2010-05-24
Lena Wennergren-Juras 1947-2010
Pictures of Lena 
Lena Wennergren-Juras passed away last Friday morning, May 21 at the age of 63.
Lena Wennergren-Juras was a part of Cullberg Ballet since its foundation in 1967 as dancer, rehearsal manager and artistic director together with Margareta Lidström 1995-2003.
Lena was born in Karlstad in 1947. 1964-1966 she attended the Academy of Ballet in Stockholm, where she studied classical ballet and jazz as well as modern dance. Lena spent 1966-1967 in the USA, mainly training at Martha Graham's school. She joined Cullberg Ballet in 1967 when the company was founded.
Lena came to collaborate closely with Birgit Cullberg, who created leading roles in her ballets Eurydice is Dead, Romeo and Juliet and Revolt especially for Lena. She also danced in many of Mats Ek's ballets, for example the elder sister in Bernarda, the mother in Rite of Spring and Myrtha in Giselle.
Since late 1970 Lena staged many works for Cullberg Ballet, Mats Ek's ballets as well as works by many guest choreographers as for example Jirí Kylián, Christopher Bruce, Nacho Duato and Ohad Naharin, while at the same time pursuing her dance career.
When Lena retired as a dancer her collaboration with Mats Ek developed and she came to work full time as his rehearsal assistant. She started staging Ek's choreographies, not only for Cullberg Ballet, but also for other companies in Sweden as well as abroad.
Lena’s last work as rehearsal manager with Cullberg Ballet was in Mats Ek’s She was Black, which had its première in March 2010 and tours in China this month. The two last performances in China this week will be dedicated to Lena.
For further information, please contact Erica Espling +46-70-602 27 01, PR and marketing manager Cullberg Ballet.
Cullberg Ballet on tour in China
2010-05-12
The coming week, Cullberg Ballet sets out on the company’s first lengthy tour in China presenting Mats Ek’s She was Black, Johan Inger’s Negro con Flores and the dance film 40 M UNDER by Alexander Ekman. The tour is organized for the special occasion of the Anniversary of 60 Years of Diplomatic Relationship between Sweden and the People’s Republic of China, and includes the cities of Beijing, Hangzhou, and Ningbo. Cullberg Ballet visits China May 14-26, seven shows will be performed in total.
The tour in China is supported by the Swedish Institute, The Committee for Sweden’s participation at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, Swedish Embassy in China and the Swedish general consulate in Shanghai.
For more information, please contact:
Erica Espling
Marketing- and PR manager
+46-70-602 27 01
Cullberg Ballet is in its fifth decade. The ensemble has performed in more than forty countries and is an important cultural ambassador for Sweden. Over the past ten years the Cullberg Ballet has appeared in as many productions abroad as in Sweden and presented highly acclaimed performances all over the world. The Cullberg Ballet also tours within Sweden in a national outreach initiative. The composition of the ensemble has been international since its inception. The Cullberg Ballet has always been characterized by the strong stage personalities and technical strength of the dancers.
Anna Grip new artistic director of Cullberg Ballet
2009-11-03
Anna Grip is appointed new artistic director of Cullberg Ballet. The three-year stint will begin on January 1, 2010. Anna Grip has been ensemble manager for the company since 2006 and acting artistic director since the spring of 2008.
“I am grateful for the confidence. I look forward to my continued work with the company to ensure that Cullberg Ballet will remain a meaningful player in the future for both the audience and the international dance world,” says Anna Grip.
“Anna Grip is firmly anchored in the Swedish dance scene and with her personality, knowledge and ideas she is absolutely ideal for the future development of Cullberg Ballet. We are extremely pleased that Anna will continue her work with the company,” says Birgitta Englin, executive director of Riksteatern.
Anna Grip has been active with Cristina Caprioli’s dance company CCAP in Stockholm, Rosas in Brussels, Nya Carte Blanche in Bergen and at Helsinki City Theater. She was ballet master of Östgötabaletten and head of the School for Modern Dance in Denmark. Anna is active on several boards of directors in the field. She took over as acting artistic director for Cullberg Ballet in the spring of 2008 after Johan Inger stepped down from this position.
More information and press photos are available at www.cullbergbaletten.se
For more information and appointments for interviews, please contact
Erica Espling, marketing and PR manager, Cullberg Ballet, +46-70-602 27 01
Cullberg Ballet is in its fifth decade. The ensemble has performed in more than forty countries and is an important cultural ambassador for Sweden. Over the past ten years the Cullberg Ballet has appeared in as many productions abroad as in Sweden and presented highly acclaimed performances all over the world. The Cullberg Ballet also tours within Sweden in a national outreach initiative. The composition of the ensemble has been international since its inception. The Cullberg Ballet has always been characterized by the strong stage personalities and technical strength of the dancers.
Premiere for Cullberg Ballet with works by Benoît Lachambre and Crystal Pite
2009-10-29
This autumn, Cullberg Ballet is making an entrance on Stockholm House of Dance's small stage for the first time. In the program Up close, which premieres on November 25, the company presents two works by two Canadian choreographers; Benoît Lachambre and Crystal Pite. Lachambre is choreographer, dancer and improviser and has, together with the dancers, created a brand new work, JJ’s voices, inspired by Janis Joplin's voice. The work shares the program with Pite’s xspectacle which had its premiere in Montréal in 2004. Last year, Pite’s Matter of a Maker was a great success for Cullberg Ballet.
“I got the idea for the piece JJ’s voices from Janis Joplin’s voice, the way she uses it. She has a lot of heart and she is totally fearless with her voice, she allowed the voice to shift. Her voice dances. This is not a piece about Janis Joplin, but a piece inspired by her voice and singing. I am interested in the dynamics of the inner body. The dancers are covered, and although they are, the bodies don’t lose expression; the individual stays an individual no matter what. I want to show the shift from the symbol, being covered, to the person”, says choreographer Benoît Lachambre who is working in Sweden for the first time.
Benoît Lachambre, who has been part of the international dance scene for the past thirty years, is artistic director of his own company, Par B.L.eux, in Montréal. Performance and visual elements are always included in Lachambre's work. Benoît Lachambre has created appreciated solos for Louise Lecavalier and Marion Ballester. He has collaborated with several other choreographers worldwide, including Felix Ruckert, Catherine Contour and Sasha Waltz, as well as artists such as Laurent Goldring. Lachambre has garnered numerous awards, including the prestigious Bessie Award in New York for his collaboration with Meg Stuart and Hahn Rowe.
"xspectacle is a portrait of something familiar and dear to me: dancers working on a dance. The theater is the frame, and the presence of an audience affects the picture: what was once practical and authentic becomes staged and self-aware. At times, the performers finesse and refine their destabilization in order to appear spontaneous. However, the presence of improvisation ensures that the unknown has a voice, and that the energy of risk and discovery is true," says Crystal Pite.
Crystal Pite is a trained dancer, though throughout her dance career she has also worked as a choreographer. Pite has choreographed for companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Ballett Frankfurt, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal (where she was also resident choreographer from 2001 to 2004), Ballet British Columbia, the Alberta Ballet, and Ballet Jörgen, as well as for many freelance groups. In 2001 Pite returned to Canada, where she founded her own company – Kidd Pivot. Last year she created the highly acclaimed Matter of a Maker for Cullberg Ballet.
Crystal Pite's Matter of a Maker is presented at matinée, evening, and school performances with Cullberg Ballet at the House of Dance in Stockholm on November 21-22, as well as November 24.
More information and press photos are available at www.cullbergbaletten.se
For more information and appointments for interviews, please contact:
Erica Espling, marketing and PR manager, Cullberg Ballet
+46-70-602 27 01, erica.espling@riksteatern.se
To reserve press tickets, contact Anna Sundén, Press Officer, House of Dance, Stockholm +46-8-508 990 06.
