A LOOK INTO DYNAMO'S RESIDENCY PROGRAMMES

A look into one of the leading residency programmes in contemporary circus: DYNAMO - Workspace for circus & performing arts 

Interview by Anna von Knorring, intern at the Finnish Cultural Institute in Denmark 
 

In Odense, Denmark, the Mecca for contemporary circus – DYNAMO - Workspace for circus & performing arts (DYNAMO) has its base. DYNAMO is a workspace and stage for artists in the contemporary circus and performing arts field, founded in 2018 by circus artists Gry Lambertsen and Rune Vadstrøm Andersen. DYNAMO organizes everything from co-productions, guest performances, open stages, circus festivals, workshops, and artist talks. They also regularly host residencies for artists and groups, offering space to develop, practice, and improve their productions in an environment surrounded by circus professionals and, most importantly, circus enthusiasts. DYNAMO hosts between 15-20 residencies per year, the length varying between 3 days to 1 month. DYNAMO’s doors are open for groups and artists during all stages of production; the residencies can be either curated and selected through an open call, or non-thematic, in which case they are developed around the needs of the group or the artist. The Finnish Cultural Institute in Denmark has supported the residencies since 2021.

In 2025, a total of 11 Finnish contemporary circus groups or artists were in residency at DYNAMO. I have interviewed three groups who spent time at DYNAMO last year and in previous years: Based on Kimberly, Kallo Collective, and Lotta & Stina, as well as Olli Vuorinen, who is the artistic director for Nuua Company. I've have also spoken with Mikkel Søndergaard Kryger, who oversees the PR and communication at DYNAMO.  

“All of our residencies at DYNAMO have been a rare combination of creative freedom, practical support, and professional growth” - Based on Kimberly 

Residencies are an important tool in helping artists develop their production. The artistic director of Nuua Company, Olli Vuorinen, highlights the importance of spending time in residency with the working group of a performance: “a residency builds a shared journey around the work and takes everyone away from their everyday lives into a new place where everyone has one common task: to enjoy creative work together.”  

Vuorinen is a Helsinki-based performer and award-winning juggler. He has created seven original stage productions and three co-productions, all of which have toured internationally in theatres around the world. Beyond Nuua Company, he has collaborated as a performer, director, and dramaturge with numerous contemporary circus companies. Vuorinen has been in residency at DYNAMO as a director and dramaturg in several productions, together with Nuua Company, Sirkum Polaris, and The Nordic Council. In the next years, he will continue to perform his solo work Blueberry Burdock, as well as work on a duo performance that will premiere in the autumn of 2026 and will be played in theatres and galleries across the Helsinki metropolitan area, and hopefully also internationally.  

Vuorinen, as well as the other groups I have interviewed, highlight the expertise and support of the staff at DYNAMO. DYNAMO’s internationally experienced producers help groups with production and distribution matters, help them gain visibility, as well as create new collaborations and networks for the groups in Denmark. They also praise the technical and production facilities and knowledge, which provide an ultimate environment for developing performances. DYNAMO provides artists with lighting equipment, sound systems, large rehearsal spaces, and their own professional technicians - in other words, everything required to create a performance.  

Kallo Collective agrees with Vuorinen on the importance of working tightly together as a group, stating that “residencies are worth more than gold.” Kallo Collective is an internationally renowned Finnish group with a focus on contemporary circus and physical theatre. Founded by Jenni Kallo, Sampo Kurppa, and Thom Monckton, the group has produced 18 shows and toured around Europe as well as the Americas, Asia, China, and New Zealand. They also organized the international physical comedy festival OuNous in Helsinki, Finland, between 2017 and 2023. Kallo Collective did two residency periods at DYNAMO in 2025, with their productions The Mews and The Receptionists. In 2026, Kallo Collective will be part of many co-productions, and their next premiere, Pluto, a star?, takes place in April at Cirko, Helsinki. 

