TEMPO

KALLE NIO & FERNANDO MELO

Tempo is a captivating exploration of time: its acceleration, deceleration, and moments when it seems to stand still. At its core is a mundane event turned extraordinary, highlighting life’s fragility through moments of falling, stumbling, and near-accidents.

Directed by visual artist and magician Kalle Nio, with choreography by Fernando Melo and music by Samuli Kosminen, Tempo blends text, movement, and mesmerizing stage illusions where time reverses, gravity vanishes, and the laws of nature dissolve.

Dreamlike, wordless scenes alternate with rhythmic compositions for prepared metronomes and Harry Salmenniemi’s poignant text about time’s strange elasticity.

Through magic and movement, Tempo invites audiences to pause, reflect, and truly feel the present moment.

“Nio has created a new art form, one that questions reality itself.”

— Helsingin Sanomat

“One of the most remarkable contemporary circus performances in recent years.”

— Römpötti

Genre: Visual and physical theatre, dance, magic
Duration: 60 min
Recommended Age: 8+
Text: English, can be adapted in other languages
Capacity: 300-700
Stage: Minimum 13m x 12m, height at least 6m. Possibility for static aerial rigging point.
Touring party: 3 performers, 3 technicians (stage/light/sound), 1 director, 1 producer
Direction: Kalle Nio
Choreography: Fernando Melo
Text: Harry Salmenniemi
Performers: Barbara Kanc, Winston Reynolds, Luigi Sardone in alternance with Iiro Näkki
Music & Sound Design: Samuli Kosminen
Costume Design: Georgina Spencer
Lighting Design: Johannes Hallikas
Stage manager / rigger: Hedda Liukkala
Head of lighting: June Horton-White
Tour technician: Emilie Largier
Tour Booking & Management: Yellow Everything
Photography & Trailer: Kalle Nio
Production: WHS / Kalle Nio
Co-production: Helsinki Festival, Lutkovno Gledališče Ljubljana, Slovenia
Supported by: Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Saastamoinen Foundation
Best stage performance 2025, Hufvudstadsbladet
The Tempo team offers a wide range of wrap-around activities, including: post-show discussions, acrobatics workshops, dance workshops.
Available for all ages and levels.
Kalle Nio, director
Kalle Nio (b. 1982) is a stage director, visual artist and magician. He works in the fields of visual theater, experimental film, new magic, contemporary circus and visual arts. Nio's group WHS is one of the most internationally active Finnish performance art groups, with their works performed in over 200 different theatres in more than 40 countries. Nio has received several awards for his work in magic, visual arts, and stage productions. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Arts Helsinki.
The previous stage productions by Nio have been produced by, among others, Fondation d’entreprise Hermès / New Settings, Théâtre de la Cité internationale Paris, São Luiz Teatro Municipal Lisbon, Helsinki Festival, EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Kiasma-Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art, Kumu Art Museum - Estonia, Oulu Theatre, Trident – Scène Nationale de Cherbourg-Octeville.

www.kallenio.com
Fernando Melo, choreographer
Brazilian-born Fernando Melo has built his career in Europe as a dancer and choreographer. He often references magic and stage illusions in his works. Melo has choreographed for numerous high-profile dance companies such as GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Skånes Dansteater, National Dance Company Wales, Introdans (Netherlands), Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich, Luzerner Theater (Switzerland), Aterballetto (Italy), and Ballet Hispanico New York (U.S.A.). He has also choreographed for opera productions, including recent examples at Vocal Futures in London (U.K.), Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse (France), Oper Köln (Germany), La Monnaie in Brussels (Belgium), Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Italy), and the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen (Denmark).
www.fernando-melo.com
For more information, please contact Axel Satgé:
axel@yelloweverything.com.