New dancers in Cullberg Ballet
2009-08-21
The season 2009/2010, Cullberg Ballet has three new dancers: Sylvie Gehin Karlsson from France, engaged in recent years at Swedish dance company NorrDans, Victoria Roberts, Great Britain, who has been a member of Scottish Dance Theatre for the past eight years, and Anton Valdbauer from Russia, dancer with the Nederlands Dans Theater II (NDT II) 2006-2009. Johanna Lindh is back in the company from leave.
Cullberg Ballet will perform at Parkteatern in Vitabergsparken, Stockholm, Sweden August 22-23, and at Dance Gala at the Göteborg Opera, August 29-30. During the autumn, the company will be touring to Umeå, Leipzig, Haag and Östersund.
On November 21, Cullberg Ballet returns to Stockholm House of Dance with the highly acclaimed Matter of a Maker by Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite. On November 25, for the first time ever, Cullberg Ballet is making an entrance on the Stockholm House of Dance’s small stage in a smaller and more intimate format with Crystal Pite who stages her piece Xspectacle. In the same program, Canadian choreographer, based in Montréal, Benoît Lachambre creates a new work together with the Cullberg Ballet dancers.
CV, high resoultion pictures and more information on www.cullbergbaletten.se
Cullberg Ballet is a part of Riksteatern
For more information, please contact
Erica Espling, Marketing and PR manager Cullberg Ballet
+46-8-531 991 39
+46-70-602 27 01
erica.espling@riksteatern.se
Cullberg Ballet in Singapore
2009-06-03
On 5-6 June, Cullberg Ballet is performing in Singapore with two popular works: Aluminium by Mats Ek and As If by Johan Inger. This is the first time the company performs in the country. The occasion will also be Carl Inger’s final appearance with Cullberg Ballet, which he joined in 1998.
Mats Ek created Aluminium for the Spanish Compañia Nacional de Danza in 2005, and it was then added to Cullberg Ballet’s repertoire that same year. The work revolves around the notion of resistance – not necessarily in a political sense but more as an attitude in everyday life.
As If is Johan Inger’s fourth work for Cullberg Ballet. Premiered in 2005, the work draws on thoughts and ideas about the nature of mankind and how we relate to each other and the world around us.
See extracts from the work at www.youtube.com/cullbergballet
Singapore, Esplanade, 5-6 June
Aluminium
Choreography Mats Ek
Set, costumes Peder Freiij
Lighting Erik Berglund
Music John Adams, Shaker Loops
Approx. 35 minutes
12 dancers
As If
Choreography Johan Inger
Dramaturgy Franka Gebert
Set, costumes Mylla Ek
Lighting Erik Berglund
Music Stefan Levin
Approx. 45 minutes
13 dancers
Dancers
Christopher Akrill, Kenneth Bruun Carlson, Agnieszka Dlugoszewska, Carl Inger, Åsa Lundvik Gustafson, Gesine Moog, Shumpei Nemoto, Filipa Peraltinha, Luis Alberto Rodriquez, Joaquim de Santana, Adam Schütt, Daniel Sjökvist, Isaac Spencer, Marylise Tanvet, Rachel Tess, Sharon Vazanna, Patricia Vásquez.
Carl Inger joined Cullberg Ballet in 1998 and has danced for example the Prince in Mats Ek’s Swan Lake and leading roles in several of Johan Inger’s ballets.
For more information, please contact:
Erica Espling, Marketing and PR Manager Cullberg Ballet
Riksteatern
SE-145 83 Norsborg
Tel: + 46 8 531 991 39
+46 70 602 27 17
erica.espling@riksteatern.se
For more info and high-resolution photos, visit www.cullbergbaletten.se
About Cullberg Ballet
Cullberg Ballet is in its fifth decade as a leading company on the front line of modern dance. The ensemble has performed in more than forty countries and is an important cultural ambassador for Sweden. Over the past ten years Cullberg Ballet has performed as many times abroad as in Sweden, scoring popular successes around the world. In Sweden, the company’s widespread performances bring the best of Swedish dance to the national audiences. The composition of the company’s ensemble has been international from the start. The dancers’ technical proficiency and strong stage personalities have always been Cullberg Ballet’s main characteristics. Cullberg Ballet is part of Riksteatern.
Cullberg Ballet to perform in Ljubljana, Belgrade, Budapest and Aarhus in April
2009-04-03
In April Cullberg Ballet will be touring to Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary and Denmark. In Ljubljana the company will be presenting Johan Inger’s Walking Mad, Empty House and Negro con Flores on April 6, in Belgrade Empty House and Walking Mad on April 15, in Budapest all three works on April 17-18 and in Århus the same program on April 22. Cullberg Ballet has visited all four cities before: Ljubljana in 1999 with Sleeping beauty and Giselle, Belgrade in 2007 with As If and Aluminium, Budapest in1984 with Once upon a Time there was a House, Night Shade and Ghost Dances, Århus in 1978 with At the Edge of the Deep Forest, Adam and Eve and Soweto.
April tour:
SLOVENIA
Ljubljana, Cankarjev Dom
6 April Empty House
Negro con Flores
Walking Mad
SERBIA
Belgrade, Sava Centre
15 April Empty House
Walking Mad
HUNGARY
Budapest, Festival Theatre
17 April Empty House
18 April Negro con Flores
Walking Mad
Organized by National Dance Theatre
DENMARK
Århus, Musikhuset Aarhus
22 April Empty House
Negro con Flores
Walking Mad
Empty House
2002
Choreography and set design: Johan Inger
Costumes: Mylla Ek
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Music: Félix Lajkó
25 min
Negro con Flores
2005
Choreography, set design and costumes: Johan Inger
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Video: Anders Amrén
Music: Stefan Levin
35 min
Walking Mad
2001
Choreography, set and costume design: Johan Inger
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Music: Maurice Ravel
28 min
Photos above are available in high definition at www.cullbergballet.se under Press
The performance in Belgrade is supported by the Swedish Institute.
Carl Inger receives dance award
2009-01-26
Carl “Bobo” Inger has been awarded the Riksteatern dancer’s prize 2008 for ”his artistic contribution in the pieces Walking Mad, As If, Aluminium and many more. Bobo’s dance has a low-voiced and limpid expression that impresses largely on many people. The audiences of Cullberg Ballet and Riksteatern have enjoyed Bobo’s dance since 1998. The Prince in Swan Lake is one of his noted roles. But no matter what roles Bobo performes in, he always distinguishes himself with his great versatility and excellence. He takes responsibility both for the company and the repertoire he is dancing. Bobo means a lot to Cullberg Ballet, that too is a reason why he is a worthy recipient of the Riksteatern award.”
World premiere by Johan Inger
2009-01-26
On Saturday, February 7, Cullberg Ballet will have its world première of Position of elsewhere – a new full-evening work by Johan Inger. This will take place at the Main Stage (Stora scen) at the House of Dance (Dansens Hus) in Stockholm.
Position of elsewhere is the second full-evening work which the choreographer Johan Inger has created directly for Cullberg Ballet. It is a three-part dance performance which carries with it a sort of retrospective of Johan Inger’s five years as Cullberg Ballet’s artistic director, a position which he ended last summer:
“The beginning of the performance is very physical in a nearly manic kind of way. The point of departure was to conquer and take up space with a manic, driving energy. The first part is just about conquering the room. Coming and taking and working one’s way in from the sides. In the second part a kind of meeting ensues. In the third and final part there is a parting. There once again it will be cleaned out and become pure,” says Johan Inger of his work.
Like in Point of eclipse, which had its world première in November 2007, Inger is collaborating with set designer Jens Sethzman and composer Jean- Louis Huhta. Sethzman and Inger already felt two years ago that they wanted to take their collaboration further to see where it might lead.
