About Helsingin Tanssiopisto

Helsingin tanssiopisto (Helsinki Dance Institute) upheld by the supporters’ association is the most extensive and diversified dance institute in Finland. Since 1992 the Institute has offered basic education in the arts, which is supported by the city of Helsinki. The education presently includes both unprofessional studies as well as vocational education based on the student’s choice. In addition to Institute’s 17 own dance halls, basic education is given in about 30 suburban venues around Helsinki, Kauniainen and Vantaa.

Helsingin tanssiopisto was founded in 1969 by Leila Sillantaka, the present principal of tanssiopisto, and Göran Löfström, both from the School of Modern Dance established by Riitta Vainio who first brought modern dance to Finland in the 1960’s. In the early years, the education focused on contemporary dance but now the program includes more than 30 different types of dance for children, the youth and adults. With more than 70 teachers, both Finnish and foreign, it has been an important employer in the metropolitan area and a trailblazer in many things. The Institute takes actively part in national and international happenings and the many prizes that both the Institute’s educational work and its students have received are heartwarming reminders of that. Many of the institute’s long-term students have ended up as dance professionals either at home or abroad.