Saila Jantunen
vertical rope / Finland /
She secretly dreamed of becoming a circus performer all her life, but only at the age of 24 did she dare to go to her first workshop. It started out innocently as a hobby, but soon she quit university and enrolled in a circus school in Turku.
Balancing props inspired her from the very beginning. When she first tried slack rope, it felt absolutely impossible and she wanted to master it. She fell deeply in love with it and here she is still with her first love. She managed to create an original style characterized by energetic footwork combined with fast rhythmic jumps.
The visual dimensions, storytelling and limitless ways to express oneself inspire her in the contemporary circus.
She loves spending time out in nature and with animals and recharging her energy levels in the forest. Reading books take her to another world if she needs a pause from reality. She also runs her own business making handcrafted hobbyhorses which, as she claims, is pretty relaxing even though it’s her work.