”Johan is heading in an entirely new direction, towards a new language, and it is an honour to be invited into this process,” says Jens Sethzman.
The set design is based on a grand and technically complicated lighting design which also serves as a sculptural object in its own right.
”At the same time as Johan is producing a great work and has an enormous store of materials and ideas, this set design is also built upon a pretty grand idea which can carry itself. I don’t know how much our ideas are going to clash; it isn’t until we see it built on the stage that we can understand what it means for the whole,” says Jens Sethzman.
POSITION OF ELSEWHERE
2009 (70 minutes)
Choreography Johan Inger
Assistant Choreographer Jane Hopper
Stage Design/Lighting Jens Sethzman
Costume Design Carolina Armenta and Johan Inger
Music Jean-Louis Huhta, JS Bach
Tour
SWEDEN: Stockholm, Dansens Hus February 7, 9-14, Gävle Teatern, Februay 19 , Borås Stadsteater, February 24, Örebro Hjalmar Bergmanteatern, February 27, Skövde Stadsteater March 3
NORWAY: Sandvika, Baerum Kulturhus, March 11 -12
Cullberg Ballet on tour in Germany
2008-11-20
November 21st-December 6th Cullberg Ballet will be touring in Germany, visiting the four cities Ludwigsburg, Schweinfurt, Bonn and Fürth. In the three first the company will, for the first time outside Sweden’s borders, present Johan Inger’s piece Point of eclipse from 2007.
Being in present was Johan Inger's foundation for Point of eclipse. He wanted to commit the body and the movement, to be conscious in the body and not a step ahead.
– I wanted to create a feeling of space and to be able to zoom in and out from these people who delve in to themselves, are absorbed by their inner-self. It should feel like you see them from a thousand metres up in the air and in the next minute zoom in and see their processes close up.
Behind the stage design and lights is Jens Sethzman who has previously worked with choreographers such as Virpi Pahkinen, Örjan Andersson and Margaretha Åsberg. It is the first time they have worked together although Johan Inger has followed Jens Sethzman's work for many years.
– I had liked Jens' light and room for some time and had been curious to see what co-operation with Jens would bring, what would happen if I put myself in his room, says Johan Inger.
The music is composed by Jean-Luis Huhta who has previously composed music to works by Philippe Blanchard, Christina Caprioli and Rasmus Ölme, among others, as well as to film and theatre.
POINT OF ECLIPSE
2007 (70 minutes)
Choreography Johan Inger
Assistant Choreographer Jane Hopper
Stage Design/Lighting Jens Sethzman
Costume Design Carolina Armenta and Johan Inger
Music Jean-Louis Huhta
Tour
Ludwigsburg, Forum am Schlosspark
21 November Point of eclipse
Schweinfurt, Theater der Stadt
24 November Point of eclipse
25 November Point of eclipse
Bonn, Theater Bonn
28 November Point of eclipse
Fürth, Stadttheater Fürth
4 December Walking Mad
5 December As If
6 December
”Point of eclipse is a production with an almost captivating frenzy that shakes me to my very core. I am convinced that it will leave a lasting impression, even far outside Sweden's borders.”
Scentidningen Nummer
“The dancers are fantastic in their continual changing shape, which keeps the scene in musically layered motion.”
Svenska Dagbladet
“The entertainment factor is at a peak when Johan Inger has a premiere for his first full evening ballet. He and The Cullberg Ballet are producing dance creations that are so well composed that I imagine that the gaping public are meant to be a part of them.”
Tidningen Kulturen
”Johan Inger's new works is a meaningful, exciting production that has changed the direction of the fantastic, skilful Cullberg Ballet.”
Upsala Nya Tidning
Photos above are available in high definition at www.cullbergballet.se under Press
Excerpts from the pieces on www.youtube.com/cullbergballet
Aluminium and As If at Dansens Hus in Stockholm
2008-10-20
October 23-25 Cullberg Ballet presents a specially composed program, two well-loved works by two former artistic directors: Aluminium by Mats Ek and As If by Johan Inger.
Aluminium
Mats Ek created Aluminium for the Spanish company Compania Nacionad de Danza in 2005. Later the same year it was incorporated into Cullberg Ballet's repertoire. The work is about resistance, not in a political sense byt rather as an approach to life.
“The word ‘resistance’ has been key to the creation of the work. Not necessarily in a political sense but rather as a way of approaching life, looking at the familiar as if for the first time, not taking anything for granted – questioning which could lead to some necessary change. The form of the ballet follows the architecture of the music, with its gentle middle section creating an important contrast.” Mats Ek
As if
As if, which premiered in 2005, is Johan Inger’s fourth work for the Cullberg Ballet. As if draws on thoughts and ideas about the nature of mankind and how we relate to each other and our surroundings.
" 'As if' is about the cycle of life and different phases in life. The course of events is affected by the wall, which steers the space and the dancers. The wall stands for something inevitable – no one can stop time.” Johan Inger
Aluminium
Choreography Mats Ek
Set, costume Peder Freiij
Light Erik Berglund
Music John Adams, Shaker Loops
(with permission from G. Schirmer, inc./edition
Wilheim Hansen as, Köpenhamn)
As if
Choreographer Johan Inger
Dramaturgy Franka Gebert
Set, costume Mylla Ek
Light Erik Berglund
Music Stefan Levin
Tickets: www.dansenshus.se or +46850899090
Cullberg Ballet at Moderna Museet in Stockholm
2008-09-19
On September 27th and 28th, Cullberg Ballet will celebrate Moderna Museet in Stockholm with dance installations by Alexander Ekman. Cullberg Ballet's 50th birthday present to Moderna Museet, the museum for modern art, will be five site specific dance installations in the permanent collection and the foyer of the museum 11am-5pm next week-end. Altogether 40 dancers will participate - Cullberg dancers and specially invited students from the Royal Swedish Ballet School and the Ballet Academy Stockholm.
– It’s quite a special task to exhibit Cullberg Ballet and dance students at Moderna Museet. The installations will among other things question our notion of time and look at art criticism as a phenomenon. The installations are created with the pressure of only one week’s rehearsal time which adds a special energy and shows Cullberg Ballet’s talent for improvisation, says Alexander Ekman.
The 24 year-old award-winning choreographer danced two seasons in Cullberg Ballet before deciding to focus on choreography. He has created works for a number of dance companies in Europe, for example Nederlands Dans Theater, GöteborgsOperans Ballet and he was also one of the choreographers chosen to create pieces for the jubilée when Cullberg Ballet turned 40 in 2007. Alexander Ekman on YouTube
New dancers in Cullberg Ballet.
Cullberg Ballet has four new dancers in the ensemble: American Rachel Tess who has been a member of The Göteborg Ballet, Filipa Peraltinha from Portugal who earlier danced in Portuguese Company of Contemporary Ballet, Brazilian Joaquim de Santana with a background in Introdans and Scapino Ballet and Gesine Moog from Germany whose previous engagements include Riksteatern’s production of Ohad Naharin’s Kamuyot. Alexandra Campbell and Christopher Akrill are back from leave. Alexandra has during the last two years freelanced as a choreographer and dancer both in Sweden and abroad. Chris has worked for three yearsas a dancer and musical artist in London. CV:s and portraits of the dancers: http://www.cullbergbaletten.se/EN/AboutCullberg/Dancers
Cullberg Ballet to participate in Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada
2008-06-18
Friday June 21 and Monday June 23 Cullberg Ballet will perform at the open air stage in Generalife in Spain. The company will participate in Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada, an international festival for contemporary dance, flamenco and classical music. Participants from France, Germany, Holland, India, Sweden, the U.S. and Spain are on the program that kicks off June 20 and runs through July 11. Cullberg Ballet will present Mats Ek’s Aluminium from 2005 and Johan Inger’s Walking Mad from 2001 and Out of Breath from 2002. This is the company’s first visit in Granada.
