The Yksin Sateessa festival is a meeting place for Eastern Finnish, national, and international artists in Joensuu. Every year, Yksin Sateessa presents a high-quality and diverse overview of contemporary dance in North Karelia. This year, the festival returns to its roots and presents six solo works by individual dancers on the stages and in the main library in Joensuu.

Maria Nurmela's solo work "As you like it" is a captivating farewell to tights, tutús and cuckoo clocks—a poignant homage to dance history, memory, and the inevitable passage of time. Maria Nurmela
The work's title refers to William Shakespeare's famous play of the same name, which explores themes of identity, societal roles, and personal choices. Through movement, objects, and symbols, Nurmela highlights the theme of freedom of choice: the possibility of interpreting and experiencing life in one's own way. Maria Nurmela
This intensely personal and evocative solo invites audiences to reflect on transformation and legacy, exploring the traces we leave behind and the memories that shape us. The work was developed in collaboration with Argentine-Belgian choreographer Lisi Estaras Circusdance, bringing together two internationally renowned dance artists who celebrate the long careers of mature female performers in contemporary dance.
With sound design by Jaakko Vastapuu and lighting design by Erno Seppälä Maria Nurmela, the performance creates an intimate space where personal history intertwines with the broader narrative of dance itself—honouring the past while embracing the freedom to choose one's own path forward.
Having premiered in January 2025 at Turku City Theatre, "As you like it" continues to tour, bringing Nurmela's distinctive artistic voice and decades of performance experience to audiences across Finland and beyond.