Outi Elena Valanto Gerberding

 

is a Finnish choreographer, dancer, cultural manager and art researcher (University of Lapland) based in Germany. Her doctoral research investigates how dance-based, embodied methodologies can enhance host institutions' and individuals' capacity to support artists at risk and from vulnerable conditions. It introduces the concept of embodied hosting, framing hosting as an embodied, relational, and ethical practice informed by dance phenomenology and arts-based research. Grounded in the understanding that safety is fundamentally embodied and co-regulated between nervous systems, the research examines how the host's own somatic presence, bodily responses, nervous system states, and capacity for attunement directly shape the relational ethics of support. Through three case studies applying movement-based methods with cultural institutions across Europe, the study explores how dance-based practices can help hosts understand displaced artists' emotional realities through somatic attunement and non-verbal interaction, reconfigure hierarchical host–guest dynamics, and develop trauma-sensitive institutional care practices. The research contributes to dance studies, trauma-informed arts practice, and cultural policy by placing care, embodiment, and empathy at the heart of cultural work in times of crisis.

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Valanto's artistic practice combines artistic and scientific methods, addressing pressing societal issues. Her focus lies on creating tangible and distinct shared experiences, staging her work across public spaces, galleries, theatres, and intimate settings to foster direct audience relations. Through embodied practices, she cultivates collectiveness and empathy by involving diverse participants, from professionals to inclusive groups.

Valanto's journey navigating the limitations of a congenital physical condition as a dancer has deepened her commitment to strengthening marginalised voices. Whether creating performances or producing cultural projects, her work explores how art can challenge societal structures and create transformative, transparent, and safe spaces. Her projects, widely presented across Europe, include choreographies, cultural productions, residency management for artists in crisis, and participatory public interventions, all aimed at nurturing dialogue, resilience, and creative expression for underrepresented voices.

“The foundation of all is always the body, the first entity humans have, with it and through it, we perceive the world. “