Carl Knif Company: Matching Steps
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Date
28.4-29.4.2026
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Duration
51 min (no intermission)
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Venue
Erkko Hall
Show times
Tue 28.4.2026 at 19.00
Wed 29.4.2026 at 19.00
In addition
Artist talks after both performances.
On 28 April, the music-themed discussion includes choreographer Carl Knif, composer Janne Hast, composer Juhani Nuorvala and journalist and critic Jari Kallio.
On 29 April, the dance-themed discussion includes choreographer Carl Knif along with Matching Steps dancers Terhi Vaimala, Eero Vesterinen and Riku Lehtopolku.
Greetings from the choreographer
“I first encountered Steve Reich’s minimalistic classic “Clapping Music” when I was a student at Helsinki Theatre Academy. In 1998, Japanese choreographer Anzu Furukawa was commissioned to create a site-specific work for us second- and third-year students. The work was to be performed in Masa Yards' huge shipyard hall in Punavuori, near the Laivurinkatu dance arts institute.
Masa Yards, as the work was called, was based on the song “Clapping Music” and Anzu's intricate improvisational methods. The encounter with the eccentric choreographer and the seemingly simple music was not painless, but it made a strong impression on me as a young dancer. The choreographer's ambitious vision, that we dancers would clap the entire work from the score while dancing, was never realised, much to her and our disappointment. Now, 27 years later, I return to the music. Something in the austere but ever-changing space created by the composition still appeals to me. The memory of Anzu's ambitious vision is transformed, with the help of my own methods, into something new: Matching Steps.”
– Carl Knif
About Matching Steps
How do you define a step? Is it by its length, its spatial breadth? Or is it by time, the time a step takes? How do you define the direction of the step? Is it by the relationship between space and the one who moves? Or can a step be directed in thought towards an as yet undefined final destination?
If the will is the starting point, what is the direction? Do I take the steps I really want to take, or does my route turn out to be completely different from the one I first imagined? Who influences my route, the speed at which I walk? Am I going faster or slower than I think? Am I walking at a different pace to my body or my mind? Where would I go if I were true to my intuition?
When I see others walking, I hear music. It is a sharp and clear rhythm. But when I look closely, the deafening steps are uncertain, the rhythm unsteady and the directions unknown.
In Matching Steps, Carl Knif continues to explore the connections between classical music and contemporary dance. The performance is related to his previous works Fugue in Two Colors (2020) and Sessions (2022), in which the issues of contemporary human life were framed by classical compositions. Matching Steps is based on Clapping Music (1972) by Steve Reich, combined with newly written music by Janne Hast. The opening performance of Clapping Music is followed by several sections of clapping inspired by Clapping Music.
Two visually and aesthetically different worlds alternate in Matching Steps, dark and light. They are opposites but have the same origin: nature. The performance begins in the dark world, which has a tangible set of rules that determine the dancers’ movements and give rise to different constellations. Despite its rigour and sharp contours, this sequence represents forgetting and forgetfulness. The light world, too, has its own set of laws, but it is very different in nature. The light sequence symbolises remembrance and memory. How can we find our way back to the fragile, formless and organic? What can help us find the way?
Matching Steps takes the step and the walk as its choreographic starting point, exploring walking as an existential act, as the origin of thought – and defining the body as the source of music and movement, as an instrument of thought.
About the working group
Carl Knif is a dancer, choreographer and artistic director and founder of Carl Knif Company. Knif has created numerous choreographies for Carl Knif Company and carried out co-productions and commissioned works for theatres and dance houses alike.
Knif was awarded the State Prize for Performing Arts in 2016, and in 2022 he received a prize from the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland for the dramaturgy of Ett drömspel. In 2025, Knif received Kulturpriset (‘the Culture Award’) by Svenska folkskolans vänner.
Jonna Aaltonen is a freelance dance artist who, during her 30-year career, has worked as a performer in a wide range of dance and theatre productions both in Finland and abroad. In addition to her work as a performer, Aaltonen leads workshops on a variety of topics for a wide range of target groups. She also has experience as a choreographer, choreographer's assistant and organiser. Aaltonen and Carl Knif have been collaborating since 2007. She is an instructor for workshops based on Knif’s method Breath – Gaze – Space. She is also a member of Carl Knif Company’s board.