Granada Festival: www.granadafestival.org
Cullberg Ballet in Vilnius and Amsterdam
2008-04-29
Saturday May 3rd, Cullberg Ballet will give a guest performance in Vilnius at the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre. The company will start off the New Baltic Dance '08, a contmporary dance festival with participants from the Nordic and Baltic countries as well as other European countries and Canada. Cullberg Ballet will perform Johan Inger’s Negro con Flores from 2005 and As If from the same year. ”The production is set in a landscape between light and dark, seriousness and ease. It moves through a formation of emotional states with the intention of breaking away, to go further”. As if is Johan Inger’s fourth works for the Cullberg Ballet and is based on thoughts and ideas about human nature, our relationships and the world around us.
On May 9, 11 and 12 Cullberg Ballet will present the same program in Amsterdam at the Het Musiektheater.
Cullberg Ballet in premieres by Stijn Celis and Crystal Pite
2008-04-01
Cullberg Ballet will present two world premieres by Stijn Celis and Crystal Pite on April 11 at Dansens Hus in Stockholm. Belgian choreographer and set designer Stijn Celis has created pieces for companies such as Ballet Gulbenkian, Bern Ballet, Ballet Mainz, Ballet Wiesbaden, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and Ballet Nürnberg. Seasons 2004 to 2007 he was the artistic director for Bern Ballett. Celis has cooperated with Cullberg Ballet earlier – in 1997 he created UBILOZ Vanilla, in 2002 Vertigo Maze and in 2004 Sore Core for the company.
Crystal Pite creates for the first time a work for Cullberg Ballet. Pite is a Vancouver-based choreographer and artist with her own dance company - Kidd Pivot. She is a trained dancer, but during her entire dance career she has also worked as a choreographer. She has created pieces for Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballett Frankfurt, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal and Ballet British Columbia among others. Kidd Pivot, which has already received numerous prizes, tours both nationally and internationally. Pite is also active as an artist and musician.
Johan Inger, artistic director of Cullberg Ballet, on the collaboration with Crystal Pite and Stijn Celis:
- Stijn Celis and Cullberg Ballet have worked together before and we look forward to presenting another piece made for us. Stijn’s movement language is both simple and intricate in his own characteristic way. It often contains elements of absurdism and is physically and technically demanding. His works are often unpredictable – unexpected. Crystal Pite is now an enormously sought-after choreographer, and we are extremely glad that she has the chance and the desire to visit our company. Crystal’s works combine composed elements with structured improvisation. They are strongly physical and at the same time fragile and they often contain a completely special ingenuity and humour.”
Sonata
Choreography and Set Design: Stijn Celis
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven: From Piano sonata nr 30, E major. Richard Wagner: from Tristan and Isolde, Ghédalia Tazartès: Transports 2
Costumes: Catherine Voeffray
Lighting Design: Erik Berglund
Assistants to the choreographer: Lisa Drake, Anna Grip
ca 20 min
4 dancers
Matter of a Maker
Choreography, Set Design and Costumes: Crystal Pite
Music: Owen Belton (composed for Cullberg Ballet)
Additional music: Beastie Boys: POW, Groove Holmes
Lighting Design: Erik Berglund
Assistant to the choreographer: Jane Hopper
Costume Design assistant: Nina Stenmark
ca 60 min
14 dancers
Sonata and Matter of a Maker will be performed at Dansens Hus 11-12 April, 15-19 April and at Gävle Teater 23 April.
Lena Wennergren-Juras – Recipient of this year’s Gunilla Roempke Award
2008-01-19
Lena Wennergren-Juras is the recipient of the Gunilla Roempke Dance Foundation’s 2008 Award. “She fills the ballet hall with a naturalness which brings a calm to the dances and inspires confidence,” read one part of the jury’s explanatory statement. The prize, which is worth 50,000 SEK, was awarded in conjunction with Friday evening’s revival at the Royal Opera (Kungliga Operan) of the special anniversary performance, “Birgit Cullberg 100 Years”.
The jury’s explanatory statement:
- She fills the ballet hall with a naturalness which brings a calm to the dances and inspires confidence.
- It is important to respect the original, and she is careful to call attention to the choreographer’s original ideas.
- She understands how important it is that every movement mean something and does not rest until her performance becomes convincing.
- She encourages roll interpretations founded upon being one’s character, not playing it.
- This year’s prize-winner is a woman, which is in line with everything which Gunilla Roempke felt was important.
- For us at the Royal Ballet (Kungliga Baletten), the work with “Miss Julie” (“Fröken Julie”) was wonderfully inspiring.
The jury included Mats Qviberg, Pär Isberg, Madeleine Onne, and Gunilla Roempke’s daughter Titti Gentele.
During the years 1995-2003, Lena Wennergren-Juras and Margareta Lidström were artistic directors of Cullberg Ballet. Subsequently and through the summer of 2007, Wennergren-Juras served as artistic adviser of the company. She has been a member of Cullberg Ballet since its inception in 1967. Birgit Cullberg created several leading roles for Lena Wennergren-Juras. She has also danced in many ballets by Mats Ek.
Riksteatern honors Cullberg members
2008-01-14
Riksteatern handed out its annual awards on Friday. The recipients included the dancer Mats Jansson and the production assistant Margareta Wall. The jury’s explanation for the choice of Mats Jansson read: “With great versatility and curiosity, he has attended to Cullberg Ballet's repertoire in all its many artistic expressions. During 2007 he distinguished himself in the special anniversary program where he danced in works from four decades. Always calm, warm, and thoughtful, he is Cullberg Ballet’s own gentleman.” The jury’s explanation for selection of Margareta Wall read: “After nearly 20 years with the Cullberg Ballet, she is the company’s heart and soul, both for the ensemble and the surrounding world. With inexhaustible energy and friendliness she tackles big and small problems, always with a smile and enormous patience. After five art directors and four heads of production, she has answers for everything and knows everything worth remembering. And we know that without her the Cullberg Ballet would not be where it is today.” The prize-winners were awarded 7,500 SEK each, the statue “Main Entrance” (“Huvudentré”), designed by Björn Fallström and sculpted by Matilda Johansson, and a certificate by the graphic designer Stina Lundberg.
Birgit Cullberg 100 Years – Two Ensembles Pay Tribute to Anniversary
2008-01-09
As If / Cullberg Ballet ,Miss Julie / the Royal Ballet. Revival on the Royal Opera’s main stage 1/18, 7:30 p.m. Also performed 1/24, 1/30, 1/31, 2/3, 2/5. Length: appox. 2 hrs.
The Royal Ballet and the Cullberg Ballet are sharing the Royal Opera’s main stage in a tribute to one of the greatest choreographers of our time. Birgit Cullberg founded Cullberg Ballet 41 years ago, and today it is one of the world’s leading dance ensembles.
Here the Cullberg Ballet is performing “As If” from 2005, choreographed by the current artistic director Johan Inger. The Royal Ballet concludes the evening with “Miss Julie” (“Fröken Julie”), Birgit Cullberg’s big breakthrough from 1950. Her interpretation of Strindberg’s play was pioneering in its day, and has become a modern ballet classic. It is impossible to overestimate the significance of Birgit Cullberg for Swedish and international dance, and she was creating new saucy choreography well into her old age.
As If
Choreography: Johan Inger
Music: Stefan Levin (composed for the Cullberg Ballet)
Scenography and Costumes: Mylla Ek
Lighting: Erik Berglund
Première: 2005
Miss Julie
Ballet in one act
Choreography: Birgit Cullberg after August Strindberg’s play
Music: Ture Rangström arranged by Hans Grossman
Scenography: Sven Erixon
Première: 1950
Johan Inger to leave the artistic directorship of Cullberg Ballet
2007-12-14
Johan Inger will no longer continue as Artistic Director for Cullberg Ballet from the summer of 2008.
