Dear subscribers, colleagues and friends all over the World,

Please get the latest news from the North in May. Our MADEIN the Nordic Countries members have been hit hard by the corona virus, as most of the performing arts in the world. How do they handle the new changed reality? How do they let their creativity flourish in these difficult times? How do they make the most of the time in waiting, of an artistic life on pause? How do they communicate with their audiences when live communication has been made almost impossible? Read and get inspired. There is loads of vitality out there.

This Newsletter is dedicated to our long term member Lena Josefsson, who as a choreographer thought globally and acted locally. She was interested in the defenceless and lonely, but also the fantastic and beautiful. She was a researcher in our joint quest here on earth. Thank you Lena, for all the inspiration, leadership and innovation you brought wherever you roamed! You will be missed. Your struggle for broader views and internationalization will not be forgotten. 

Åsa Edgren, CEO and Managing Director Loco World, Stockholm, Sweden.

TANZMESSE 2020 CANCELLED
 

The internationale tanzmesse nrw will not take place in Düsseldorf  (DE) as planned from 26-30 August 2020. Due to the measurements taken by the German federal and state governments to contain the COVID-19 pandemic no large events and festivals are allowed to take place in Germany before 31 August 2020.

The organizer nrw landesbuero tanz, in close co-operation with its national and international funding bodies, partners and partner venues are now evaluating the options for the next edition of internationale tanzmesse nrw - whether Tanzmesse would be postponed to 2021 or whether a new edition of Tanzmesse should take place in 2022. Read more here.

JO STRØMGREN KOMPANI
 - Publishing weird films for weird times
 

Even though most of the world has come to a grinding halt, Jo Strømgren Kompani is at full throttle. Two artists meet for the first time. No preparations. Let’s see what happens!

JSK CORONA SESSIONS marks their busiest production period ever, aiming to publish a new film every week as long as the corona situation persists. Weird films for weird times.

The concept is risky – let two artists meet for the first time, on a stage with set design, costumes, lighting design, a prop or two, and let’s see what happens. Not a big deal one could say, but if you restrict any preparations, add 4 cameras and shout “ACTION!” they quickly realize there is no safety net and things start to happen. The initiative is to facilitate the spontaneous and the unexpected, and maybe get back to moments we seemed to miss in the well-coordinated and predictable pre-Corona times. The series is a great way to experience a broad variety of Norwegian artists and maybe get a grip on what Nordic creativity is about.

JSK CORONA SESSIONS is co-produced by Dansens Hus, Oslo (NO), and in collaboration with their long-time partner Millimedia. Watch the sessions here.

Find out more about Jo Strømgren Kompani at madeintheweb.com

ICELAND DANCE COMPANY
- Rehearsing ROMEO + JULIET with a two meter distance
 

A ban of mass gatherings and the two meter social distancing was implemented early on by the Icelandic authorities and has naturally had its effect on Iceland Dance Company. However, the company decided to incorporate these new rules into their work methods.

Iceland Dance Company has been hard at work preparing a rendition of FAUST-nominated ROMEO + JULIET by Erna Ómarsdóttir and Halla Ólafsdóttir to the musical template of Sergei Prokofiev. Originally, the piece was premiered by the Gärtnerplatztheater in 2019 and is set for an Icelandic premiere in the fall of 2020. The dancers have had to rehearse the work with a two meter distance from one another and this plays ironically with the themes of the piece. The production has made full use of the outdoors in Reykjavík and done site-specific rehearsals in various graveyards and beaches around the city.

- In these strange and unforeseen times we feel very fortunate to have dance and each other. Hoping for a brighter, safer future full of dance, says Iceland Dance Company.

Learn more about Iceland Dance Company at madeintheweb.com
 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic Tero Saarinen Company's THIRD PRACTICE performances at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet's Almi Hall are being rescheduled to 2–6 March, 2021. The collaboration of Tero Saarinen Company and Helsinki Baroque Orchestra stars twelve dancers, tenor Topi Lehtipuu, plus virtual soprano Núria Rial. Its intended Helsinki premiere season was to take place on 10–17 June 2020. THIRD PRACTICE premiered at the Monteverdi Festival in Cremona, Italy, in 2019.

Learn more about Tero Saarinen Company at madeintheweb.com

REGIONTEATER VÄST
 - Digitizes all spring's grand openings as a result of Covid-19
 

In times when many shows have been cancelled, Regionteater Väst has opted to make the whole spring's grand openings available digitally. This gives the younger audience – and even more people who want to experience dance and theatre – unlimited access to the shows. The available shows are DJUNGELFEBER, DRÖMLEK, VÄLKOMMEN (the audio performance) and SEX. All shows can be experienced at the company´s website.

