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Maria Rutanen

Dance Artist

Maria Rutanen (FI) is a dance artist, teacher, and choreographer. Her approach to dance and choreography has been influenced by various somatic practices, instant composition, and contact improvisation. She holds a Master’s degree in choreography from the Inter-University Center for Dance Berlin (HZT).

In contact improvisation, she is interested in the effortless sharing of weight, the ability to suspend, expand and soften in movement, and how the body sensitizes to another body. Several years of contact improvisation dance practice have deepened her understanding of the impact of touch and being touched on movement and being human.

She creates her choreographic work and collaborates with other artists and musicians, mostly in Berlin where she lives. Currently, her interest is discovering how artistic work can engage people in kinesthetic, creative, and critical thinking together. She is intrigued by how the practice of art can be a practice of collectivity and care.

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