August 29, 2025

Unique collaboration brings more dance art to children and young people 

A new pilot project will give children and young people in Vestfold more encounters with dance art. Through the collaboration between Scenekunstbruket , Danseløftet, Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, Vesfold County Municipality and local cultural centers are testing a new model for touring, local anchoring and activity in close collaboration with children and youth.

In connection with Scenekunstbruket's 30th anniversary in 2024, three touring tours were carried out that clearly demonstrated the great potential of communicating more performing arts to children and young people through collaboration with the country's cultural centers. The cultural centers were allowed to choose performances from Scenekunstbruket's touring-friendly repertoire based on local conditions, wishes and needs. The experiences clearly showed that there is a strong desire to program more performing arts for the younger target group. 

Spots – Y to C/Yaniv Cohen

These experiences are now being taken forward in a pilot in collaboration with Danseløftet , an initiative under the auspices of the DNB Savings Bank Foundation, Vestfold County Municipality and the cultural centers in Vestfold. 

Else Blom, section manager for culture in Vestfold County Municipality, says: This pilot gives us a unique opportunity to strengthen our efforts in the dance field going forward, by elevating the professional performing arts and making dance available to even more children and young people. 

 Danseløftet has planned to start in 2026, but already wants to test a touring model that combines screenings of dance performances with local roots and activities for children and youth. The pilot involves the county, municipalities, cultural centers, dance schools and other local actors. 

The party – ODE Ung.

– This is clear evidence of the cultural centers' desire and willingness to present more performing arts – and in this context dance – to their young audience, says Tine Valavuo Tyldum, general manager of Scenekunstbruket Through our repertoire of quality-assessed dance performances for the age group 0–20 years, we can help meet this need. We are very pleased with the collaboration, and that Danseløftet and Vestfold County Council see the potential in both the repertoire and the expertise of Scenekunstbruket . 

Three performances from Scenekunstbruket's repertoire are presented in the pilot: 

– For us at Sparebankstiftelsen DNB, the pilot is an important opportunity to test how Danseløftet can work in practice. We gain experience with both touring, local anchoring and cross-border collaboration – all with the aim of ensuring that children and young people experience more dance art, says Anne Ekenes at Sparebankstiftelsen DNB.  

STAIN was shown:

  • Saturday, June 14th in Tønsberg 
  • Saturday, September 6th in Sandefjord (3 times during the Cultural Day/Children's Center Festival) at 12:30 / 1:13 / 2:00 PM 

WEIGHT is displayed: 

  • Sunday, September 7th at 1:00 PM at the Fairgrounds in Tønsberg in connection with the Year of Outdoor Life 
  • Saturday, September 13th at 4:00 PM outside Holmestrand Library 

THE PARTY is shown: 

  • Thursday, October 9th in Horten (time and location to come) 
  • Wednesday, October 15th at Harmonie Arena, Hjertnes, Sandefjord (time to come) 
  • Thursday, October 6th at 5:00 PM at Biorama, Holmestrand 
  • Wednesday, October 12th at 7:00 PM at Bølgen kultur, Larvik 

In addition, Nøtterøy Cultural Center will be showing the performance KRØTER on Thursday, September 18th, which will also be linked to Danseløftet.