Find out more about Regionteater Väst at madeintheweb.com

CLAIRE PARSONS CO.
 - Investigating new ways to present artistic work
 

Claire Parsons Co. is working and planning for the fall season. The company is booked for – and hope to be touring in Sweden – with SOON SWOON, SIGNAL and GRASS to the cities of Uppsala, Piteå, Pajala, Luleå, Kalmar, Kristianstad and more.

A new digital film and dance experience of SOON SWOON is now available. Teachers in Stockholm can book this experience via Danistan/Cirkusistan. Claire Parsons Co is investigating new ways to present artistic work and will be embarking on a collaboration using VR and AR. SOON SWOON will also be available in VR – virtual reality – thanks to a generous commission through the City of Stockholm.

Read more about Claire Parsons Co. at madeintheweb.com

NAGELHUS SCHIA PRODUCTIONS
- Creating videos while waiting
 

As every other dance company, Nagelhus Schia Productions was hit hard by the corona virus. The April premiere of TRIPLE BILL – especially created for the apprentice programme Nagelhus Schia Productions AMP– had to be postponed until autumn. In addition, a scheduled national tour to Stavanger Konserthus and Bergen International Festival with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s ORBO NOVO was cancelled.

While waiting for life to return to normal, the company created the video ET VAKKERT SMYKKE (A Beautiful Piece of Jewelry) with the participation of the company's dancers from all over the world. The video is a collaboration with choreographer Yaniv Cohen and singer Tonje Unstad. The video is dedicated to all the kids in Norway, thanking them for reminding us to stay playful also during hard times. Watch the video here.

Guro Nagelhus Schia and Vebjørn Sundby also performed ALEKO together on 28 April 2020 as part of Vigeland LIVE. This beautiful duet about loss and eternal faithfulness is choreographed by Damien Jalet and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and is filmed on location in the beautiful museum. Watch the video here.

Read more about Nagelhus Schia Productions at madeintheweb.com

Swedish Televison SVT Play is now streaming Charlotte Engelkes' performance MISS VERY WAGNER worldwide. The solo show MISS VERY WAGNER (2006 ) is the beginning of a series of projects inspired by Richard Wagner's rich operaworld and has been touring theatre and dance festivals around the world. Engelkes' fascination with the heroines - from mere mortals to the divine Valkyries resulted in a piece, where she explores herself through four of them.

"In this story a woman must die. In this story Senta must throw herself off a cliff into the ocean to rescue the Flying Dutchman, followed by Elsa by the lake rescued by the mysterious Lohengrin arriving by a swan, she´s trying to uphold a promise of never to ask where he comes from? Isolde is on a boat dancing reluctantly her way to an arranged marriage and mixing love potions in the ship's bar, to make Tristan stay with her in consummation of their love in death and after death. Finally Brünhilde takes things to a divine level and announces the total end, that when the singing is done, it's time to leave."

Other Engelkes projects inspired by Wagner´s operaworld are THE VERY WAGNER HERO HOUR (2011), VERY WAGNERIAN NIGHT (2013), FLYGANDE HOLLÄNDARE (THE FLYING DUTCHMEN 2013), ALL IS DIVINE (2013), GULDET (THE GOLD 2016) and LOHENGRIN DREAMS (2019).

Link to see Miss Very Wagner on SVT Play here.

Find out more about Charlotte Engelkes at madeintheweb.com

SU-EN BUTOH COMPANY
 - Opening The Window Project
 

Live performances are on pause. However creativity does not stop. Until we can meet each other live again, SU-EN Butoh Company wants to share some visual and artistic material with you in the frame of THE WINDOW PROJECT. Some material is already a few years old, some is new and work-in-progress.

A selection of SU-EN Butoh Company performances through stills and video is always available here.

SU-EN Butoh Company received two letters from Sweden based dance company ccap and choreographer Cristina Caprioli in spring 2020. THE WINDOW PROJECT presents CLEANING DANCE, a dance response to ccap and Cristina Caprioli´s gifts. Just a click away......here.

Inside one was a lemon soap. Inside one was a Wettex towel. And there were some texts. This is my response. // SU-EN

Find out more about SU-EN Butoh Company at madeintheweb.com

ZERO VISIBILITY CORP.
- Sharing videos on Facebook
 

HELENA FRANZÉN
- Releasing the video TORSO from the upcoming work TRIA
 

Helena Franzén's new work, TRIA, is created on the basis of the phenomenon of how we interpret each other physically. What is it we see and in what way can we reproduce an experience. A solo is interpreted by two dancers and a kind of whispering game occurs.

