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- Touched by .......
- Edvard Munch
- Dans & Toner, dance performance
Dans & Toner, dance performance
- By Touched by ......
- Published 21 August 2009
- Edvard Munch
- Unrated
Touched by ......
‘Touched by.....’, a series of interviews and articles on people and in what way they have been inspired by artist, artistic schools or particular work of art from the past.
Name
Occupation
Inspiration
Edvard Munch (12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944)
What inspired you ?
We came together and agreed on making a performance based on Munch’s paintings Solen (Sun), Galopperende Hest (Galloping Horse), Ung kvinne på Stranden (Young woman on beach), Melankoli (Melancoly), Løsrivelse (Seperation), Stjernenatt (Starry night). We then, quite deliberately, went our separate ways to research, both museums and libraries, meet up after a period, compared notes and picked the paintings that we shared an interest in. We decided which paintings could be linked together and which paintings would be treated as independent entities. Then we decided that we would interpret the paintings in our own way. We discussed the musical expression and Peter Lodwick started to create music. The choreography was then developed to the music. We were fortunate to receive financial support from several cultural institutions to make this performance come to life.
The Artist
We realised that the majority of young people in this country have no relationship to one of Norway’s most celebrated artist, Edvard Munch. This inspired us, composer and musician Peter Lodwick, dancers and choreographers Marit Krogeide, Christer Tornell to create an untraditional and innovative performance, based on 6 of his paintings. We wanted to show that the people portrayed in his paintings were of flesh and blood, had a history and were very much alive. To quote Edvard Munch: “No more paintings of interiors and people reading and knitting. It shall be living beings that breath, feel, suffer and love”.
The Result
All paintings are hung on stage, all covered except “The Sun”. Thereafter we uncover each painting as we progress throughout the performance. We begin with “The Sun” to modernistic and rhythmical music and contemporary choreography. We have chosen to express what the sun represents; the eternal circle of life. Next follows “Young woman on the beach”. The dance is neo-classical and begins on point. The music is lyrical. Halfway through the choreography the dancer discards her point shoes as an expression of freedom from the political constrictions of the time (women in Norway received the vote in 1913, long after this painting was made). The music retains its lyrical character but with an explosion of contra punctual energy. This choreography leads to the third painting, “Separation”, which is a modern lyrical pas de deux to lyrical music with eastern influence. At the end of the dance she leaves him. This leads to the fourth painting “Melancholy”. The dancer expresses his solitude through jazz style dance and shares a song duet with the musician. The woman comes back at the end, but now the position is reversed and he leaves her. Next is a musical improvisation, based on the fifth painting “Starry Night”, where the musician/composer creates a new piece of music based on four tones provided by the audience, with song text also improvised. The performance ends with the sixth picture “Galloping Horse”, where we use the energy and force in the painting as inspiration. The horse is galloping out of the picture and we interpret this as galloping in to the future. Both dance and music is created using the latest dance and music expressions of the youth of today.
The performance has been performed 378 times for over 48.000 youngsters all over Norway and has received praise from both audience and press. The performance has been adjusted to suit international family audiences.
The composers
Peter Lodwick, composer, musician, artistic director of Dans & Toner
Peter Lodwick is from Wales and after receiving multiple Glamorgan scholarships, he studied piano, voice and cello at The Royal Academy of Music, London. On leaving college Peter became a member of The Doyle Carte Opera Company while still pursuing his piano career. While on tour in the USA he first began composing for dance. Parallel to this he received increasing recognition as a pianist. Peter was then invited to Norway by the director of the Norwegian Opera to teach norwegian composers the techniques of composing for dance.
Peter has composed music for many theatre performances at the National Theatre, Oslo New Theatre, The Norwegian Theatre, Rikstheatre and Norwegian Television. Peters works have been performed at Edinburgh Festival, Avignon Festival, Harstad Festival. He has composed for several of the modern dance groups in Norway and the Norwegian National Ballet. He has composed the CDs ”Music for Ballet Class”, ”Music for Modern Dance Class and "Moments". He is artistic director of Dans & Toner and has produced, composed and performed in their 11 touring productions. Peter has developed his own rhythm and improvisation technique, P.R.I.D.E, Practical Rhythm, Improvisation and Dynamic Exercises. The technique is part of the curriculum of the National Academy of the Arts, and Bårdar Dance Academy, Oslo. He also works with photography and design.
