Everybody Dance!

Everybody Dance! is an exhibition about dancing. Dance creates and strengthens identity. Dance traditions are passed down from generation to generation. New fashion dances are born and spread instantly across the globe via the internet. Some are forgotten as quickly as they were born, others seem to last for decades.

Dance is both an intimate and collective form of interaction, with the body at its centre. The body carries with it knowledge and skills that can be difficult or even impossible to articulate. Dancing together allows for non-verbal encounters and shared experiences. Experiences become memories, and memories are allowed to rest in the body.

The exhibition looks back at the dance hits of recent years, explores dance traditions from different countries and cultures, and the communities and phenomena that have grown up around dance. In Finland, the exhibition includes a visit to the Mummodisco (senior disco), a folk dance event and the Tango Festival in Seinäjoki, from which we jump to Swedish polska and Sámi sydis, Latin salsa, African dances and Middle Eastern dabke.

And the exhibition is not just about visiting and exploring, but of course dancing! You can try the movement yourself, dance along, participate. You can dance everywhere: in the ballroom, in the kitchen, in the forest - and in the museum. And most importantly: everyone can dance!