The video TORSO is made as a part of the upcoming new work TRIA, by Helena Franzén. Music by Jukka Rintamäki. Håkan Jelk is cinematographer. Watch the video TORSO here.

During October 2020 Helena Franzén has a residency with Dansplats Skog and Region Gävleborg.

Find out more about Helena Franzén at madeintheweb.com

KASSANDRA PRODUCTION
- Starting touring in September
 

 
THE SOUL CATCHER tours to Teater Momentum i Odense (DK) 22-23 Sept 2020. Read more here.

THE SOUL CATCHER is a seductive and deeply disturbing performance about psychological abuse, manipulation and power - in a powerful mix of performance, dance, spoken word and electronic music. THE SOUL CATCHER unmasks the modern predator behind the seemingly perfect façade. THE SOUL CATCHER is produced by Kassandra Production in a co-production with theatre Bora Bora.

Learn more about Kassandra at madeintheweb.com

INGRID OLTERMAN DANS
- Starting touring again!
 

The dance company Ingrid Olterman Dans is happy to meet the young audience again. After a few quiet weeks the company is now performing the latest production FRICTION for Swedish children. The company is touring three other performances in the fall of 2020: SHELTER TREES, ISLANDS and READ AND MOVE.

The company is very excited and looking forward to the five week tour to Shanghai and Hangzhou in China with the performance ISLANDS. At the moment all parties are positive that the tour will happen by the end of this year.

Read more about Ingrid Olterman Dans at madeintheweb.com
 

TANELI TÖRMÄ - LOCATION X
- Participating in the digital edition of CPH STAGE 2020
 

Taneli Törmä - LOCATION X takes part in the virtual edition of CPH STAGEs International Days 29 May 2020. If you are a programmer and interested in Danish performing arts and want to hear more about OPEN YOUR HEART disco dance performance, please check it out at this website.

Find out more about Taneli Törmä - LOCATION X at madeintheweb.com
 

Skånes Dansteater´s new dance podcast is called DANCEPOD WITH SKÅNES DANSTEATER.

The first episode "Second Landscape – The body in a digital age" was released on International Dance Day 29 April 2020. Dancers Kit Brown and Samuel Denton share their reflections on SECOND LANDSCAPE (2020), a new work by choreographer Marina Mascarell. Also join dancer Laura Lohi in her ten minutes guided movement exploration.

The second episode"Djurens karneval - A parade for the imagination" is released 20 May 2020 and this time Dancers Kit Brown and Sarah Bellugi-Klima will explore the magical universe of the work CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS (2020), created by Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau. The dancer Tiemen Stemerding will lead you through some of the movement tasks that were used to create the piece.

The pod is in English and is available wherever you listen to pods:
Skånes Dansteater’s website.
Spotify 
Buzzsprout

Learn more about Skånes Dansteater at madeintheweb.com

LENA JOSEFSSON IN MEMORIAM
 

It is with sadness we received the announcement that the Swedish choreographer Lena Josefsson has passed away.

From her childhood in former Zaire, Lena Josefsson possesses an incomparable sense of rhythm and music. Lena took the world to Sweden through her own dance company Raande-Vo. She crossed borders between different art forms, focusing on the meetings created between artists of different backgrounds. Since the very beginning, the company attracted attention for its wide range of innovative performances. Their pieces have been adored by the public and praised by the media, and Lena Josefsson has with her Raande-Vo received a variety of awards and distinctions for her artistic work.

-We want our productions to mirror questions that reflect upon our current society, which through poetry we can open up to reflection, confrontation, and dialogue, Lena Josefsson said.

"Lena Josefsson's work is a grand epic drama of humankind's fragile existence, created with a moral pathos seldom seen on a dance stage. The concept is simply brilliant: Look at humankind! One sees the defenceless and lonely, but also the fantastic and beautiful. You. I." Dagens Nyheter

The photo is from UNTITLED, choreography by Lena Josefsson for Skånes Dansteater (SE) in 1999. The work was resumed at Orionteatern, Stockholm (SE) in 2002. Photo: Martin Skoog.

Read more about the work of Lena Josefsson at madeintheweb.com

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www.madein-theweb.com a website displaying Nordic performing arts intended for an international audience.
MADE IN the web is an initiative created by Loco World with the intention to increase the visibility for Nordic performing arts. Loco World/MADEIN is an organisation supporten by the Swedish Arts Counsil for its international activities.

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