- I have had five fantastic years as Artistic Director for Cullberg Ballet. But for me it is demanding to have both the artistic responsibility and to choreograph. To be able to develop as a choreographer I have decided to finish up as of this coming summer, says Johan Inger.
Cullberg Ballet, celebrating its 40th Anniversary, has had 52 000 visitors to its performances during 2007, which is the highest number since 2001.
- Johan Inger has made a very valuable contribution to Cullberg Ballet and to Swedish dance, both in Sweden and internationally. It is a great pity that he will no longer continue, but I understand his choice. It is now important for the entire Cullberg Ballet to discuss our direction, says Birgitta Englin, Managing Director for Riksteatern.
Cullberg Ballet’s season 2008/2009 is planned. Johan Inger will, among other things, create a new work for Cullberg Ballet, which will premiere in February 2009.
Johan Inger took over as Artistic Director for the Cullberg Ballet in 2003.
He has created several works for Cullberg Ballet: Home and Home (2002), Phases (2003), Within Now (2004), As if (2005), Negro con Flores (2005), Blanco (2006) and Point of eclipse (2007).
Cullberg Ballet to perform at December Dance in Bruges
2007-11-28
On December 2, Cullberg Ballet will present Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s End in Bruges in Belgium during the festival December Dance. Flemish/Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui worked in Sweden in the summer of 2006 to create a new production together with the dancers of Cullberg Ballet. End had its premiere in August 2006 during the Gothenburg Dance and Theatre Festival. In End, Larbi concentrates on finding the right direction in life and in relationships with other people. End is about breaking down walls, both real and imagined.
December Dance is a new festival in Bruges and is organised by the Concertgebouw, Cultuurcentrum Brugge and Brugge Plus. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui was appointed curator for the first of the series. He himself dances in both old and brand new pieces, and presents the work of other artists he admires. The performances are at various locations in Bruges.
More info about December Dance www.decemberdance.be
Cullberg Ballet visits Festival Les Boréales in Normandie
2007-11-16
Cullberg Ballet has been invited to participate in the week-long culture festival Festival Les Boréales in Normandie in France. The festival has a Nordic focus and presents art, lectures, drama, dance, art, music, film and more. This year Sweden is the guest of honour and besides Cullberg Ballet, Cirkus Cirkör, Svensk Form, Esbjörn Svensson trio, Lukas Moodysson among others will be representing Sweden.
Cullberg Ballet will perform at Théâtre de Caen showing altogether four different pieces during two evenings. On November 20 the ensemble will be dancing in Negro con Flores by artistic director Johan Inger and in End by Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Negro con Flores was Johan Inger’s fifth piece for his own company and the world première took place at Dansens Hus in Stockholm in 2005. End was created for Cullberg Ballet in summer 2006 and the world première was at Göteborgs Stadsteater.
On November 22 the dance company will present Walking Mad and Blanco, both by Johan Inger. Walking Mad was created in 2001 for Nederlands Dans Theater and Cullberg Ballet first presented it in Sweden in 2003. Blanco’s world première was in a programme with End late summer 2006.
Information about Festival Les Boréales: http://www.crl.basse-normandie.com/
Cullberg Ballet Premier by Johan Inger
2007-10-26
Cullberg Ballet is turning 40 and to kick off the celebrations they started with an anniversary tribute at Dansens Hus in Stockholm in February. The Company is now returning with a premier by the artistic leader Johan Inger. The production, Point of eclipse, is Johan Inger's first complete works.
Being in present is Johan Inger's foundation for this production. He wants to commit the body and the movement, to be conscious in the body and not a step ahead.
– I want to create a feeling of space and to be able to zoom in and out from these people who delve in to themselves, are absorbed by their inner-self. It should feel like you see them from a thousand metres up in the air and in the next minute zoom in and see their processes close up.
Behind the stage design and lights is Jens Sethzman who has previously worked with choreographers such as Virpi Pahkinen, Örjan Andersson and Margaretha Åsberg. It is the first time they have worked together although Johan Inger has followed Jens Sethzman's work for many years.
– I have liked Jens' light and room for some time and have been curious to see what co-operation with Jens would bring, what would happen if I put myself in his room, says Johan Inger.
The music is composed by Jean-Luis Huhta who has previously composed music to works by Philippe Blanchard, Christina Caprioli and Rasmus Ölme, among others, as well as to film and theatre.
POINT OF ECLIPSE
2007 (70 minutes)
Choreography Johan Inger
Assistant Choreographer Jane Hopper
Stage Design/Lighting Jens Sethzman
Costume Design Carolina Armenta and Johan Inger
Music Jean-Louis Huhta
Point of eclipse will be performed at Dansens Hus; Stora Scen 2 November, 5-10 November.
The Cullberg Ballet in Châteauvallon
2007-06-20
On 29 June the Cullberg Ballet will be performing Mats Ek’s Aluminium and Johan Inger’s As If at the amphitheatre in Châteauvallon. The performance will be part of Châteauvallon’s annual festival. The area, which has been developed from a forgotten castle into a complete cultural centre, today houses an amphitheatre, an indoor arena and circus tents seating a total of 4,200 people.
The Cullberg Ballet will visit France three times this year. In March the company toured for two weeks with Blanco by Johan Inger and End by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, visiting towns including Lyon. The year will end with a visit to Caen in November where the company will perform End by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Negro con Flores, Walking Mad and Blanco by Johan Inger.
The Cullberg Ballet heads to Germany
2007-06-20
On 23 June the Cullberg Ballet will be performing Aluminium by Mats Ek and Johan Inger’s As If in Germany. The performance is part of the Ludwigsburg Festival of music, drama, dance and literature, which runs from 20 May – 9 September.
The Cullberg Ballet last visited Germany in May, giving four performances of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s End and Johan Inger’s As If.
Cullberg Ballet to the Sintra Festival
2007-05-31
On 2 and 3 June Cullberg Ballet will be giving guest performances of Johan Inger’s Walking Mad and As If at Olga Cadaval Cultural Center in Portugal. The performances are part of the 42nd edition of the Sintra Festival. The music and dance festival which runs from 1 June to 15 July hosts Introdans from the Netherlands and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre from Taiwan among others.
Cullberg Ballet visited Portugal in 2001 with Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty and in 2003 with his version of Swan Lake. It will be the company’s first visit to Sintra.
Read more about the festival: http://www.ccolgacadaval.pt
Cullberg Ballet to Bergen International Festival
2007-05-22
On 25 May Cullberg Ballet presents End by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Walking Mad by Johan Inger at Bergen International Festival, Norway. This year’s festival lasts for 14 days and hosts 160 events within dance, music, theatre, literature, opera and visual arts.
Cullberg Ballet last appeared in Bergen in 1995 with Breath Bandits (Philip Taylor), Slow, Heavy and Blue (Carolyn Carlson) and Excerpts from Kyr (Ohad Naharin).
Performances in Poland May 15-17
2007-05-10
After performances in Wolfsburg Cullberg Ballet continues to Teatr Wielki in Lodz with Mats Ek's Aluminium and Johan Inger's Walking Mad and Blanco. The company last visited Poland in 2001 with two performances of Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty.
Cullberg Ballet heads to Germany
2007-05-07
Between 8-11 May the Cullberg Ballet will be giving guest performances of Johan Inger’s As If and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s End in Wolfsburg in Germany. The company will be participating in the Movimentos Festival which runs from 14 April to 20 May, playing host to international guest performers, especially in dance. The programme also includes concerts and discussions. Other dance companies performing during the festival include Batsheva Dance Company from Israel and Balé da Bahia from Brazil. The festival started in 2003 and is run by Volkswagen. This year’s theme is “respect”.