Olli Lautiola is a Helsinki-based dancer, sound designer and teacher. He graduated from the Stockholm University of Arts in 2017. He has worked mainly and widely in the field of contemporary performances as a performer and sound designer, with different well-known groups and choreographers. Lautiola has recently worked with Tero Saarinen, Sari Palmgren, Iiro Näkki, Carl Knif, Petri Kekoni and Milla Koistinen. As a choreographer his latest work sumua / farewell (2024) was created for Pori Dance Company.
Riku Lehtopolku is a performer, choreographer and teacher within the field of dance. Lehtopolku has worked with, among others, Pori Dance Company, the Finnish National Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, Skånes Dansteater, Iceland Dance Company, Aurinkobaletti, Susanna Leinonen Company and Carl Knif Company. As artistic director, Lehtopolku has worked with Pori Dance Company (2014–2019), Kuopio Dance Festival (2020–2024) and Aurinkobaletti, where he began in spring 2025. Matching Steps is the seventh work by Carl Knif in which Lehtopolku dances.
Saara Töyrylä is a dancer working in the independent arts field. She graduated from Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy in 2008 and has since worked extensively in performing arts productions, both on stage and as a choreographer. Töyrylä’s most recent dance works include choreographer Joona Halonen's Suojelija (Tanssiteatteri Tsuumi, JoJo – Oulu Dance Center) and Taneli Törmä's Orange (Tanssiteatteri Minimi). Her collaboration with Carl Knif began with a performance at the 140th anniversary celebration of Svenska Litteratursällskapet in early 2025.
Terhi Vaimala has worked as a dancer since 2003, when she graduated from the dance programme at Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy. Her collaboration with Carl Knif began in 2009 with Mandorla. During her career, Vaimala has worked as a dancer in numerous productions by various independent groups, as well as in the Helsinki City Theater's dance group HDC. She has also worked as a choreographer, teacher and choreographer's assistant.
Eero Vesterinen has been dancing professionally since 2003, having previously studied dance at the Ballet School of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet and Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy. Over the years, Vesterinen has danced in numerous choreographers' works in a wide variety of ensembles, performing in over a hundred premieres, mostly as a freelancer in his hometown of Helsinki. He has worked with Carl Knif since 2010.
Jukka Huitila is a light designer, visualist and light artist based in Rovaniemi. He has worked in performing arts and music for over two decades and created several public light and media art works. His design work can be seen in productions by Carl Knif Company, Compañia Kaari & Roni Martin, HDC Helsinki Dance Company, Raekallio Corp and Flow Productions.
Janne Hast is a musician and sound designer who has worked as a freelancer in various theatre, dance and contemporary circus productions since 2008. As a sound designer and composer, he has worked extensively with Carl Knif Company and Kinetic Orchestra. As a musician, composer, arranger and producer, Hast has worked in various ensembles playing keyboards, drums and live electronics.
Ervin Latimer is an award-winning fashion designer, Professor of Practice in fashion at Aalto University and the creative director of the Latimmier ready-to-wear brand. Latimer's creative work focuses on the intersections of gender, brownness, queer culture and social responsibility. In 2025, Latimer was the first Finn to have his work featured in the prestigious Costume Institute exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, with the theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.
Credits
Choreography, concept: Carl Knif
Dancers: Jonna Aaltonen, Olli Lautiola, Riku Lehtopolku, Saara Töyrylä, Terhi Vaimala, Eero Vesterinen
Scenography, light design: Jukka Huitila
Sound design: Janne Hast
Costume design: Ervin Latimer
Fabric design: Yoon Kim
Seamstress: Nina Ukkonen
Producer: Marjo Pyykönen
Communications: Essi Brunberg
Photography: Cata Portin
Graphic design: Susanna Raunio
Production: Carl Knif Company
Supported by: Arts Promotion Centre Finland, City of Helsinki, Konstsamfundet, Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, William Thurings stiftelse
Carl Knif Company
has risen to the forefront of Finnish dance with a blend of contemporary dance and physical theatre, characterised by highly recognisable narratives and virtuoso dancing. Carl Knif Company’s goal is to create innovative contemporary dance performances for both Finnish and international stages.
