Different Bodies - artist lab in Norway

The next artist lab in the EU project PUSH+ will be organized by us, here in Norway. The head of the lab is Tone Pernille Østern. Together with 15 performing artists based in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Scotland and Ireland, they will explore questions and ideas about the body. Some of the things they will be working on are:

• What is a body and how is it linked to our self-image?
• What is the connection between body, society and performing arts?
• Which bodies do we see on stage and which are not?
• What are the consequences of how we treat and talk about (or don't talk about) our bodies?
• How does a lack of diversity on stage affect the audience?
• How can we open up new perspectives and perceptions, where are ideas and practices around different bodies challenged?
• How can we provide an artistic space where different bodies can move and communicate, and at the same time make room for their own perceptions and mindsets?
• How can a variety of body expressions help us reflect through a physical approach?

The lab will have an open and exploratory approach to the theme, and work to create better representation in the performing arts for a young audience.

The three Norwegian performing artists selected are Maria Terese Kittilsen, Tendai Malvine Makurumbandi and Mafalda Silva. Here they tell us about themselves:

Maria Terese Kittilsen

I am a dance artist, living with a disability. I mention this because my lived experience strongly affects my artistic approach. I am curious about exploring different bodies, both in teaching and creating. I believe that to stay relevant to society, the dance art has to include a greater diversity of bodies and capacities than the present moment.

Accessing professional training as a dancer with Cerebral Palsey has been challenging. I was not able to get a formal degree of dance, but have done my training through evening classes, workshops and traveling. This way I got a wide experience through meeting different people, styles and approaches, especially related with dance and (dis)ability. I also have a bachelors degree in sport psychology and coaching in relation to dance, which has added a theoretical and science based approach to my creative work.

I now work freelance as a dance artist, creator and teacher. I have specialized in working with differently abled dancers, and this is where my heart truly lies. I have worked with different age groups and skill levels, and I prefer very mixed groups. I choose to see this great diversity as a resource rather than an obstacle or a challenge. Most of my experience lies within the field of teaching and coaching, but I have also assisted artistic processes. Currently I am working on a research project, "NORMAL", together with Daniel Mariblanca, produced by 71bodies and co-produced/supported by Carte Blanche among others. The research is inspired by topics related to sexuality and bodies that challenge normative standards. I am also working on a pre project/artistic research for an autobiographical solo work. 

Tendai Malvine Makurumbandi

My name is Tendai Malvine Makurumbandi and I come from Zimbabwe but based in Norway. I got my BA in Dance, choreography and teaching from the National Ballet of Zimbabwe in 2005. I am currently doing my Masters in Choreography at Oslo National Academy of Arts.

Dance and music has been part of my upbringing. I come from a cultural family of dancers, musicians and painters. I have been working as a dancer and teacher both in Sweden and Norway for 14 years.

I consider myself to be highly motivated, patient , hardworking, confident, honest, creative, good communicating and teaching skills. I like meeting new people, expand my network and use each platform as a learning platform whilst sharing experiences and inspiration.

Mafalda Silva

Mafalda is a Portuguese-Norwegian actress and theater maker, whose main body of work includes puppetry, clown and visual theater. Having immigrated from Portugal to Norway at an early age, she keeps a special interest in performances that are able to communicate without the use of words. Through her own work, Mafalda aims to explore a universal visual language that is capable of puncturing cultural barriers, symbols and conventions. Whether they be clown, puppetry, or dance, Mafalda's creations all derive from her interest in movement and its implications on our emotional universe. Her pieces often delve into the themes of belonging, identity and the loss of it.

Mafalda has a BA from the Acting and Theatre Production program of Nord University in Verdal, Norway. She has additionally done extensive training in France with performers from the French theatre company Cie. Philippe Genty. Her work has received funding from Arts Council Norway, the Norwegian Fund for Performing Artists (FFUK), Trøndelag fylkeskommune and Sparebank 1 SMN.

In addition to her stage work, Mafalda also dabbles in soundtrack design, and works as a dialogue facilitator and workshop holder for youths in the Oslo region.

Lab Manager: Tone Pernille Østern

Tone Pernille Østern was studying at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in the 1990s, when CandoCo dance company, with dancers with and without disabilities, was up and coming in U.K. Much inspired by their work she co-funded Inclusive Dance Company in Norway in 2000, a small independent company that since then has had "difference" - in many ways - in focus in its artistic search. She further funded The Dance Laboratory, a community-based company with differently bodied dancers in 2003 and was artistic leader for them for 10 years. The Dance Laboratory also was her doctoral project for a Doctor of Arts in Dance at the University of the Arts in Helsinki, which she fulfilled in 2009. Since then, she works as an artist-teacher-researcher in an academic context as professor at NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The question of different bodies runs as a red thread through her work.

Read about the other performing artists here.