Tua Helve

Dr Tua Helve is a researcher, costume designer, and educator in the performing arts. Her doctoral dissertation, Costume Design and Collaboration in Finnish Contemporary Dance in the Early Twenty-First Century (Aalto University, Finland, 2022, supervised by Prof. Pantouvaki ), explored underexamined aspects of contemporary choreography. These included the use of everyday clothing as costume, the formative role of costume in dance performance, and the designer’s perspective on the far-reaching impact of sustainable collaboration in performance-making. Her research has been published in journals such as Scene, Studies in Costume & Performance, Choreographic Practices, and the Nordic Journal of Dance, in English, and in Finnish, in Näyttämö ja tutkimus (Stage and Research).

Expanding her focus from dance and choreography to live performance more broadly, Tua’s postdoctoral research interests include artistic co-creation, contemporary process-based working methods, independent artists’ practices, artistic thinking, and feminist theory and practice. Her practice-based expertise stems from collaborations in independent dance and performance, particularly with the performance group Oblivia. She regularly lectures and mentors students at academic institutions internationally and is actively involved in academic publishing.

From 2013 to 2023, Tua was a long-term member of CiF, contributing actively especially during her doctoral studies at Aalto University. She participated in group planning, initiatives, and discussions, including the development of the group’s working structures and the organization of the national Costume and Research in Finland seminar. Amog the areas she particularly valued during her time with CiF were establishing peer support practices and sharing insights with early-career colleagues.