Having a Good Time in Sundsvall

In SUNDSVALL, at the beginning of their 15/16 season, Norrdans premiered Tina Tarpgaard’s The Little Prince. It was her first work for the company and her imaginative choreography was enthusiastically received.

Tina was full of praise for the dancers. ‘This is a fantastic place to be working – the dancers are so focused. But hard work can also be enjoyable and there were lots of laughs in the studio. We spend 90 percent of our time in the studio so we might as well have a good time.’

This was also an evening for anniversaries as Norrdans celebrates 20 years and Nordiska Kammarorkestern 25 years. It was artistic director, Mira Helenius Martinsson, and musical director, Lennart Åkermark, who suggested the story to Tina.

Stockholm based, Daniel Nelson, was commissioned to create the music but Tina brought her own design team from Copenhagen.

‘It was very generous of Norrdans and very comforting to have my team framing the performance. I usually start with the frame and my first meeting was with set designer, Signe Krogh. I got this idea that we can have a simple form, a cloth to become both the sky and earth. One piece that moves beautifully and binds the dancers together. It’s proved to be a great dance partner.’

They had looked at many materials for the cloth. While the chosen one was being sewn to the right size, they used a cheaper cloth in rehearsals, as it was an essential part of the creation.

‘But when the new material came – it was horrible. It just didn’t move as I wanted - so we stayed with the cheaper cloth.’

The cloth became many things, the dancers moving under, over and around it as well as keeping busy attaching and releasing the cables that hoist it up to the flies.

‘The process was very playful and it was a close collaboration – most of the work was created by the dancers and I just had to orchestrate it.’

Tina has her own company in Copenhagen, project based and working with a small group of dancers. ‘I have worked with a lot of dancers who came through Norrdans.’

‘Dancers don’t stay long here as they have short careers and want to make the most of their time but in Norrdans dancers are able to develop.’

The Little Prince will be touring Norbotten throughout the autumn.

For review see :
http://www.criticaldance.org/2015/10/08/norrdans-the-little-prince/ Länk till annan webbplats.

Maggie Foyer
8 October 2015