It will be the Cullberg Ballet’s first visit to Wolfsburg. The company last visited Germany in 2005 with Mats Ek’s A Sort Of and Johan Inger’s As If.
Read more about the festival: http://www.autostadt.de/portal/site/
Cullberg Ballet at the Belgrade Dance Festival
2007-04-23
On 28 April the Cullberg Ballet will be performing Johan Inger’s As If and Mats Ek’s Aluminium at Sava Center in Belgrade. The company’s performance will conclude this year’s Belgrade Dance Festival, an international festival of classical and modern dance started in 2004 on the initiative of the UNESCO organisation Conseil International de la Dance (CID).
Eight performances will be given during the festival, which lasts from 14 to 28 April, with performers including Pretty Ugly Tanz from Germany, Nederlands Dans Theater from the Netherlands and Talia Paz from Israel, who danced with the Cullberg Ballet in 1992-2002. A total of eight countries are represented.
The Cullberg Ballet has visited Belgrade once before, in 1968, when they gave two performances of Birgit Cullberg’s Eurydice is Dead, Miss Julie and Dionysos.
Read more about the festival: http://www.belgradedancefestival.com
Cullberg Ballet on tour in France
2007-02-27
Cullberg Ballet is touring in France in March giving a total of nine performances. The dance company will show End by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Blanco by Johan Inger, a programme which was premiered on 25th of August 2006 at the Göteborg Theatre and Dance Festival. After one performance in Nîmes 2 March Cullberg Ballet will continue with performances in Lyon 6-11 March, Valence 14 March and Douai 17 March.
Cullberg Ballet last visited France in spring 2006 then presenting Johan Inger´s As If and Mats Ek’s Aluminium. Four performances, 5000 tickets altogether, were sold out two months before the premiere in Paris.
40th anniversary of the Cullberg Ballet
2006-12-14
The Cullberg Ballet will soon be 40 and will be celebrating with eight anniversary performances at Dansens Hus on 2-3 and 5-10 February. Look forward to nights packed with surprises, blasts from the past and new works created specially for this unique occasion. This time the company is not only taking the stage but will also be packing the foyer with exhibitions and installations, not to mention themselves.
Choreography: Johan Inger, Alexander Ekman, Mats Ek and Birgit Cullberg.
Foyer: Tilman O'Donnell, Daniel Sjökvist and Thomas Zamolo.
In 1967 59 year-old Birgit Cullberg was asked by the Swedish Government to set up the Cullberg Ballet. From its initial eight dancers from five different countries the Cullberg Ballet has now grown to a company of twenty dancers, five of whom are Swedish. The ensemble has danced in 47 countries and plays an important role in presenting Swedish culture around the world. The Cullberg Ballet has given approximately 2,730 performances, with Mats Ek’s Giselle being the most performed work. It has been performed 308 times.
Cullberg Ballet at the Nobel Banquet
2006-12-07
Cullberg Ballet will entertain the 1,300 guests at the Nobel Prize award ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on 10 December. The House of Dance in Stockholm has been asked by the Nobel Foundation to organise the event, which will involve several different Swedish choreographers and dance companies. Cullberg Ballet will be performing a duet featuring Hlín Diego Hjálmarsdóttir and Jermaine Spivey created by Johan Inger. Approximately 1.2 million Swedes will be watching the Nobel ceremony, attended by the Nobel prize winners and members of the Swedish royal family, as it is broadcast live.
The Nobel Foundation was set up in 1900 under the will of Alfred Nobel. A private institution, the Foundation is responsible for managing the assets left by Nobel for the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. It also provides information on the prizes and organises the presentation ceremonies.
Cullberg Ballet in Norway
2006-11-21
21-23 November Cullberg Ballet will be performing at Baerum Kulturhus in Sandvika just outside Oslo. The company will then continue to Skien with one performance at Ibsenhuset on 26 November. They will show Aluminium by Mats Ek and Blanco by Johan Inger, artistic director of the company.
Cullberg Ballet last visited Sandvika 2004 with three ballets of Johan Inger: Out of Breath, Within Now and Walking Mad. The company’s last appearance in Skien was 2001 with Mats Ek’s Swan Lake.
Cullberg Ballet heads to Barcelona
2006-10-02
The Cullberg Ballet will be taking the works Blanco by Johan Inger and End by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui to Barcelona. This is the programme which was premiered on 25 August at the Göteborg Theatre & Dance Festival. The Cullberg Ballet will take the stage at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya on 5-8 October.
The company has performed in Barcelona on four previous occasions, most recently in 2004 with Johan Inger’s Home and Home and Mats Ek’s FLUKE, which were shown at Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Cullberg Ballet presents two world premieres
2006-08-10
On August 25, the Cullberg Ballet will present two world premieres at Göteborgs Stadsteater as part of the Göteborg Dance and Theatre Festival: Blanco by Johan Inger and End by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The production will then move on to Dansens Hus, Stockholm, where it opens September 1.
Independently of each other, Inger and Cherkaoui have created an evening centred on the themes of freedom, limitations and breaking established patterns.
Johan Inger, artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet since summer 2003, has been widely acclaimed in Sweden and abroad for his powerful choreography. Blanco is the sixth work he has created for the company. Blanco depicts an aspiration for a world not yet scarred by experience.
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, currently one of the world’s most exciting choreographers, achieved his breakthrough in Sweden with Foi (2003), a work created for Les Ballets C de la B. Larbi’s background includes experience in theatre, contemporary dance, hip-hop, modern jazz and Broadway dance. Coupled with an open-minded attitude to different performing arts, traditions and periods, this has led him to create highly personal and dramatic works that transcend boundaries. End, created for the Cullberg Ballet, focuses on finding the right direction in life and in relationships with other people. The work is all about tearing down walls – both real and imaginary.
End
Choreography: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
Choreography assistants: Lena Wennergren-Juras, Sri Louise, Nicolas Vladyslav, Damien Jalet
Set design: Wim Van de Cappelle
Costumes: Isabelle Lhoas and Frédérick Denis
Lighting design: Peter Lundin
Music: Traditional music from Georgia featuring Hamlet Gonashvili
Duration: 60 min
Blanco
Choreography and set design: Johan Inger
Assistant to the choreographer: Jane Hopper
Costumes: Johan Inger and Nina Stenmark
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Music: Stefan Levin
Duration: 50 min
Total performance duration 130 min including interval
This production will appear at Göteborgs Stadsteater, August 25–26; Dansens Hus, Stockholm, September 1–2 and 4–9; Malmö Opera och Musikteater, November 14–15.
Anneli Strömqvist, new managing director of the Cullberg Ballet
2006-08-09
Anneli Strömqvist joins Cullberg Ballet as managing director from 1 August 2006, replacing Mikael Jönsson appointed artistic administrator for the Royal Swedish Ballet. Anneli, until recently production manager at The.Lab Art & Media in Berlin has been the managing director of the Amanda Miller and Ballett Freiburg Pretty Ugly Dancecompany between 2001 and 2004. Before that she was production manager for the House of Dance in Stockholm.
The company also has four new dancers: Luis Alberto Rodriguez (USA), Tyler N. Gledhill (Canada), Clyde Archer (USA) and Isaac Spencer (USA). Tyler and Clyde come from GöteborgsOperans Balett, Isaac from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Luis has danced in Companhia Olga Roriz, Portugal among other companies.
Johan Inger awarded the 2006 Birgit Cullberg scholarship
2006-05-15
The Swedish Arts Grants Committee has awarded the 2006 Birgit Cullberg scholarship to choreographer Johan Inger on the following grounds: “Since the turn of the millennium, Johan Inger has developed into one of our most influential choreographers. His dance is meaningful and surprising without being over-explicit. The stage space simmers, sways and transforms through articulated movement and powerful shifts. In his latest piece Negro con Flores he speaks subtly in a dramatic tone. Johan Inger’s confidence in the participation of dancers in the artistic process shows that he is a choreographer of our time.”
