Biography    CV

Nina Hyvärinen (born April 4th 1971 in Helsinki, Finland) started at the age nine training in the Finnish National Ballet School. At the age of 19 she joined the company. Her debut performance was the title role in Giselle (Coralli/Pierrot/Petipa) in 1991.

The turning point in Hyvärinen´s early career was in 1993 the dual role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky/Bourmeister) which she performed in the inauguration of the new Opera House in Helsinki. As a Finnish National Ballet´s top-ranking female dancer she has performed various significant main roles of classical ballets.

In 1997 in Paris Hyvärinen started to work with choreographer Carolyn Carlson and her company performing around Europe. In 1999 Carolyn Carlson created a solo Freddo dell' Acqua (Coldness of the Water) for Hyvärinen which she performed in the Goldoni Theatre in Venice as a part of the dance programme of Biennale di Venezia.

She was touring also together with Carolyn Carlson´s group Spiritual Warriors together with Talia Paz, Tero Saarinen and Yutaka Takei.

In Finland Nina Hyvärinen has worked together especially with choreographers Jorma Uotinen and Tero Saarinen.

In the end of 90´s she started to seek new experiences and influences to her artistic work. In 1996 she was performing as a visiting solo dancer in Centro Pro Danza Havana, Cuba. In 1998 she became acquainted with mohini attam in Kerala India and in 2002 Hyvärinen was traveling in Guinea West Africa learning the roots and tradition of African rhythm, music and dance.

From 2004 Hyvärinen moved for a year to Tokyo to study Butoh and traditional Japanese dance. To learn tradition of the Noh-theatre and dance she studied with the Japanese Noh-master Hideo Kanze in his Tessenkai Company in Tokyo.

From 2002 Hyvärinen has been working more and more as a freelance performer and choreographer seeking her own language of movements and artistic expression. She is today focusing her work on contemporary dance as a choreographer and as a dancer. She has made cooperation e.g. with company Gruppen Fyra from Helsinki.

In 2000 she received the Flower of Dance by Phipil Morris which is one of the most prestigious acknowledgements of dance in Finland.