When Finnish progressive metal sensation, Rioghan took the stage at ANKEA Festival, fans were introduced to a new, recently added… Let’s say “element”, that added an entirely different dimension to the band’s already captivating live performance.

That element was Hannah.

Part dancer, part storyteller, and now a familiar face alongside vocalist Rioghan Darcy, Hannah’s presence on stage felt so natural that many audience members could have been forgiven for assuming she had always been part of the band’s world.

Yet the collaboration began in a surprisingly simple way.

According to Rioghan Darcy, the idea was born when the band started preparing for live performances. Wanting to bring more visual expression to the stage, she approached Hannah, who runs a dance studio near her hometown.

“I thought I needed something to do on stage because I’m kind of an awkward person,” Rioghan Darcy laughs. “At first, I was thinking about simple choreography, but then the ideas just snowballed.“

What started as a few movement ideas eventually evolved into a full creative partnership.

For Hannah, dancing has been a lifelong passion. From childhood dreams of performing on large stages to years spent developing her craft as both a dancer and coach, the opportunity felt like a natural extension of who she is.

“I’ve been dancing my whole life,” she explains. “Even as a child I would watch huge concerts and think, ‘One day I want to dance on a stage like that.’“

At ANKEA Festival, that dream became reality.

Watching the performance, one thing became immediately apparent: this was not a traditional singer-and-dancer dynamic. Rather than simply supporting the performance from the background, Hannah and the voice of Rioghan seemed to move as equal creative forces, sometimes leading, sometimes following, and often appearing to communicate without words.

Interestingly, neither of them consciously planned it that way.

“We just read each other somehow,” Hannah says. “Even when we don’t know exactly what the other person is going to do, we know.“

Rioghan Darcy agrees.

“It’s a chemistry thing. Sometimes we improvise, sometimes we follow the choreography, but we always seem to find each other.”

That chemistry was impossible to ignore during the festival performance. At times Hannah danced alone, creating visual interpretations of the music. At others, she and Rioghan Darcy interacted directly, transforming songs into miniature theatrical pieces. Rather than distracting from the music, the choreography amplified its emotional impact.

In fact, while Rioghan’s music often explores heavy themes, the addition of movement seemed to create a sense of liberation rather than darkness.

When asked about the emotions she felt during the performance, Rioghan Darcy describes it simply:

“There was a feeling of freedom somehow.”

The collaboration has been developing for several years, with the current live set taking months of rehearsals to perfect. Despite the success of the partnership, Hannah will not appear at every Rioghan show.

The reason is practical rather than artistic.

Some venues simply do not offer enough space to fully realize the visual concept the pair have created together. Rather than scaling down the performance, the band prefers to carefully select the shows where Hannah can be part of the experience.

Still, after witnessing the performance at ANKEA Festival, it is difficult to imagine the visual side of Rioghan’s world without her.

In a genre where live performances often rely solely on lights and stage production, Hannah adds something increasingly rare: a human element that transforms songs into living stories.

More than a dancer, she has become part of the language through which Rioghan’s music speaks, turning emotion into motion and allowing the songs to breathe beyond the stage through the captivating poetry of movement.

Written by Ditty
Photos: Péter Tepliczky / Pekkagraphy