The scholarship of SEK 100,000 was awarded by Swedish Culture Minister Leif Pagrotsky at the opening of the Dance Biennial in Gothenburg on May 11. The scholarship is awarded annually to a young choreographer. It was established by the government in connection with Birgit Cullberg’s 90th anniversary and was first awarded in 1999.
Johan Inger has been Artistic Director at Cullberg Ballet since 2003 and his choreographies have attracted a great deal of attention both in Sweden and on the international scene. Johan Inger’s latest productions for Cullberg Ballet includes Negro con Flores and Empty House from the autumn of 2005. Johan Inger is currently working on a new production that will have its first showing at the Cullberg Ballet in August.
The Swedish Arts Grants Council's Birgit Cullberg scholarship is awarded by its working group for theatre, dance and film artists without an application procedure. Scholarships have been previously awarded to Anna Vnuk 2005, Jens Östberg 2004, Kenneth Kvarnström 2003, Örjan Andersson 2002, Birgitta Egerbladh 2001, Pär Isberg 2000 and Lena Josefsson 1999.
Cullberg Ballet at the Istanbul Theatre Festival
2006-05-15
Cullberg Ballet is appearing at the Istanbul Theatre Festival for the first time. On May 20 and 21 the company will be performing Johan Inger’s As If and Mats Ek’s A Sort Of.
The guest performance is part of the fifteenth international theatre festival arranged by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. The event coincides with the 4th International Theatre Olympics being held in Istanbul on May 11―June 6. The events will be showing a total of 60 performances from ten countries including Greece, the UK, France, Japan and the USA, on twelve different stages. Cullberg Ballet will be performing at the Atatürk Cultural Center.
The guest performance is part of an extensive cooperation between Riksteatern and Turkey.
Tickets for Cullberg Ballet in Paris sold out two months before premiere
2006-04-21
26-29 April Cullberg Ballet will appear at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris with guest performances of Johan Inger’s As If and Mats Ek’s Aluminium. Four performances, 5000 tickets altogether, were sold out two months before the premiere. To meet the demand the general rehearsal on 25 April has partly been opened up for audiences. As If was created for Cullberg Ballet and opened in March 2005. Cullberg Ballet held the Swedish premiere of Aluminium in November 2005.
This will be Cullberg Ballet’s first appearance at Théâtre National de Chaillot, Cullberg Ballet last visited Paris in 1998, then presenting Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty at Théâtre de la Ville.
Anna Grip to join the Cullberg Ballet as ensemble manager
2006-04-07
Anna Grip is to join the Cullberg Ballet as ensemble manager. She will be working side by side with artistic director Johan Inger and have main responsibility for the ensemble.
“For me, Anna Grip was the obvious choice as ensemble manager. Her many years of experience and her passion for developing modern dance and for its future make her the ideal person to take on this role,” says the Cullberg Ballet’s artistic director Johan Inger.
“She is a sensitive person with a great deal of expertise and integrity, who Johan Inger and the dancers will enjoy working with,” says Riksteatern’s managing director Birgitta Englin.
Anna Grip trained as a dancer at Balettakademien in Stockholm, after which she danced at Dansteater Thalia in Gothenburg and Caprioli Dans in Stockholm. Between 1991 and 1995 Anna Grip was ballet master and then ballet master-in-chief of Östgötabaletten. Since then she has worked as a répétiteur and teacher at a number of dance companies and educational institutions, including the contemporary dance companies CCAP in Stockholm, Rosas in Brussels and Nye Carte Blanche in Bergen and at Helsinki City Theatre.
In spring 1997 Anna Grip worked with Cristina Caprioli to run a training project for young dancers using an alternative teaching philosophy and new teaching methods. Between 2000 and 2004 Anna Grip was the principal of the Danish National School for Contemporary Dance, and between 2004 and 2005 she headed the reference group for dance of the Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs.
Anna Grip will take up the post on 1 December, 2006.
“It’s really stimulating and will be great fun, in fact I’m almost a bit dazed to be given the chance to work with the company in its current phase of development. It’s a big job in a big company. As ensemble manager, my job will be to watch over the creative and technical development of the dancers, and with the excellent dancers of the Cullberg Ballet, I see this as both a challenge and an honour.”
Cullberg Växtverk - Choreographies by three of Cullberg Ballet’s dancers.
2006-03-24
On 4th November, the Cullberg Ballet will be presenting the premiere of Cullberg Växtverk at Moderna Dansteatern in Stockholm. Three of Cullberg ballet’s dancers, Thomas Zamolo, Shintaro O-ue and Alexander Ekman, will present their own choreographies. The program will be presented at Moderna Dansteatern 6-8 April and at Dansstationen, Palladium in Malmö 11-12 April.
Cullberg Växtverk (“Growth works”) is a new project in which the Cullberg Ballet shows works by some of the company’s dancers. The idea behind it is to harness the creativity which is found within the Cullberg Ballet but which is not used in the company’s ordinary repertoire.
HADO
Choreography, set design and lighting design: Thomas Zamolo
Text and costumes: Irene Joyce and Thomas Zamolo
Music: Ralf Freudenberger. The music is composed for the Cullberg Ballet and performed live in Stockholm and Malmö.
Dancers: Alexandra Campbell, Lisa Drake, Sandra Marín, Tilman O’Donnell, Rafi Sadi, Eytan Sivak, Daniel Sjökvist, Jermaine Spivey, Rei Watanabe
This work or experience is a pure and simple message about a philosophy of life; a new way, maybe, of seeing the Universe, Earth, Life... Us...
Proven scientifically but needing to be believed first.
A world of questions, fragility, mystery, detail... but not more than human.
Is the power of water, as one of the four elements of life, affecting us even more than we could imagine ?
Thomas Zamolo
between a and B
Concept and choreography: Shintaro O-ue with dancers Alexandra Campbell, Hlín Diego Hjálmarsdóttir, Mats Jansson, Johanna Lindh, Åsa Lundvik Gustafson, Banning Roberts, Izumi Shuto, Rei Watanabe
Thank you to Riksteatern’s blacksmiths
Helpdesk 50/50
If you need help understanding, or have questions or suggestions about the work between a and B, please contact our helpdesk which is open seven days a week. The helpdesk will guide you to reach your own view about the work. Tel: +46 (0)70-485 40 13
Shintaro O-ue
An Unknown Species?
Concept, choreography and set design: Alexander Ekman
Costumes: Alexander Ekman, Nina Stenmark, Karin Fahlberg
Lighting: Alexander Ekman and Peter Lundin
Music: Alexander Ekman, J. S. Bach, Charles Trenet.
Dancers: The Leader: Lisa Drake The Inseminator: Tillman ODonnell The Thinker: Jermaine Spivey Members of the Flock: 1. Carolina Armenta 2. Carl Inger 3. Åsa Lundvik Gustafson 4. Izumi Shuto.
One day we started talking about animals and their behaviour...
We started comparing the differences between animals and people...
Then we improvised using animals as inspiration...
We invented a new kind of character...
A new world...
A new Species...
Alexander Ekman
Cullberg Ballet on tour in Italy
2006-03-10
After an extensive tour around Sweden, Cullberg Ballet now brings two different programs to Italy. On 16 March the company will present Mats Ek’s Aluminium and Johan Inger’s As If at Teatro Municipale in Reggio Emilia. Next stop will be Teatro Comunale in Modena on 19 March and then follows a performance in Teatro Comunale in Ferrara on 21 March. In both towns Cullberg Ballet will present Empty House and Negro con Flores by Johan Inger and Aluminium by Mats Ek.
