Mikko Niemistö is a choreographer and performer based in Helsinki, Finland. He creates stage pieces where different forms of art engage in dialogue, often with a special focus on sound and music. He graduated as a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography from Stockholm University of the Arts in 2017. In his works, Niemistö explores the formulation of the self through silent knowledge and accumulations of bodily memories. His interests lie in the shattered realities of contemporary culture and things that linger in the background, like noise and the flow of consciousness. He currently focuses on the shadow zones of everyday reality, like dreaming, protesting and the supernatural.
Niemistö's works have been shown at e.g. Zodiak (FI), Moving in November festival (FI), Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (FI) Inkonst (SE), far° festival (CH), CCN de Caen (FR) and ImPulsTanz festival (AT), where his solo work Odd Meters received the jury’s special mention in the [8:tension], young choreographer’s series in 2022.
In his upcoming stage work, Glass Eyes, Niemistö collaborates with dancer Marika Peura, stage and lighting designer Sofia Palillo and violinist Elias Riipinen, the piece places the human body at the intersection of science and mysticism. The performance is set to premiere in 2025.
Glass Eyes embraces the unknown and hidden parts of the body by emphasizing things like the pre-conscious, dreams and omens. It broadens the view of the human body from the capitalistic era to history before the scientific revolution, when the supernatural was more entangled with science and medicine.
Glass Eyes will be premiered in 2025 on Zodiak Stage.
