhakartano choreographed and performed as a soloist for B.A. Zimmermann’s music theatre piece “Presence” as part of the official German culture program in German Pavilion at the World Expo 2000 in Hanover -Germany.

• May 2002 Juha created and directed his first opera production Touch Wood. The World Premiere took place at Hobart’s Peacock Theatre on 23. The production was especially created for ten singers from Ihos Opera’s Music Theatre Laboratory.

• In 2004 Juha created and directed his most recent production chamber-dance-opera Undertow for the Adelaide Bank 2004 Festival of Arts. The opera was composed by Elena Kats-Chernin.

• Undertow is a unique collaboration between The State Opera of South Australia, Finnish National Opera and Adelaide Bank 2004 Festival of Arts and the production has been invited to Budapest and Helsinki in 2005.

Contact/Bookings/Enquiries
08 8364 2555 mobile 0418 840 230
williamsnell@entertainment.on.net