From September 8th to 10th in 2026, a major international event will be held in Oulu, Finland. It combines the international Keđja Stretch -event and the Finnish Dance Regional Centre Network‘s Kiertoliike professional forum (organized yearly from 2010), with the annual OuDance Festival (33rd Festival, offering programme until 13th September) as the platform for the event.
The theme of the event is the impact of the environment on identity, how a person’s locality versus, for example, Europeanness, Nordicness or Balticness affect the construction of an artist’s identity and professional field. Cross-cutting perspectives include Sáminess and the effects and opportunities of digitalization. The festival strengthens the visibility of the city of Oulu as a significant dance city and promotes equal access and accessibility to dance art regardless of place of residence and wealth.
The program consists of expert speeches, lectures, panel discussions, audience work projects, dance performances and films, and evening clubs. The event will be held mainly in the Oulu city center area, both in public spaces open to everyone and in performance spaces aimed at performing arts. Through the participants and the audience, the area of operation will spread throughout Finland and abroad.
JoJo – Oulu Dance Center is primarily responsible for event production, as the member organizations of the networks come from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom. The program will be completed during autumn 2025. The Event is part of the official program for Oulu2026 – European Capital Culture 2026.
