Norwegian National Contemporary Dance Company - Carte Blanche

For Annabelle Bonnéry, Artistic Director of Carte Blanche, dance is not only a field of expression for creativity. It is also the place where artists engage with the social issues that affect the world. The Norwegian national contemporary dance company's first collaboration with choreographer Elle Sofe Sara and set designer Joar Nango is a case in point. Both are of Saami origin and question the colonial heritage and the attitude of the Norwegian state towards these long-discriminated indigenous populations. In this respect, the title of the play, Birget, is in itself a statement of intent, since in the Sami language it means "to cope and survive in a changing environment". This is exactly what those who dare to claim their culture and identity have done for generations. Yet the piece is not just an activist work: through the virtuoso bodies of the fourteen international dancers who make up the troupe, it offers the experience of a sublimated rite of collective reconciliation and healing. Tales, a vital part of the culture of the nomadic peoples of the Far North, form the framework of what is as much an artistic gesture as a political act of brotherhood.

Carte Blanche, Elle Sofe Sara, Joar Nango
Carte Blanche, founded in 1989 and under the artistic direction of Annabelle Bonnéry since 2018, is one of the most internationally represented Scandinavian companies. Choreographer and film-maker Elle Sofe is co-founder of DÁIDDADÁLLU, a collective of indigenous Sámi contemporary artists. Sámi visual artist Joar Nango co-founded the architectural collective Felleskapsprosjektet and was nominated by Norsk Form as Young Architect of the Year in 2012. Nango is a guest artist for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023.

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