Cullberg Ballet tours regularly in Italy and after their last visit, with Johan Inger’s Walking Mad and Mats Ek’s FLUKE in Verona in July 2004, they received Danza & Danza’s award for “Best performance 2004” Cullberg Ballet last appeared in Reggio Emilia in May 2002 with four works by Mats Ek: She was Black, Solo for Two, A Sort of and Swan Lake. The last visit in Modena was in December 1999 with Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty and in Ferrara in December 1988 with Mats Ek’s Swan Lake.
Scholarship awarded to Johanna Lindh
2006-01-25
Riksteatern has awarded its annual scholarships for excellent work in 2005. This year twelve scholarships were awarded, with one honorary mention. The winning artists included the Cullberg Ballet’s Johanna Lindh, who was awarded her scholarship on the following grounds: “Her absolute dedication, her unfailing energy and her great team spirit make Johanna Lindh an excellent representative of the dance profession. Her very first role was that of the Emerald Fairy in the ballet Sleeping Beauty in which she was given the opportunity to demonstrate her strong technique and forceful presence. Later, in the ballet Swan Lake she played the cocky Jester as well as the vulnerable Birthday Present, both performed with precision and sensitivity. In Within Now by Johan Inger she gave an excellent interpretation of a woman filled with loneliness and frustration. 2005 saw Johanna Lindh demonstrate her dramatic talent in Linus Tunström’s Orbituary and her excellent dance technique and expressivity in Mats Ek’s Aluminium, in which she danced the principal role.”
Cullberg Ballet on tour in Sweden
2006-01-17
On 4th November last year, the Cullberg Ballet presented three premieres at Dansens Hus in Stockholm. Mats Ek’s Aluminium had its Swedish premiere, Johan Inger’s Negro con Flores and Empty House had their world premiere and Swedish premiere, respectively. After the Stockholm performances the program was also presented in Winthertur, Switzerland and in Bucharest, Romania.
Cullberg Ballet will now take the program on an extensive tour of Sweden with the following performance locations and dates: 21 January, Hebeteatern, Trollhättan. 25 January, Hjalmar Bergmanteatern, Örebro. 28 January, Teatern, Härnösand. 1 February, Stadsteatern, Falun. 9 and 10 February, Stadsteatern, Lund. 14 February, Konsert & Kongress, Linköping. 17 February, Stadsteatern, Borås. 21 February, Teatern, Gävle. 24 February, Stadsteatern, Skövde. 28 February, Spectrum, Kiruna. 3 March, Idunteatern, Umeå
Cullberg Ballet to appear in Switzerland and Romania
2005-11-18
After the première at Dansens Hus (House of Dance) in Stockholm 4 November, Cullberg Ballet now brings the new program outside of Sweden. 23 - 24 November the dance company will be presenting Mats Ek’s Aluminium and Johan Inger’s Empty House and Negro con Flores at Theater am Stadtgarten in Winterthur in Switzerland and 2 - 3 December at the National Theatre at Bucharest in Romania.
Cullberg Ballet last appeared in Winterthur in 1994 with Philip Taylor’s Breath Bandits and Haunted Passages and Mats Ek’s Bernarda. The last visit in Bucharest was in 1978 with two different programs with ballets by Birgit Cullberg and Mats Ek.
Three premieres for Cullberg Ballet
2005-10-25
On 4th November, the Cullberg Ballet will be presenting no less than three premieres at Dansens Hus in Stockholm. Mats Ek’s Aluminium will have its Swedish premiere, Johan Inger’s Negro con Flores and Empty House will have their world premiere and Swedish premiere, respectively.
During the years 1985-1993, when Mats Ek was the Cullberg Ballet’s artistic director, he created for the company such critically acclaimed ballets as Bernarda, Giselle, Swan Lake, Carmen and FLUKE. Over the years, these ballets have formed the core of the company’s repertoire and contributed strongly to the Cullberg Ballet’s big international success. In this program, the Cullberg Ballet presents the Swedish premiere of Mats Ek’s Aluminium, a work that was commissioned by the Spanish dance company Compañía Nacional de Danza in April this year. Aluminium is about resistance – not necessarily in the political sense but more as a general attitude to daily life; seeing the familiar anew, not taking things for granted. The set and costumes were designed by Peder Freiij, who has worked with Mats Ek before, including for Sleeping Beauty from 1986.
The program includes two works by Johan Inger, the Cullberg Ballet’s artistic director since the summer, 2003. Johan Inger has received a lot of acclaim in Sweden and abroad for his very strong choreographies. The Cullberg Ballet has previously presented several of his works, including Home and Home, Phases, Within Now and As if, created directly for the company. Johan Inger has now completed a new work for the Cullberg Ballet – Negro con Flores. Along with this world premiere, the company will present Empty House, a reworked version of So Now Then which was made for the Nederlands Dans Theater in Holland. The piece centres around a feeling of being trapped inside oneself. Mylla Ek, who has worked with Johan Inger for several previous ballets, has done the costumes.
Aluminium
Choreography: Mats Ek
Set design and costumes: Peder Freiij
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Music: John Adams
World premiere by Compañía Nacional de Danza, 23 April 2005, Teatro Real, Madrid, Spain
Approx. 35 mins
Empty House
Choreography and set design: Johan Inger
Costumes: Mylla Ek
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Music: Félix Lajkó
A reworking of So Now Then which had its world premiere by the Nederlands Dans Theater 29 May 2002, Lucent Danstheater, the Hague, Holland.
Approx. 25 mins
Negro con Flores
Choreography: Johan Inger
Set design and costumes: Johan Inger
Lighting design: Erik Berglund
Music: Stefan Levin
World premiere by the Cullberg Ballet 4 November 2005 at Dansens Hus, Stockholm, Sweden
Approx. 35 mins
In the new year, the Cullberg Ballet will take the program on an extensive tour of Sweden with the following performance locations and dates: 21 January, Hebeteatern, Trollhättan. 25 January, Hjalmar Bergmanteatern, Örebro. 28 January, Teatern, Härnösand. 1 February, Stadsteatern, Falun. 9 and 10 February, Stadsteatern, Lund. 14 February, Konsert & Kongress, Linköping. 17 February, Stadsteatern, Borås. 21 February, Teatern, Gävle. 24 February, Stadsteatern, Skövde. 28 February, Spectrum, Kiruna. 3 March, Idunteatern, Umeå
Cullberg Ballet performs at Athens Festival and in Thessalonica
2005-08-25 
Cullberg Ballet will be part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Athens Festival. The company will present Mats Ek’s FLUKE and Johan Inger´s As If on the 31st of August and 1st of September at the amphitheatre Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Athens Festival was inaugurated in the same theatre, on the 24th of August 1955. It takes place annually and presents music, theatre and dance with artists from Greece and other countries.
On the 3rd and 4th of September Cullberg Ballet will present the same programme at Thessalonica Concert Hall in Thessalonica.
More info about Athens Festival on www.hellenicfestival.gr
Cullberg Ballet to appear at Israel Festival
2005-05-23
Cullberg Ballet ends the season with guest performances at Israel Festival 29-30 May. Former Artistic Director Mats Ek’s FLUKE will be presented together with Walking Mad by present Artistic Director Johan Inger. Walking Mad was chosen as "Best show 2004" by Italian dance magazine Danza & Danza after Cullberg Ballet’s performances in Verona last summer.
Israel Festival was founded in 1961 as a summer music festival. The program was later broadened to include all the performing arts. The festival takes place annually for a few weeks in the spring. Throughout the festival audiences are able to enjoy performances from artists all over the world as well as Israeli works. Since 1986 the country’s capital decided to adopt the festival as its own, and since then the majority of the performances are held in Jerusalem. Cullberg Ballet will however perform at the ancient Roman theatre in Caesarea outside of Tel Aviv, the original setting of the festival.
Cullberg Ballet last appeared in Israel in 1993 with Mats Ek’s Giselle.
