In this choreography, you get through the sound of a rap beat, 6 min of intense set material, high technique and physicality. Using the visual energy of contemporary dance theater unisons, I portray power and confidence. To a band and artist (MS) that was a support through a hard time, (and we your fans helped you?) Thank you LP for the awesome music.
THE FUTURE:
We got some feedback and comments after the viewing May 2019. The best one was to my approach : very sett material and highly focus on physicality:
yes, “why not dance?”
I would love to re-visit this work. Now for a lager group of younger adults to perform it. With cool light design and smoke effects. Seeing the work as I imagined.
THE START:
Linkin Park was one of my favorite bands in 2018-2019. Listening more than 100 hours on only Spotify in 2018. Due to the loss of Dad feb 18, I among things, found some comfort in their music.
THE POST TRAUMATIC TOUR:
The year before, 2017, the band lost their front singer Chester Bennington. Band member Mike Shinoda then started to create a new album “Post Traumatic”. An album going from dark to light and allowing to feel all different feelings and sensations that can arrise in such situation. For him, loss of one of his best friends and the uncertain future of a band he had worked 20 years on. I could relate to a lot of the thematics in the music, since I was going throught my own greiving process, and the music was so good as well!
So I went to two concerts with Mike Shinoda on his post traumatic tour: Stockholm in 2018, and London in 2019. An supportive and amazing concert for everyone that has experiences greif and looking for the way forward, also himselves.
ARTISTIC RESEARCH:
In this process of listening to LP and MS music, I got intrigued to learn more about the background. So I did research about how Linkin Park and Mike Shinoda made their albums. I watched a lot of videos and interviews of what was LP starting points. Having 7 albums so different from each other, I became interested about how and why they did that. They always seem to reinvent themselves. I could relate to that and drew lines towards my own approaches towards creation and creative process. The wish to always look for a new angle towards my/their craft, an endless exploration, yet holding a high standards in whatever their projects where. This band inspired me. See project The Upside for another artist that I find inspiring.
A GIFT AND INSIGHT TO YOU FOR READING THIS:
Here are two playlists on Spotify I created with personal favourites. From that time in 2018-2019:
THE CHOICE:
All this music research came to the point where I felt the urge to create a choreography on one of their songs. I improvised to several, until I landed on when they come for me from their 2010 album A Thousand Suns. Having really cool beats, this song got me. My own post traumatic life 2018-spring 2019 also had a lot of challenges. So creating a “catch me if you can, but then I will be way ahead anyway” kind of choreography just felt right.
Part of the presentation at DansiS, May 2019
PHYSICAL LANGUAGE FOCUS:
This creation is mostly sett material made by me. The work is only 6 min, but it hard both physical, technical and stamina ways. Through testing, trying, defining and teaching the material to the others professionals in a set performative context, I understood my physical language better too.
I like that physical language can be a huge research, startingpoint and inspiration for a creation ( Like Hofesh Shechter, Ultima Vez, Alexander Ekman and Crystal Pite). My pieces are also in general often highly physical. I like to use both my own and the other performers’ moving abilities and creativity and challenge it in different directions. I want to develop not only the piece, but the artists involved as well. So the pedagogical and dancer side of me comes into play for my creations as well. Through this physical approach. I learn to know myself better as a choreographer as well.
NOT PERFORMING IN 2020, that became a video:
We where supposed to perform this work in an urban open stage in Sandnes april 2020. I looked so much forward to a different audience, work further on the creation, and get proper light and smoke effects. This performance did not happen due to Covid.
I then gave the dancers and myself another task, to work on the idea of “boredom” towards a wall. That creations was done august 2020 in form of a video. This video is a part of my solo research about boredom “When all you have is a wall”. A solo I hope to get up and going in 2024.
I thank you so much Ingrid, Marte and Jøran for joining and helping me getting these creations into the world <3