FRIKAR - VOLUSPÅ | Norway
Hallgrim Hansegård (b. 1980) is a Norwegian choreographer, dancer and entrepreneur who has made hallingdans and Norwegian folk dance visible internationally. His work has been shown in more than 30 countries, has created debate – including through censorship in Italy – and has reached a large audience digitally. He established the dance company FRIKAR in 2006, which has opened new spaces for dancers in halling, break, capoeira and new circus. Hansegård is also behind the Frikar Academy, the talent program FRIKAR X and several development projects in Valdres.
With VOLUSPÅ, FRIKAR celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Acrobatics, dance and mystery for the whole family
Five dancers and four musicians convey ancient mythology, through dance and acrobatics, live music and daring visual elements. This is a completely new and spectacular performance for the whole family - in the familiar Frikar style! -Listen to me alle heilage slag. This is how the medicine woman begins her story in the poem Voluspå. Everyone is holy, and everything is connected. By listening intently to nature and culture, she sees what is to come, and warns us about the climate crisis, division and exclusion.
Voluspå is one of the oldest and most central poems in Norse mythology. Through the wisdom of a fortune teller - a volve - it tells of the creation of the world, the fate of man and the gods. The poem explores the connections in life, the forces of nature and man's place in the universe, and has been an important part of the Nordic cultural heritage for over a thousand years.
Over a thousand years later, this ancient poem is given new life in the dance performance of FRIKAR. Musicians and dancers invite the audience into a world where folk dance, Viking wrestling and old folk instruments meet contemporary composition and new research. Hallgrim Hansegård allows the wisdom of the poem to unfold through body, rhythm and sound, and shows what we can learn from ancient natural knowledge today.
Original idea and concept: Hallgrim Hansegård
Choreography, scenography and music: Hallgrim Hansegård.
Co-creating dancers: Julianne Solli, Jon Filip Fahlstrøm, Marnie Fiebig, Naomi Bratthammer, Mathias Engelstad.
Co-creative musicians: Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen, Esther Thunander, Jacob Hee Lund, Bjarne Kvinnsland.
Sound design: Bjarne Kvinnsland
Figure maker and figure-leading instruction: Pascale Blaison
Costume design: Line Maher
Lighting design: Gard Gitlestad
Producer: Kirsti Buchanan Ulvestad
Co-producers : Bærum Kulturhus - Dance Southeast Norway, Figurteatret i Nordland, Sprang - regional dance scene, Fjelldansen and the talent program FRIKAR X.
The production is supported by the Directorate of Culture of the Norwegian Arts Council, Regional Cultural Fund - Innlandet, Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, Talent Norway, Innlandet County Municipality.