Marit Krogeide, dancer, choreographer, managing director of Dans & Toner
Marit Krogeide had her television debut as a dancer at the age of eleven. She is a graduate of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. She has performed in many musicals, such as: "The Merry Widow, "Sweet Charity", "Anything Goes" and "Pal Joey" and has had leading roles in the musicals "Junglebook", "Dames at sea" and "The Ragged Doll". She has also worked as a dancer for Norwegian television and with several leading contemporary choreographers. Together with composer and musician Peter Lodwick she started the company Dans & Toner, of which she is now the managing director. With over two thousand performances on tour with Dans & Toner, Marit has become a guiding light for many aspiring dancers. She has choreographed in all of Dans & Toners 11 productions. In addition she has choreographed both cabarets and commercial shows. She teaches classical ballet for professional dancers and has worked for Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Bårdar Academy, Ballet Academy and Daily Training in Stockholm, Proda in Oslo. Combined with touring for Dans & Toner, she has given several workshops in jazzdance and classical ballet throughout Norway. Over the years she has received many scholarships and awards.
Christer Tornell, guest dancer, choreographer
As a figure skater Christer Tornell won a place with the Swedish national team 1983 to 1985. His dance education took place at The Ballet Academy and Dance forum in Gothenburg. In Stockholm he danced in "Cats", "West Side Story", "A chorus Line", "La cage aux folles". In Norway, he has performed with Oslo Dance Ensemble and in the performances "Sugar", "Ungen", "Reisen til Julestjernen", "Frendelaus", ”Billy”, ”Chabaret”, ”Chicago”, ”My fair lady”, ”La Cage aux Folles” amongst others. For Norwegian Television he has performed in the Eurovision Song Contest and Holmenkoll Concert. He has also works with the award winning choreographers, Kjersti Alveberg and Sølvi Edvardsen and have performed their works on several international festivals. He has participated as jugde in the TV productions "Icedance" in Sweden (Stockholm) and "Lets Dance" in Norway (Oslo) 2007 - 2009. Christer also works as a dance teacher for the Norwegian national team in figureskating and has developed the dance curriculum at Steinerskolen in Bærum. In the summer of 2009 he worked with a group (Frikar) of acrobatic Norwegian folkdancers performing Peer Gynt in the show Tidar. He has worked with Dans & Toner since 2001.
- Mr. Peter Lodwick, Neath - South Wales, United Kingdom of England
- Ms. Marit Krogeide, Norway
- Mr. Christer Tornell, Sweden
Occupation
- Mr. Peter Lodwick : composer, musician and artistic director of Dans & Toner
- Ms. Marit Krogeide : choreographer, dancer, founder and managing director of Dans & Toner
- Mr. Christer Tornell, dancer, choreographer
Inspiration
Edvard Munch (12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944)
What inspired you ?
We came together and agreed on making a performance based on Munch’s paintings Solen (Sun), Galopperende Hest (Galloping Horse), Ung kvinne på Stranden (Young woman on beach), Melankoli (Melancoly), Løsrivelse (Seperation), Stjernenatt (Starry night). We then, quite deliberately, went our separate ways to research, both museums and libraries, meet up after a period, compared notes and picked the paintings that we shared an interest in. We decided which paintings could be linked together and which paintings would be treated as independent entities. Then we decided that we would interpret the paintings in our own way. We discussed the musical expression and Peter Lodwick started to create music. The choreography was then developed to the music. We were fortunate to receive financial support from several cultural institutions to make this performance come to life.
The Artist
We realised that the majority of young people in this country have no relationship to one of Norway’s most celebrated artist, Edvard Munch. This inspired us, composer and musician Peter Lodwick, dancers and choreographers Marit Krogeide, Christer Tornell to create an untraditional and innovative performance, based on 6 of his paintings. We wanted to show that the people portrayed in his paintings were of flesh and blood, had a history and were very much alive. To quote Edvard Munch: “No more paintings of interiors and people reading and knitting. It shall be living beings that breath, feel, suffer and love”.
