re:tradition |Dance performance “Danse staur, danse staur” | Kartellet (NOR)

Dance Performance | Kartellet – Danse staur, danse staur

In a year when the festival’s main theme is traditional dance, Friday’s re:tradition concert will take the form of an extraordinary dance performance.

On the greenfield near the Lublin Castle, the Norwegian dance company Kartellet will present one of their projects.

Kartellet draws inspiration from tradition while seeking its own artistic paths and means of expression. Their performances are built on the physical interaction between dancers, each bringing a distinct personality and style.

What unfolds before us are living, evolving relationships — shaped by live, minimalist music, simple costumes, the absence of words, and pure movement. At first glance, the performance may seem stripped of elements that usually hold our attention. Yet the sight of the dancers compels us to follow not only their movements but also the story behind them — a story suggested by the title and the artists’ actions, but ultimately completed in our own minds, shaped by our experiences, associations, and sensibilities.

Danse staur, danse staur (“Dance stag, dance stag”) refers to a traditional dance once practised in the far north of what is now Norway. During seasonal fishing on the Arctic Lofoten archipelago, men formed temporary communities — working, resting, celebrating, and dancing together. Their dancing was marked by strength, competition, and mutual respect. The phrase danse staur referred to a dance between two people of the same gender — most often men, though in other contexts also women.

The Lublin performance was the first in Kartellet’s history to feature female dancers alongside men. It thus combines a reference to a specific traditional custom with a departure from the group’s earlier principle of being an all-male ensemble.

Brought together in one production, these contexts invite reflection on where dance becomes sensual or crosses boundaries of intimacy — and where it remains simply dance. They also encourage us to reconsider movement and expectations around behaviour between genders, reminding us that sometimes a small gesture can completely change our interpretation and the meaning of what we see.

Despite its seemingly minimal means of expression, this dance piece will be filled with unbroken movement, physical intensity, and emotions shared not only by the performers but also by the audience.

Choreography: Kartellet / Sigurd Johan Heide
Costumes: Marita Solhjell Ølander
Dancers: Dina Bruun, Tone Ingvaldsen, Inge Martin Helgesen, Ådne Kolbjørnshus
Musicians & Composers: Mariann Torset, Nina Fjeldet

Co-production: Førde International Folk Music Festival
Support: FFUK, Folkemusikk Nord, Norwegian Cultural Fund, Fond for Sound and Image, Fritt Ord

Details

When: 22 August, 19.30
Where: Festival Stage, Błonia near the Castle
Admission free

Accessibility

noise-cancelling heapdphones

accessible without knowledge of Polish

uneven grassy terrain

unpaved dirt footpath