Yuha Pihanen

Yuha (Juha) Pihanen was born on December 26, 1968, in Hollola, Finland. His father, Veikko Pihanen was a 10th generation farmer and a vivid inventor, his mother Anneli a former laboratory technician. As the only child Pihanen was destined to take over the estate that has run in the family since 1665. After graduating High School he started studying agriculture, marketing and communications at the University of Helsinki. Having danced from childhood, Pihanen joined Finland's professional folk dance ensemble Katrilli, while still studying. A couple of years later he was one of the founders of a new professional ensemble, Kipera, also running it for a couple of years. Pihanen took over the farm while still studying. He took care of the fields in the Summer and started working on arts and sports projects in the Winter. As most Finns, he also took the semi-mandatory military service and became a 2nd Ltn of the cavalry. After renting out his fields in 2003, Pihanen started studying musical theatre at Lahti University of Applied Sciences. A 10-week Summer course took him to Stella Adler Studio of acting, which he graduated two years later. After receiving no work permit in the US, he moved to Berlin and later London. He also started producing musical theatre in Finland. Pihanen's first ever theatre experience was in the children's chorus in Verdi's opera Othello. His TV debut was in the music video "Juhannustanssit" (Midsummer Night's Dance) produced for Finnish MTV3. His first role on professional stage was in the musical Zorba and first professional TV commercial for Ryobi+ tools.