Tuesday 2 April 2024

Non-dancers and professional choreographer meet in Norrdans' community project

That everyone can express themselves through dance is something that Norrdans wants to focus on. In Härnösand, a project is currently underway where non-dancers work with choreographer Jonathan Starr to create together the performance "Rota runt på lämpligt sätt", which premieres on April 27.

Eleven people between the ages of 14 - 78 from Härnösand participate in Norrdans' community project KUDE - Kommunal Utåtriktad DansEnsemble, which after 15 weeks results in the performance Rota rant in an appropriate way. Jonathan Starr, who has been part of Norrdan's permanent ensemble for several years, is an English multidisciplinary artist who mainly works with movement and sound. Now he is the choreographer and leader of the work where the main task is to inspire the participants.

- It's so much fun! Jonathan is very good at creating a safe place where we as a group dare to improvise, test different approaches and try it out, says participant Eva Henning.

In community projects, artists work together with residents to highlight and reflect their history.

- It has been a joy to follow Jonathan's artistry over many seasons. To now experience this with a group of Härnösand residents feels both important and nice, says Martin Forsberg, director of dance.

Norrdans has previously worked with other community projects. The first project took place in 2020 and was given the name Öm.tåling with choreography by Maria Ulriksson. In 2022, a group of women together with the dance artist Polena Kolia Petersen created the project female (with) space.

The show Rota runt på lämpligt sätt has its world premiere on April 27 at 17:00 at Härnösand's library and will only be played on one occasion.