Dance teacher and entrepreneur Aira Samulin changed Finnish dance culture significantly in the 80s.
Dance teacher and entrepreneur Aira Samulin died at the age of 96 on October 23. Samulin had time to make a considerable career during different decades. Antti Nikkanen
Aira Samulin’s death has touched many, as the multi-talented artist managed to work both as an entrepreneur and as a dance teacher for years. One of Samulin’s students is dance teacher and choreographer Marco Bjurström, who remembers Aira to Iltalehte.
Bjurström says that Samulin’s influence has been significant both in his life and in the Finnish dance world.
– I wouldn’t have worked in the field without Aira, he reveals.
Bjurström started at Aira’s dance school at the age of 12 in the famous 80s. At that time, there was a boom in dance and many dance performances were commissioned for various events, such as fashion shows. According to the dancer, companies were Aira’s most important clientele, and through Samulin’s dance school, she and many other young dancers were often able to perform.
– I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t become Aira’s student and performed. He was building me and my career, everything is thanks to Aira. Without him, my life would certainly be different, Marco describes.
An enabler
Although Samulin was strict and demanding for the young dancers, he made it possible for the dancers to get responsibility and to perform at important events. That’s why Bjurström prefers to use the word enabler rather than coach or teacher.
– There you got support and felt that you could succeed as a teenager. For our 80s generation, he created opportunities, Marco describes Aira’s dance school.
With the dance school, Bjurström’s own career as a performer started at the age of 16. He performed in the Rytmikäkat group, most of whose members stayed in the industry thanks to Aira. The group performed at many events and with various public figures.
For that, both Marco and many other members of the group are grateful to the dance legend.
– We were really privileged, because we could realize big dreams and build what we wanted on stage, because Aira encouraged us. His words had a great impact.
If you don’t see the embed, you can watch it from here.
Dance pioneer
Bjurström says that Aira had a lot of influence not only on dancers but also on the dance genres danced in Finland. Samulin traveled a lot and brought entertaining dances, such as the current commercial dance, to Finland in the 60s. He always taught new patterns to his students.
Samulin’s work was career-breaking, because in the 60s there was no platform, such as the Internet, from which to learn different dance styles, but to learn them you had to travel and learn. Bjurström describes Aira as having been a significant factor in Finnish dance in this respect.
– In his time, Aira linked Finland to that big world and brought world-popular dances to Finland with fast tempo and rhythm, Marco describes Samulin’s influence on dance.
The same passion was also visible in Aira’s entrepreneurship, as she acted purposefully with her dance school and organizing performances.
– In this sense, he has given Finnish dancers and dance makers more than any other person.
According to Marco, Aira was a strict business woman. Behind the happy facade, other emotions were also visible, which made Aira a humane and likeable person. ANNA JOUSILAHTI
Entertainment world
Over the years, there are many memories that take place precisely in Bjurström’s teenage years and the early stages of her career as a dancer. Bjurström laughs that the young dancers were able to skip the queues and dance at the nightclub during the hottest disco time when Aira was there.
The dancers also helped with the transformation of Hyrsylä’s bend, and Marco remembers them arranging Aira’s famous flower cups in a row.
When the dance school ceased operations, Aira encouraged Bjurström to found his own dance school. With Aira’s so-called blessing, StepUp was born, which Bjurström founded together with two other former students of Aira.
The entrepreneurs of the dance school, which started in the early 90s, have wanted to continue in Aira’s footsteps. They want the dance school to be a springboard for young people who dream of a career as a dancer and performer. Because Aira himself provided a springboard for numerous dancers through his school and teaching, especially in the 80s and 90s.
– We would hardly have gotten to these jobs without Aira’s school and that show life. We have tried to continue the same atmosphere and sense of community with our own dance school, Marco reflects.
Gratitude is the overriding emotion of all. Aira made it possible for many young people to have a career in dance, and Marco wants to follow in his footsteps, because through Aira he himself got a springboard for his career in the entertainment world.
For Marco, his teenage years in dance were significant. Aira Samuli and the events organized by her laid the foundation for Marco’s career, for which he is grateful. Jussi Eskola