OSLO DANSE ENSEMBLE

This spring, the Oslo Dance Ensemble (ODE) toured the country extensively with Riksteateret. They were a success all over the country, with record audiences and excellent reviews. Now they have two brand-new choreographies by Subjazz and Ole Martin Meland. 

In their new work for ODE, Subjazz have moved on from their previous choreography of Pulp, and are drawing on the heritage and roots of traditional jazz dance. We encounter phantoms, demons, ghosts and witch-like figures in a mysterious, playful and diabolical expression. Jazz, gospel and blues music from Willis Earl Beal explode in the encounter with the urban, rhythmic pulse. Strong references to a bygone southern age flirt with a grotesque, intricate expression, providing the framework for a piece filled with mystery, sensuality and raw power in the true Subjazz spirit.  In modern costumes, the traditional jazz dance is transformed into an urban, pulsating expression inspired by Haitian voodoo, the culture of the American southern states, and good old jazz impulses from an era when artists like the Nicholas Brothers and Fred Astaire were the stars of popular culture. 

The production also contains a new choreography by Ole Martin Meland. He made a strong impression last year with Biperson, his first choreography for ODE. Ole Martin Meland graduated from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2006, after which he worked as a dancer for Carte Blanche, Norway’s national company for contemporary dance. He made his international debut as a choreographer with the work Brother for Carte Blanche in 2013. Since then, he has been commissioned to choreograph works for the Groteska Theatre in Krakow, the Iceland Dance Company in Reykjavik and Oslo Dance Ensemble. Ole Martin Meland’s choreography focuses on existential questions and grand emotional clichés. His language is direct and abrupt, and alternates between collective consensus and conflict. Simultaneously enthusiastic and destructive, he solemnly attempts to portray the pathos of humanity.