A look at some of the highlights of this season’s Finnish National Ballet performances.

An unusual blend of rock and contemporary ballet comes to the Finnish stage this autumn in the form of Black Water, a contemporary ballet set to music by Finnish metal band Nightwish, arranged for symphony orchestra. On show as part of the Finnish National Ballet's (FNB) autumn programme, this unusual fusion of art forms will be performed by visiting dance troupe, the Skåne Dansteater company, the largest private dance company in Sweden.

THIS Friday sees New Zealand indie pop stars The Ruby Suns taking the stage at Korjaamo Culture Factory in Helsinki. Playing in support of their recent release Fight Softly, the band arrives to Finland in the midst of a successful European tour.

Moving to Auckland after travelling extensively through Africa and Thailand, Californian Ryan McPhun played in a number of bands including The Brunettes, The Tokey Tones and the Reduction Agents, before eventually establishing The Ruby Suns in 2004.

RENOWNED trio the Icelandic Love Corporation (ILC)’s new exhibition TIGHT opened last Friday 20 August at Helsinki’s Amos Anderson Art museum.

Referring to skin-tight pantyhose the exhibition utilises nylon in a cocktail of different manners: as material and subject-matter, and also in costumes.

Comprising Eirún Sigurðardóttir, Jóní Jónsdóttir and Sigrún Hrólfsdóttir, the ILC trio has worked together since 1996. Creating performances that incorporate a wide spectrum of expression including installations, sculptures, prints, textiles, photographs and videos, ILC wraps serious social, existential and political commentary in often absurdist humour.

A wealth of classic and contemporary opera is on show in Helsinki this autumn.

The Finnish National Opera comes back from the summer break with a new season packed with classics, international artists and new Finnish productions.

Tchaikovsky’s magnificent Eugene Onegin opens the autumn season at the Finnish National Opera with a line-up of top-quality soloists, including the brilliant Tommi Hakala and Soile Isokoski, who star as the main couple.

GOOD things come in threes, right? Cinema is no different with a number of sterling trilogies finding a suitable balance between the beginning, middle and end. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is perhaps the most famous recent example, but how about The Godfather trilogy, or Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours? And let’s not forget Christopher Nolan’s upcoming new Batman film which joins Batman Begins and The Dark Knight to complete his planned threesome.

But things unfortunately don’t always go so smoothly – take George Lucas’ Star Wars, for example. The original movies were three groundbreaking moments in cinema history, replete with a winning cocktail of dazzling special effects and memorable characters.

THIS Friday and Saturday nights sees Irish super group U2 appearing at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, bringing with them the live spectacular of their U2 360° Tour. One of the most successful bands of all time, the band has sold more than 150 million records worldwide and has won 22 Grammy Awards.

Performing in support of their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the band has previously only played in Finland twice: back in 1982 and also when their controversial PopMart tour rolled into town in August 1997.

OFFERING cinema lovers the opportunity to sample some of the best films from around the world, the annual Espoo Ciné film festival gets underway 20 August. Screening for ten days, this year the festival opens with Fatih Akin’s Soul Kitchen, a music-driven comedy about a Greek restaurateur taking place in the director’s hometown of Hamburg.

Approximately 100 feature films will be screened at the newly-renovated Kino Tapiola, the Espoo Cultural Centre and the Bio Rex Sello in Leppävaara, with a focus on new European drama.

A NEW exhibition is opening at Tennispalatsi this Friday, showcasing some of the best of South Africa’s artistic talent.

The first major review of the work of key South African artists in Finland, Peekaboo-Current South Africa draws attention to recent South African history, reflecting the still-present scars of apartheid, which formally ended in 1994.

As one of the most important art centres on the African continent, South Africa has served as a springboard for numerous top names in contemporary art. The exhibition features pieces by several established names, alongside the work of ...

CINEMA history is punctuated by films in which the shared chemistry of its leading stars has propelled the movie into classic status: Gone With the Wind, Bonnie and Clyde – even Tom Hanks and Wilson the volleyball in Cast Away captured the hearts of cinema goers. Tom Hanks and the dog from Turner and Hooch, however, is another thing altogether.

This week sees a trio of films relying on the dynamic duos of their leading stars.

First up is the unfortunate pairing of Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher in the romantic/action/comedy Killers. Here Heigl continues to drain the goodwill accumulated from Knocked Up, hooking up with former hitman Kutcher for a number of unfunny hijinks involving mistaken identity, love and murder. Hmm.

AMERICAN indie rock group OK Go arrives to Finland for the first time next week. The four strong band has been touring around Europe over the summer, making Finland their final stop before returning back to the US.

OK Go was originally formed in 1998 in Chicago. The group has since relocated to the City of Angels and seen the change of one its members. The band shot to an international breakthrough with its second album Oh No in 2005, much to the gain of the music video of the album single Here it Goes Again. The exceptional video became one of the most watched YouTube music videos of all time and the band was also granted a Grammy award for the video.