Interview with dance teacher Annina Tuhkunen
Who are you?
I am a dance teacher (YAMK), dancer and pilates instructor, and a humanist (FM) in cultural studies and intercultural interaction. I have worked at Helsinki Adult Education Center since 2010, teaching, among other things, African dances, salsa and other Latin dances, contemporary dance, as well as pilates and body care.
I operate in the middle ground between different dance and movement practices, endlessly curious and enthusiastic to learn new things and share my own experience. My strongest expertise is in West African dances, especially those based on the Guinean tradition, where I have worked as a teacher and performer for a long time. In addition to traditional West African dances, I have also studied dances of African origin more extensively, training in numerous intensive courses and professional trainings in various parts of West Africa, Europe and Latin America.
I have graduated as a dance teacher from the Turku Academy of Arts' New Contexts of Art Master's Programme and as a Pilates instructor from the Finnish Institute of Health and Exercise PilatesHealth.® I have studied somatic methods and various dance improvisation techniques in ISLO's Dance and Somatics training.
How did you get into African dances?
I discovered West African dances through happy coincidences when I was a 17-year-old street and show dance enthusiast. In 1995, I got to represent my dance school at the Finnish group show dance championships, which we won with a competition choreography that combined show dance and Afro dance. With that experience, I was completely immersed in West African dances and started training them regularly. The comprehensiveness of the genre, its physicality, the richness of the movement language and the energy of live drum music immediately took me with it, and although I continued to study other dance genres, African dances became an important part of my life and identity early on.
In addition to dance, I am also interested in foreign languages and cultures, so after high school I applied to study cultural anthropology and a few years later also intercultural communication. In retrospect, my studies in cultural studies and intercultural interaction provided an excellent foundation for researching and studying dances of African origin.
At university, I also completed a specialization in dance pedagogy and later applied for other professional training in the field of dance in Finland and abroad. Since there is no professional-level training in African dances in Finland, the only opportunity for further training has been to travel to West Africa or elsewhere abroad.
Tell us more about your studies and work in dance!
Teaching dance requires regular updating of one's skills and continuous study. My numerous study trips to West Africa and elsewhere abroad have been important for my work. Africa is a treasure trove of dance and music traditions: every region and ethnic group has its own rhythms and dances, and the range of cultures is extremely diverse. The more you delve into African dances and related cultures, the more there is to learn. I specialize in West African dances from the Mande cultural region, which I have studied in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Benin, among others.
In addition to traditional dances, I have also studied urban Afro dances and contemporary dance based on African dances, training at well-known dance centers in West Africa. School of Sandsin Senegal and Center de Développement Choréografique at La Termitière In Burkina Faso.
In West African dances, I am fascinated by the organic and holistic use of the body, physicality, expressiveness, and the strong connection of movement to music and rhythm. I also like the positive energy, sociability, interactivity, and community associated with African dance cultures, which I strive to nurture and convey in my own work as a dance teacher.
My goal is to create a relaxed and open atmosphere in dance classes, where everyone is seen and feels welcome. I also consider it very important to open up cultural connections for students – through my work as a dance teacher, I act as a cultural interpreter between different worlds. In addition to dances from African and Latin American cultures, I am interested in dance improvisation and somatic methods, which I also consider Pilates training to be a part of. A body-conscious, somatic approach is somehow always present in my teaching.
Annina Tuhkunen
dance teacher, pilates instructor, Helsinki Adult Education Institute
Photos: Annina Tuhkunen