Marja Merisalo (born on 3 April 1965

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is a Finnish

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoi ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

and cultural coordinator. She has the Master of Arts degree in Dance from the

Helsinki Theatre Academy The Theatre Academy ( fi, Teatterikorkeakoulu, sv, Teaterhögskolan) is one of the three academies of the University of the Arts Helsinki and offers education in theatre and dance. It is Finland's largest education provider in its field and, with ...

(Teatterikorkeakoulu) She represents contemporary art dance where she has developed her own styles. Marja Merisalo has worked as a choreographer, dancer, actor, producer as well as a director of theatre and dance projects. She has worked in numerous productions and theatres since 1982, including Q-teatteri in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Helsinki City Theatre The Helsinki City Theatre ( fi, Helsingin Kaupunginteatteri; sv, Helsingfors stadsteater) is a theatre located in Helsinki, Finland. Owned by the Helsinki Theatre Foundation, it calls itself a "modern popular bilingual repertoire theatre." The ...

, the Student's Theatre of Helsinki (Ylioppilasteatteri) and the

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

. Merisalo worked in the city of

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

as the Regional Artist under the

Ministry of Education and Culture The Ministry of Education and Culture is a Cabinet position in the governments of several nations. In some nations the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture are separate departments; in others, the Ministry of Education and Culture als ...

during the years 2009–2011. Her main work was coordinating numerous cultural activities in the municipality of

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...

in western Finland. Later on, she also made project-planning for an artist's network called ArtPeople in Helsinki during her work as cultural coordinator in the area of Arabia in Helsinki under Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taiteen edistämiskeskus, formerly

Arts Council of Finland The Arts Promotion Centre Finland ( fi, Taiteen edistämiskeskus, sv, Centret för konstfrämjande) is an expert and service agency for promoting the arts in Finland. Arts Promotion Centre Finland is organized under the Ministry of Education and ...

). Since 2006, Merisalo has been a member of the Theatre of Eternal Values (TEV), an international theatre group based in Italy. She has been touring with the group's productions internationally in West End -

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. Moreover, besides

, she has also performed internationally in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the

Baltic countries The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. She has also created numerous dance and theatre projects, one of the latest being "Echoes from Karelia", which brings together a fusion of traditional Karelian folk culture with modern elements. The project has toured in Finland, Sweden, Russia and Italy.

Choreographies

*''GAM'', Tana bru, Norway 2023 (dance theatre project together with Sami children) *''Ilmatar in India'', Sortavala, Russia 2019 (residence project in KARN, Karelian Art Residence Network) *''Echoes from Karelia'', Zelenogorsk and Sortavala, Russia 2015 and 2019, Sweden 2016, Italy 2018 *''Tid och Energi'', Vantaa 2008, Pori 2011. *''The Tyger'', London 2007,

Genova Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of Ge ...

, Italy 2007. (also
Govisummer 2007 program
*''Adimaya'', Sydney, Australia 2006. *''Elefanttimetsä'' ("Elephant Forest"), Dance Theatre Raatikko, Finland 2004. *''O Lal Meri'', Italy 2004. *''Mahamaya'', Mumbai, India 2003, Italy 2003. *''

Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven ''Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven'' (russian: Табор уходит в небо, Tabor ukhodit v nebo, lit. "The Gypsy camp goes to heaven"; also known as ''Queen of the Gypsies'') is a 1975 Soviet Union, Soviet Romantic film, romantic Drama film, ...

'' - "Mustalaisleiri muuttaa taivaaseen'', Lappeenranta City Theatre, Finland 1997. *''Spring is coming'' - ''Kevät saapuu'', Finlandia Hall 1995.

Productions

*''Tid och Energi'', Martinus Concert Hall Vantaa, Finland 2008, Promenadisali Concert Hall, Pori Finland 2011. *''Tuulen poika'', Helsinki 2007, Arabia Primary School, Helsinki 2013 *''Apinakuningas Hanuman'', Keinutie Primary School, Helsinki 2006. *''Zum Zum Zananana'', EU Urban II -project 2005. *''Tiikeri tanssii'' ("The Tiger is Dancing"), Dance Theatre Raatikko, Finland 2003. *''Pikkubussilla alkuräjähdyksestä atomiaikaan'', Ateneum, Helsinki 1996 (a co-production with Finnish actress Emilia Pokkinen). *''Ilveilijän testamentti'', Ylioppilasteatteri (Helsinki Student's theatre) 1992. *Theatre of Eternal Values: ''Eternity in an Hour'',

Helsinki Festival The Helsinki Festival (in Finnish: Helsingin juhlaviikot, in Swedish: Helsingfors festspel) is the largest multi-arts festival in Finland. It is Finland's biggest cultural event in terms of visitors. In 2015, around 295,000 people visited the Helsin ...

2008, Tour in Italy

2009, Swiss tour

, 2009

New York Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across seve ...

2010,

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not ha ...

2010, Touring Turkish National Theatres in

and

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

2011. *Theatre of Eternal Values: ''

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

's Divine Humanity'', New Player's Theatre, West End,

, 2007. *

: ''Paalu'', 1994. *Ylioppilasteatteri: ''Ilveilijän testamentti'', 1992. *Ylioppilasteatteri: ''Vanja-eno'', 1992. *: ''Sudenhetki'', Helsinki 1990.Q-teatteri-performances
*

: '' Kullervo´s Story'', 1989. *Ylioppilasteatteri: ''Zoo'', 1989. *

: ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' ( fi, Kalevala, ) is a 19th-century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling an epic story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and r ...

'', 1985.

Sources

Helsinki City Theatre, list of performances
(also

an

Milliyet-newpper blog 2011, Turkey
(also

Zaman-newspaper, Turkey
(also

https://web.archive.org/web/20131015062206/http://www.zaman.com.tr/cuma_sahnede-blake-var_1129285.html])
Bursakultur, Türkiye
(also

https://archive.today/20130425071019/http://bursakultur.com/gp/2011/bir-saat-icinde-sonsuzluk/])
Bugünbugece Istanbulbiggistanbul kültür
(also

Theater Basel

The Happiest Medium theatre review, New York
(also

New York Theatre Review
(also

The FringeNYC festivalThe FringeNYC festival program 2010
(also

and

TEV-theatre at New York Fringe festival
(also

Eternity in an Hour
(also

Biography in English (TEV Members)
(also

- as cultural coordinator in Helsinki
als

Artova.fi
(als

Tuulen Poika -performances in Arabia
also

Art Coordinator´s blog
(also

Kopiosto (CV)Danceinfo
(also

London Theatre DatabaseIndielondon
(also
webcitation.org

The Stage listings - UK
(als

This is London, reviewsHelsinki Student´s theatre (Ylioppilasteatteri)City of Pori NewsSatakunnan taidetoimikunta, läänintaiteilijat - Regional artists of Satakunta, Finland

Taiteen edistämiskeskus - Arts Council of Finland
(also

Taiteen Edistämiskeskus - Arts Council of Finland - "Ilon ja Valon Satakunta" -festival
(also

Ilon ja valon satakunta
(also

Ilon ja Valon viikolle vauhdikas alku - Uusi aika -newspaper 11.3.2010, also

Iloa ja Valoa tänä vuonna lasten silmin - Satakunnan kansa -newspaper 2010)
Q-teatteri history
(also

Dance Theatre Raatikko performances during 2000´s
(also

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merisalo, Marja 1965 births Living people Finnish choreographers Finnish directors Finnish female dancers Finnish theatre directors Finnish women choreographers Finnish women theatre directors Contemporary dancers 21st-century Finnish women artists 20th-century Finnish women artists