Performances and choreographic work

dancer and co-choreographer

GRASP

GRASP is a multidisciplinary performance research project exploring the perception of time through movement, sound, and projection. Developed collaboratively by Ada Freund (concept & producer), Menni Renvall (scenography & film/projections), and performers Ada Freund, Lisa Nicatore, Johanna Spies, and Julie Pollet, the piece investigates how we experience and grasp time in its fluid, intangible form.

During a residency at rezi.dance in the Czech Republic (Sep–Oct 2025), the artists will deepen this dialogue across disciplines to create an immersive, sensory performance. GRASP invites audiences to question what captures their attention in time’s passing and how perception shapes lived experience.

artistic direction, co-choreographer and dancer

was wir sagen, was wir meinen und was bleibt

"Don’t you sometimes catch yourself thinking: everything used to be better, simpler, clearer? Welcome, then, to the endgame of hetero normative nostalgia - your very own trad-wife-fever dream - a place where men can be men, and women can be women. WAS WIR SAGEN, WAS WIR MEINEN UND WAS BLEIBT, choreographed and performed by Johanna Spies and Yamuna Henriques, slices into traditional gender roles with AI projections, a great deal of seriousness, and just as much irony."

New commissioned work for ELAN - Exit Like an Animal with the premier at the Hamburger Sprechwerk in October 2025

Responsible for concept, direction, costume design and sound design

dancer and co-choreographer

HAMPAMPAM

Dance theater piece Journey to Hampampam is based on author Ville Hytönen’s children’s book The Land Called Hampampam (Tammi, 2023). The book is illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats.

The stories highlight equality, the importance of communication, and empathy. The world of the book is written in a fascinating, nonsense-inspired poetic language; according to the author, many of its expressions come directly from children’s own words – which makes it full of surprising twists.

Dance and theatre engage in dialogue with the tales, creating a bubbling and joyful dance experience for the whole family!

​Ada Freund, artistic direction, dancer, costume design

Johanna Spies, dancer

Francis Maskens, dancer

Mari-Helen Hyvärinen, actress

Taina-Maaria Rautasuo, producer

Toured in Northern Finland 14-23.9.2025

Supported by

Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Samuel Huber Art Foundation, Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth, Stiftelsen Kvarteret Victoria, Vantaa Dance Institute

dancer

Secrets of the Attic

Four children meet in a mysterious attic. What magical treasures will they uncover?

And what is that curious rustling sound - where is it coming from?

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Choreography, direction, costume, scenography: Ada Freund

Performers:

Ada Freund

Andrea Aguado Martin

Julie Pollet

Johanna Spies

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Supported by:

DIALOGIA! -FESTIVAL (FI) & ALLI PAASIKIVI FOUNDATION (FI)

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Performances:

7.11.2025 Malmitalo, Helsinki (FI)

8.11.2025 Children’s Saturday, Salo (FI)

16.03.2025 Children’s cultural center Färi, Timantti-teatteri, Turku (FI)

​18.03.2025 Children’s cultural center Aurora, Espoo (FI)

14.4.2024 Hämeenlinna Theater, Dialogia! -festivaali (FI)

"Secrets of the Attic" is a playful journey into the world of imagination and discovery. Through dance and theatre, the piece follows its characters as they encounter objects in the attic, sending them on unexpected adventures. With a focus on siblinghood, togetherness, and the magic of wonder, the performance invites audiences of all ages to step inside and let the adventure unfold.

dancer and co-choreographer

Edith

EDITH! is a performance based on the poet Edith Södergran, her life and diverse poetry. In the multidisciplinary work, through Södergran' s production, the social and cultural atmosphere of her time is explored through dance, poetry and music.

Edith Södergran belongs to the most in the area of ​​poetry and opened the ways to see world differently; the Queer world was something Edith actively brought up in their work. The movement language communicates with both theater and music, bringing the brightness of Edith's life and work alive.

Performers and creators:

Suvi Blick

Johanna Spies

Ada Freund

Pia Freund

Louna Hosia

Taina-Maaria Rautasuo

Performances:

10.5.2024 at Fyyri, Kirkkonummi (FI)

12.5.2024 at Hämeenlinnan Palokunnantalo (FI)

12.3.2025 at Porvoon Taidetehdas (FI)

6.11.2025 at Hämeenlinnan Palokunnantalo (FI)

dancer and co-choreographer

Ciclo I

Co-choreographed duo in collaboration with Flamenco dancer Malin Wiebe

Festivals and Performances:

ONE MORE NIGHT TO SHOW (Madrid '23)

SHD (Hamburg '24)

solo project since 2021

CROW

Festival selection:

Dance.Impro.Space (Madrid '23)

Hop's and Bop's (Leeds, UK '22)

FlockFest (Leeds, UK '22)

dancer and performer

En relación con el otro

2023-24 company dancer of Cia Monica Arroyo

dancer and performer

Las descalzas

Choreographed by: Alejandro Moya

Working period: September-December 2023

performer

Back to the Fuchsia II

Artistic Directors: Dr. Joseph Mercier and Imogen Reeve (2022)

performer and choreographer

Are you tired?

Third Year immersive and participatory performance experiment which took place at the backstage area of the Riley Theater at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (2022)

choreographer

The Lobster

Second Year choreography at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (2021)

co-director

The Lunch Break Experience

An interactive online experience developed with a group of fellow students in the first year at Northern School of Contemporary Dance during the Covid pandemic

dancer

Der Flug

Dancer for THE CURRENT DANCE COLLECTIVE'S production of "Der Flug" (2018)

Choreographed by Suse Tietjen