Bio

Tommi Kitti’s gifts as a dancer are unique; they encompass not only a superb facility for movement and a command of various dance styles, but also an ability to convey deep feelings and ideas through dance. Tommi Kitti’s kinetic virtuosity, unerring musicality and human attitude towards dance have earned him a place among the foremost names of Finnish and international contemporary dance.

Tommi Kitti began his career as dancer in the early 1970s. He has worked as dancer and choreographer with, among others, the Helsinki City Theatre Dance Company, the Cullberg Ballet, Raatikko Dance Theatre and the Finnish National Ballet.

Concurrently with his career as a dancer, Tommi Kitti has created over 40 choreographic works since 1975. These include Loviisa, a work based on the well-known Finnish Niskavuori plays, featuring music by Eero Hämeenniemi and choreographed for the Finnish National Ballet in 1987; and Leonardo, to music of the same composer, created as a commission for the Helsinki Festival in 1996. In 2000, Tommi Kitti’s Still Life for Four Dancers was awarded the Special Jury Prize in the Rencontres Chorègraphiques Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis choreography competition.

Since 2000, Mr. Kitti has directed his own dance company, Tommi Kitti & Co. The latest ensemble works created for the company are In the Wrong Key (2003), A piece for a small stage (2004) and Leap (2005).

Tommi Kitti has been granted the highest artists’ awards in Finland, including the Finnish National Arts Award in 2000 and the Pro Finlandia medal in 2003.

Over the last decade, Mr. Kitti has, in addition to his work as dancer, choreographer and teacher, further refined the core areas of his artistic vision. Through this process, he has developed an increasing interest in the possibilities of improvisation. Tommi Kitti is a popular guest artist at various improvisation performances, at which his inimitable presence enthralls each new audience.