“We fucking love DYNAMO.” Based on Kimberly is a circus company founded by Inka Pehkonen and Imogen Huzel in 2023. The duo explores themes concerning feminism, freedom of speech, friendship, community, sexuality, and gender roles. They have done a total of three residencies at DYNAMO, the first two working on their show Memoirs of Mud in 2021 and 2022, back then under the name of Sisus. In 2025, they were in residency with their show Yes Person, which is a collaboration with the international w/ network, and with DYNAMO as a co-producer. Pehkonen and Huzel speak warmly about the residencies at DYNAMO and of how the staff has helped them in building networks as well as offering guidance in the Danish contemporary circus field - in everything from applying for funding, pitching shows at festivals, and connecting with collaborators and producers: “we absolutely love the vibe at DYNAMO. The people there do what they do with such heart - punk in spirit but true professionals - and it’s amazing to feel their support for our work. Places like this are rare.” 

Pehkonen and Huzel describe Yes Person as quintessential new wave, new wonk circus: experimental, physical, fashionable, and satirical. The piece is inspired by the concept of “killing one’s darlings”, the twist in this performance being wanting to breathe new life into those darlings instead of killing them. Yes Person premiered at Cirko in Helsinki at the end of January, with a run of 13 performances. They will get to play the show in Sweden before returning with it to DYNAMO in April.  

Lotta Paavilainen and Stina Kopra, or Lotta & Stina, describe the residencies at DYNAMO as the feeling of returning home. The Finnish duo has worked together for 24 years in the international contemporary circus field. In their productions, they use a lot of body expression, acrobatics, as well as influences from the theatre world. In 2025, they did their third residency at DYNAMO, this time as part of the company Out of Balanz, with whom the duo performed the show Turbulence, examining the effects of climate change. In the near future, which they describe as both intense and inspiring, Paavilainen and Kopra will participate in a directing project with students at École Supérieure des Arts du Cirque, Brussels, as well as work on their new performance. They will also tour with their street show and the performance 20 Years Later, Still Here!, together with Riksteatern (SE). 

DYNAMO is described in words of familiarity, openness, and passion. Based on Kimberly points out that it is rare to find such trust and freedom that is granted at DYNAMO, and it seems to be a factor that all the groups agree on. The artists speak warmly about how the staff at DYNAMO encourage them to embrace unfinished ideas and experimentation, which also is an important stage in the process of production.  

Many of the residencies culminate in work-in-progress presentations and audience interactions, where the groups get a chance to perform what they have been working on in front of an audience. A lot of the groups also return to DYNAMO later with their final performance. Mikkel Søndergaard Kryger talks passionately about the audience interactions that are, for example, panel discussions or Q&A sessions between the audience and the performing group. He underlines the invaluable audience-to-artist feedback and describes it as an opportunity for the groups to test their productions to get a sense of what is working and what is not. 

The warm, familiar, and free ambiance at DYNAMO also stretches past rehearsals, and is present in shared lunches, late-night goofing around without being able to hold one’s laughter together, biking adventures, dress-up parties, and intimate spoken word-moments. Based on Kimberly expresses the following: “there’s something about the place that fits us perfectly when creating a show. It’s a magical kind of freedom: residencies aren’t just about what happens on stage. They’re about the late-night hours, when creativity kicks in and you can just run with your art, no limits, no agenda, just pure making.” 

Søndergaard Kryger describes Finland as a leading country in the contemporary circus scene and gets backed up by the director of Nuua Company, who points out that due to its geographical location, Finnish works do not always receive the international visibility they deserve. Vuorinen underlines the importance of the fact that places like DYNAMO, which actively supports the visibility of Finnish groups, exist, and is happy that many Finnish artists and groups have found their way there.  

The Finnish Cultural Institute looks forward to many more residencies and productions at DYNAMO.

DYNAMO announces open calls for their curated, thematic residencies a few times a year. These are posted on DYNAMO’s web page and social media. For shorter, non-thematic residency periods it is possible to apply continuously, read more and apply here.