Five Questions With Dancer Oskari Nyyssölä

Oskari Nyyssölä graduated as a dancer from The Finnish National Opera Ballet School in 2015. Apart from working as a freelancer, he has been dancing for companies such as Tero Saarinen Company in Helsinki and Compagnie Thor in Brussels. In his own movement, he is interested in improvisation and uses it as a tool for creation as well.

What's your story so far?

I was a very active kid, always doing sports and always dancing. Contemporary dance was a hobby that I loved, but I was not planning to make a career out of it. However, when I was studying in a dance high school, I realized that it had started to become something I really wanted to pursue. At the age of 18, I began my studies at The Finnish National Opera Ballet School from which I graduated almost three years ago. While in the ballet school, I started to do modeling as well, and I’m still doing it on the side while dancing professionally. At the moment, I live in Brussels and work for a dance company.

What is one of your most defining moments in life?

I'd say one of the most defining moments must have been the start of my professional training at the ballet school. I hadn't really done proper ballet training before, and I barely got in. I was told that I really needed to work my ass off just to be able to get along. So I did; First year I was taking extra ballet classes in the evenings with 11-year-old kids who were way better than I was, and I was always doing some extra work, stretching etc. I guess it paid off. 

What brings you the greatest joy?

It makes me extremely happy to be able to do what I love for living, and to be surrounded by interesting people, the people I love. Being able to travel quite a lot and learn about new interesting things, cultures and different ways of living brings me a great amount of joy in my life.

What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

I'm also into making music. I started playing the guitar when I was a teenager and at the age of 15 I started writing my own songs. We have an electro pop duo called Kalle Och Gunnar with a close friend of mine, and we're actually going to release our first EP this month, it can be found on Spotify.

What quote do you live by?

Don't be interesting, be interested.

Watch the exclusive video featuring dancer Oskari Nyyssölä, shot in Finnish Archipelago by Niko Mitrunen.

All clothes by Marta Jakubowski.