 Marit Krogeide and Christer Tornell in ”Munch – a journey...” photographed by Peter Lodwick |  Marit Krogeide in ”Munch – a journey...” photographed by Peter Lodwick |
The Result
All paintings are hung on stage, all covered except “The Sun”. Thereafter we uncover each painting as we progress throughout the performance. We begin with “The Sun” to modernistic and rhythmical music and contemporary choreography. We have chosen to express what the sun represents; the eternal circle of life. Next follows “Young woman on the beach”. The dance is neo-classical and begins on point. The music is lyrical. Halfway through the choreography the dancer discards her point shoes as an expression of freedom from the political constrictions of the time (women in Norway received the vote in 1913, long after this painting was made). The music retains its lyrical character but with an explosion of contra punctual energy. This choreography leads to the third painting, “Separation”, which is a modern lyrical pas de deux to lyrical music with eastern influence. At the end of the dance she leaves him. This leads to the fourth painting “Melancholy”. The dancer expresses his solitude through jazz style dance and shares a song duet with the musician. The woman comes back at the end, but now the position is reversed and he leaves her. Next is a musical improvisation, based on the fifth painting “Starry Night”, where the musician/composer creates a new piece of music based on four tones provided by the audience, with song text also improvised. The performance ends with the sixth picture “Galloping Horse”, where we use the energy and force in the painting as inspiration. The horse is galloping out of the picture and we interpret this as galloping in to the future. Both dance and music is created using the latest dance and music expressions of the youth of today.
The performance has been performed 378 times for over 48.000 youngsters all over Norway and has received praise from both audience and press. The performance has been adjusted to suit international family audiences.
The composers
Peter Lodwick, composer, musician, artistic director of Dans & Toner
Peter Lodwick is from Wales and after receiving multiple Glamorgan scholarships, he studied piano, voice and cello at The Royal Academy of Music, London. On leaving college Peter became a member of The Doyle Carte Opera Company while still pursuing his piano career. While on tour in the USA he first began composing for dance. Parallel to this he received increasing recognition as a pianist. Peter was then invited to Norway by the director of the Norwegian Opera to teach norwegian composers the techniques of composing for dance.
Peter has composed music for many theatre performances at the National Theatre, Oslo New Theatre, The Norwegian Theatre, Rikstheatre and Norwegian Television. Peters works have been performed at Edinburgh Festival, Avignon Festival, Harstad Festival. He has composed for several of the modern dance groups in Norway and the Norwegian National Ballet. He has composed the CDs ”Music for Ballet Class”, ”Music for Modern Dance Class and "Moments". He is artistic director of Dans & Toner and has produced, composed and performed in their 11 touring productions. Peter has developed his own rhythm and improvisation technique, P.R.I.D.E, Practical Rhythm, Improvisation and Dynamic Exercises. The technique is part of the curriculum of the National Academy of the Arts, and Bårdar Dance Academy, Oslo. He also works with photography and design.
Marit Krogeide, dancer, choreographer, managing director of Dans & Toner
Marit Krogeide had her television debut as a dancer at the age of eleven. She is a graduate of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. She has performed in many musicals, such as: "The Merry Widow, "Sweet Charity", "Anything Goes" and "Pal Joey" and has had leading roles in the musicals "Junglebook", "Dames at sea" and "The Ragged Doll". She has also worked as a dancer for Norwegian television and with several leading contemporary choreographers. Together with composer and musician Peter Lodwick she started the company Dans & Toner, of which she is now the managing director. With over two thousand performances on tour with Dans & Toner, Marit has become a guiding light for many aspiring dancers. She has choreographed in all of Dans & Toners 11 productions. In addition she has choreographed both cabarets and commercial shows. She teaches classical ballet for professional dancers and has worked for Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Bårdar Academy, Ballet Academy and Daily Training in Stockholm, Proda in Oslo. Combined with touring for Dans & Toner, she has given several workshops in jazzdance and classical ballet throughout Norway. Over the years she has received many scholarships and awards.
Christer Tornell, guest dancer, choreographer
As a figure skater Christer Tornell won a place with the Swedish national team 1983 to 1985. His dance education took place at The Ballet Academy and Dance forum in Gothenburg. In Stockholm he danced in "Cats", "West Side Story", "A chorus Line", "La cage aux folles". In Norway, he has performed with Oslo Dance Ensemble and in the performances "Sugar", "Ungen", "Reisen til Julestjernen", "Frendelaus", ”Billy”, ”Chabaret”, ”Chicago”, ”My fair lady”, ”La Cage aux Folles” amongst others. For Norwegian Television he has performed in the Eurovision Song Contest and Holmenkoll Concert. He has also works with the award winning choreographers, Kjersti Alveberg and Sølvi Edvardsen and have performed their works on several international festivals. He has participated as jugde in the TV productions "Icedance" in Sweden (Stockholm) and "Lets Dance" in Norway (Oslo) 2007 - 2009. Christer also works as a dance teacher for the Norwegian national team in figureskating and has developed the dance curriculum at Steinerskolen in Bærum. In the summer of 2009 he worked with a group (Frikar) of acrobatic Norwegian folkdancers performing Peer Gynt in the show Tidar. He has worked with Dans & Toner since 2001.
