Pirjo Yli-Maunula

Defined by colleagues as “a charismatic performer” and “an arresting presence on stage”, Pirjo Yli-Maunula is not afraid to put herself on the line in her work. Yli-Maunula will throw herself completely at any given production while maintaining a characteristic precision and clarity of movement. Her work is defined by sensuality and attention to detail. Yli-Maunula strives to create complete, meticulous works of art which nevertheless build upon improvisation and spur-of-the-moment insight. The touchstones of her work are rapture, passion, determination and persistence.
Yli-Maunula takes part in many collaborations both in Finland and internationally. She loves to travel, and typically spends four months out of a year on tour and in residency. Yli-Maunula has performed in Mexico, Venezuela, South Korea, Russia, Canada, and in several European countries.
Yli-Maunula feels especially at home with multi-disciplinary and collaborative works, and has worked with artists in the fields of video, music, photography, new circus, theater, literature, games, new media, as well as costume, light and sound design.
In addition to creating a substantial body of work, Yli-Maunula has excelled in developing the infrastructure for dance in Northern Finland since the early 1980’s. She held an executive position at the dance studio Oulun Tanssistudio, co-founded the dance instructor program at the Oulu Conservatory as Guiding Regional Artist for dance at the Oulu Regional Arts Council, co-founded JoJo – Oulu Dance Centre, and was the artistic director for Full Moon Dance Festival. In 2006, Yli-Maunula co-founded a production company, Flow Productions, with dancer Maria Littow.
In 1998, Yli-Maunula was awarded a 3-year artist grant of the Arts Council of Oulu province and in 2001 a 5-year artist grant of the Arts Council of Finland. In 2005, she got the Oulu City Culture Award and in 2008, she was awarded by the Union of Finnish Dance Artists for her achievements in the field of dance (Tanssin Mainetekopalkinto). In 2009 she was awarded a 2-year artist grant of the Arts Council of Oulu province and 2011 a one year grant of the Arts Council for Dance. Yli-Maunula is the first recipient of the title “Artist of the Year” as selected by the city of Oulu in 2011.

• Flow Productions - Administrative head