The room in the classroom
On the second day of the showbox week, we got the chance to see parts of the performance Rommet i Klassen, directed by Nina Lill Svendsen and Christer Tornell. After seeing good parts of the working performance, we were lucky enough to interview three of the four dancers who had entertained us for the last few minutes. Even though we don't have a lot of interview experience and were more than a little nervous, the dancers Vilde, Vilde Viktoria, and Ronald were welcoming and relaxed.
The dance performance, which won't premiere until January 2013, is about the environment in a youth class. The chick, the head girl, the laid-back and the school-goer were all portrayed in a way that we felt was absolutely perfect. When we asked the dancers if they could recognize themselves in the piece, they all said yes.
As I said, the entire performance was not finished, but the dancers had already done a lot of work. They first had a week of rehearsals in Volda. This included five full working days that they received in connection with Scenekunstbruket and Den Kulturelle Skolesekken. They were also given two more weeks due to support from Oslo Danse Ensemble.
Even though we didn't get to see the ending where they break out of the stereotypes, we thought it was a good performance because we recognized ourselves so well. Therefore, the result will probably appeal to many. The dancers themselves think that the message is presented in a good way. Nevertheless, they may feel that something is missing:
- I think the play conveys how to relate to the different people in a gang quite well. At the same time, I feel that it lacks more characters since we are only four dancers. There are so many more types of characters and personalities in one classroom," they agree.
Even though there were only four dancers, finding a role for each of them was still something they worked on, when we asked if there were any challenges:
- Finding the character, because you have to find something that you recognize and that is very typical. We had to find very classic prototypes of characters in a classroom.
The choreographers solved the problem of finding out what today's young people are like in a clever way. They visited schools in the Oslo and Akershus area for several weeks. Then they saw what a real classroom environment is like, and got to see several classic youth types.
They also say that another positive challenge was figuring out how to include the props in the dance. The challenge was to use desks and chairs in the dance without it tilting or falling off, which we thought they did well!
In addition to great dancing, the performance had a positive message that encouraged people to be themselves. The dancers hope that it can rub off on those watching:
- The difference between this play and what often happens in a real classroom is that we become vulnerable at some point. We are also something other than the character we try so hard to show that we are. I think it's very rare to burst that bubble so that others see who you really are in a youth environment. We hope that this encourages viewers to dare to be themselves," they conclude.
Even though it is very difficult to judge a show that is not finished, we got a very good impression of it. We recommend everyone who wonders what today's youth is like to see it in 2013!