This open call seeks proposals for premiere productions in the Zodiak CoCommission category for the year 2028. A maximum of one project will be selected for this category.

Zodiak CoCommission is a production category in which selected works will have their Helsinki premiere primarily at the Pannu hall stage of Dance House Helsinki, or alternatively in the Erkko Hall. Zodiak CoCommission category is directed towards artists who already have some experience and who work permanently in Finland.

Through this category, Zodiak aims to present contemporary dance at Dance House Helsinki that is bold in expression, diverse in form, and uncompromising in artistic quality—and works that can engage a wide range of audiences. The category also enables longer-term planning, both in terms of artistic content and production resources.

In this category, project proposals are also evaluated for their potential within an international production context. The goal is to find international co-production and collaboration partners already during the pre-production phase, thus building a longer life cycle for the work beyond the premiere period.

CoCommission support includes:

Production Support

  • €10 500 (VAT 0%) in residency support during the year prior to the premiere
  • €44 000 (VAT 0%) in co-production support in the premiere year

Production Work

  • Artistic, production, and technical support
  • Rehearsal space and two stage residencies during the production phase
  • Performance venue, technical equipment, and a negotiated amount of technical staff

Audience Engagement and Mentoring

  • Audience engagement actions and events aimed at reaching new audience groups
  • Mentoring support led by the Artistic Director

Promotion and Touring Support

  • General marketing and communications (e.g. promotional and performance photography, teaser video, documentation of the work)
  • Support for sales and finding co-production partners (e.g. contacting and meeting with international contatcs, presentation events, inviting international programmers to performances)
  • International promotion and marketing (e.g. creating additional materials tailored for international communications and sales)
  • Touring support for up to 3 years after the premiere period

The target is 4–8 performances, primarily at Dance House Helsinki (either stage). The audience target for CoCommission productions is between 1 700 and 2 800 spectators, depending on the venue.

The deadline for CoProduction applications is Thursday, 9 October, 2025. Please submit your application in this category by filling in the form behind this link:
https://survey.gruppo.fi/zodiak/index.php/599516?lang=en

Co-production agreements are no longer be concluded with private individuals, but the working groups selected for CoCommission must have a registered legal entity as a partner at the time of the conclusion of the co-production agreement, which can act as Zodiak's contractual partner and invoice Zodiak for the co-production support.

We will examine, together with the productions selected for the programme, the realistic possibilities of realising the production along the way, up to the signing of the co-production contract. Until then, programming decisions are conditional.We recommend taking this into account when discussing with potential working group members. The co-productions agreements are signed approximately one year before the premiere date.

For more infromation, please contact:

Jenni-Elina von Bagh, Artistic Director, jenni-elina@zodiak.fi
Tommi Kokkonen, Producer, tommi.kokkonen@zodiak.fi