Today’s Enlightening Entertainment will be presented in Finnish and English, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, (Finnish,) French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Apart from rhythmic movements and pulsing music, it is said that the core of Finnish dance is the message: “I am happy just to be with you.” Welcome artistic viewers to today’s Enlightening Entertainment, where we will explore the charming Finnish dance featuring the Katrilli Folk Dance Group and the Tsuumi Dance Company.

Founded in 1975, the Katrilli Folk Dance Group is known as a pioneer of modern folk dance. It is also one of the most respected folk dance ensembles in Finland. Performing both traditional works and new choreographies, Katrilli’s dances arise from the participants’ enthusiasm as well as skill and artistry.

Their diversified costumes and live music played by folk musicians are also acclaimed features of Katrilli. Mr. Eero Hietanen, an instructor of the Katrilli Folk Dance Group, and Mr. Panu Helke, musician and artistic director, explain to us what Finnish folk dance is and how it has been evolved through the creative work of the company.

Finnish folk dance is a very large diversity of different kinds of dances and Finland is a mixture from east and from western cultures. First pair dances came to Finland in the 17th century and they came from Eastern Europe, Polska (Poland), and from France, this minuet, and they came through Sweden to Finland. And then contra dances came both from east and west and there are a very large scale of different kinds of contra dances, like Katrillis in Finland. Later came new dances like polka and waltz.

And they came in 19th century, so that there are a very large scale of different dances. One unique feature in Finnish dance is that men and women parts are very equal. Everybody dances together.

Finnish folk dance you can say it’s an art form. Traditionally, Finnish folk dance which is on stage and the stories are mostly from tradition and the stories tell about wedding traditions, or something like work traditions from older lives, and love stories are often told in folk dancing. Also modern stories are told in folk dance way.

When we come to folk music, I think one thing that is quite unique is the song, the singing culture. For example, those poems that are in our national epic, “Kalevala,” that kind of song music is quite unique in Europe. That is part of the older tradition.

Then, when instrumental folk music that they nowadays play has come to Finland, it has come through Sweden and also many of the instruments like violin and clarinet have come through the west. We have these both, this western and eastern tradition.

The Tsuumi Dance Company was founded in 1998. It is a Finnish dance group that combines traditional and modern folk dancing. Tsuumi’s professional dancers and have presented more than 20 premieres and performed on numerous Finnish and international stages. Tsuumi performed at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 Semifinals at the Helsinki Arena.

Combining skill and competence with sensitivity and humor, Tsuumi artists seek to incorporate various dance traditions and elements to create new and exciting experiences. Their motto is “roots in tradition, head in clouds.” Ms. Reetta-Kaisa Iles, a choreographer and dancer with the Tsuumi Dance Company, also shares about Finnish folk dance and her group’s innovative work.

Folk dance is always a social dance, so we take this social thing, but we can add different kind of movements in it.

We try to see the folk dance from different angles. From Russia side comes these rhythmic characteristic styles, and we use those, like lots of stepping, and lots of rhythms. And from the Sweden side, we have these more softer things, things that go around and continue, and there’s this magic feeling of just going and floating.

In Tsuumi we have this wish to go over of the border of the audience and the performer, somehow to get this feeling of dance, and feeling of movement, and feeling of being together, to go over this line, so that people can relate to that. They recognize something from themselves, kind of like, “Oh this is familiar, this is part of me.”

When we return, we will find out more about the universal appeal of Finnish folk music and dance today. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Folk music was from the beginning very nice because I found that we could play it anywhere. We could go just in the park to play, we could go to a café and start to play, or to some company where people are doing their work. And a kind of surprise people with that, but they find out that they really delighted to hear this music. That’s a good point in this folk art.

Welcome back to Enlightening Entertainment. The beauty of folk music and dance may be found in their inclusive spirit. Through this art form, everyone can participate in celebrating with the whole community. This is no less true for Finnish folk dance, past and present.

Folk dances are originally social dances in communities and in villages in all over in Finland. And they have a big role in different festivities like weddings, the midsummer fests. We want to bring this dancing more like to our everyday life because people should have time together in this modern society and dance is very good way to spend time together.

I think the dance has been really important to Finnish people, because that’s the place where they can open up to each other, and relax. So when you dance with people, you get this feeling of relating to each other, and communicating without words.

You can start folk dancing very easily from very easy steps. Everybody can join dancing even if they know only a very little about it. Many dances are very formal and you have a certain steps you make in this dance and you do it in a certain style. Everything is very organized.

But when people are just dancing for their own fun, it doesn’t have to be so much formalized and strict, that everybody can do it in their own style and be together. You can have a certain element of its highly stylistic way of doing it, but then also this folksy way of just having fun.

So, what place does Finnish folk dance have in modern-day society? The artists of Katrilli and Tsuumi share their insights.

I think the art is the best way to celebrate this life. When you go to see a performance, you can relate to the people, and you can see yourself and this is life, and you get different things out from it. And you can leave your worries outside. Then you can kind of like go through them and see them from outside and then maybe realize something about life and yourself.

The role of the folk music and dance is the expression of the inner self of the people like with any art, and bringing that to contact with other people and to their inner selves also through the expression. It’s quite important, because much of these emotions and other things are not so evident in everyday life.

But through these kinds of art forms you can really bring yourself out and see that, well, all the people are the same, there’s no need to be afraid and so strict about the behavior. And it’s easier to understand also other people through this kind of ways of expression.

This brings the true values of human life.

Folk dance is dance for everyone.

Let us now enjoy this performance by the Katrilli Folk Dance Group of Finland.

Our appreciation and best wishes to the Tsuumi Dance Company and the Katrilli Folk Dance Group for bringing feelings of joy and harmony to your audiences through the wonderful living world of Finnish folk dance.

For more information on the Tsuumi Dance Company and the Katrilli Folk Dance Group, please visit and Tsuumi Dance Company Katrilli Folk Dance Group

Thank you viewers for your pleasant company on this edition of Enlightening Entertainment. Up next is Words of Wisdom after Noteworthy News here on Supreme Master Television. May your spirit always be happy throughout the dance called life.