The objective of this thesis was to find out what kind of effects promotional activities of Tanssin Tiedostuskeskus at dance and performing arts platforms have on the field dance in Finland. The study focused especially on the effects of Internazionale Tanzmesse NRW in Germany and CINARS biennale in Canada and tried to find out whether there are any differences in the effects of these two. Participating in exhibitions requires a lot of resources from the participants so it’s important to know, what kind of results the exhibitions have and whether some exhibitions are more effective than the others.

The research material was collected through in-depth interviews. The representatives of three dance companies were chosen as interviewees. These companies had been taken part in exhibition activities of Tanssin Tiedotuskeskus for several years. Also the financial structure of these companies represents different methods of financing used in the dance field in Finland. The results of this study can’t be generalized to apply to the whole dance field of the country, because of the very small number of interviewees.

The result of the study was that the effects of the exhibitions activity of Tanssin Tiedotuskeskus happened on two levels. Firstly, decision of Tanssin Tiedotuskeskus to take part in certain exhibitions influences the dance groups’ readiness to participate in these exhibitions and to collaborate with other dance groups at the exhibition. Secondly, the participation in an exhibition influences the dance group’s activities. At the exhibitions the groups have a chance to network internationally, do sales work and expand their knowledge in international dance field by comparing their own activities to other groups. The location of the exhibition or the target group doesn’t make any exhibition better or worse than the others. Activities of dance groups and the target area determine which exhibitions are most useful to them.

According to the results of the research, exhibitions are important to the dance field in Finland, but it is difficult to name the exact effects of one exhibition since the effects usually appear slowly during a long period of time.