Sweden Mobility
The mobility in Sweden took place in Vänersborg 26th - 29th April 2010. During these days 35 participants and staff from UK, Belgium and Sweden met and shared knowledge. Led by choreographer Veera Suvalo Grimberg the participants created a dance piece, which was performed outside in a park on the last day of the mobility.
Lab
The labs (i.e. workshops) in Vänersborg were led by Swedish/Finnish choreographer Veera Suvalo Grimberg. Every morning started with a simple body warm up consisting of
contemporary dance movements and different exercises in the space. The group worked individually and in couples and also together with the whole group. Veera soon found a suitable tempo for the group. Veera worked with given tools for the participants to create own material. These exercises quickly grew into small scenes that were put together into the final performance. The participants of the labs were all part of the creative process.
Participants
The 28 participants in the creative labs came from UK, Belgium, and Sweden. With the age span from 21-67 years this group was dynamic and soon overcame boundaries such as language. The group of participants was inclusive, which in this context means that it included people with and without disabilities. The group also consisted of a variety of pre-knowledge of contemporary dance. Some participants had never danced before, whereas the greater part of the group had some or much previous experience.
Artists
Creative and artistic leader of the lab in Vänersborg was choreographer Veera Suvalo Grimberg. Veera has a long experience working as dancer, choreographer in Sweden and internationally. Since 2010 Veera runs the dance company Spinn, Sweden’s first inclusive dance company, i.e. the first dance company in Sweden with professional dancers with and without disability. During the lab in Vänersborg the five dancers in Spinn took part in and supported Veera in the creative process. The five dancers of Spinn were, Anna Westberg, Emila Wärff, Iris Bazal Castell, Julie Cleves and Malin Rönnerman.
Seminar
During the mobility in Vänersborg the Swedish program group organised the seminar Into Dance. This meeting offered knowledge and perspectives on Community Dance, which could be called a method of working with art, participation and accessibility. The seminar took place 29th April 2010 in Vänersborg and reached out to programmers, policy makers, artists, facilitators and journalists. The seminar presented dance artists who in different ways work with dance within the community as a way of challenging and developing the art form, society and community. In the seminar, much acclaimed UK dance artist Rosemary Lee presented her work. From Norfolk Dance artists Sarah Lewis and Laura McGill presented their work alongside Swedish dance artist and producer Tanja Mangalanaygam. The seminar was made through collaboration with Vänersborgs Municipality, Dansbyrån 3K and Kultur i Väst/Art and Develoment Agency.
Side programme
Through the program of Into Dance members of staff from the partner organisations are able to visit each other. This has been a great opportunity of professional development in the sense that the programme has opened up for sharing knowledge, reflections and methods. During the Swedish mobility the staff from the partner organisations made visits to different organisations working within the field of people with special needs.
Contact
Sarah Melin
Danskontoret
Kultur i Väst
Västra Götalandsregionen
SWEDEN
sarah.melin@kulturivast.se
+46 (0)31-333 51 42
Press releases
Press photos
- Rosemary Lee (photo: Hugo Glendinning)
