Photographer: Tale Hendnes

Ingun Bjørnsgaard Prosjekt // Helena

World premiere! A new dance performance about identity, desire, and the boundaries between truth and illusion

Stage

Store Sal

Organizer

Bærum Kulturhus — Dans Sørøst-Norge

Part of serie(s)

Dance

What is real, and what is merely an image? Who are we when our identity is shaped by the gaze, desires and fantasies of others?

In Helena, Ingun Bjørnsgaard Prosjekt explores the enigmatic figure of Helen of Troy from Greek mythology – the woman whose beauty is said to have sparked the Trojan War. Was she abducted, did she leave willingly, or was it merely an image of her that was taken to Troy? Through this enduring myth, the performance delves into questions of identity, the loss of self, truth and illusion.

Featuring dancers Katja Schia, Ida Wigdel, Catharina Vehre Gresslien and Ludvig Daae, alongside cellist Inga Byrkjeland performing live on stage, Helena unfolds in a sensuous, multidimensional world where movement, music and physical presence are intricately intertwined. The choreography shifts between the organic and the constructed, control and dissolution, exploring the tension between beauty and unease.

The performance draws inspiration from literary and artistic interpretations of Helen, from Homer and Euripides to contemporary feminist perspectives. Its themes resonate strongly with our own time, when questions of desire, gender, representation and fabricated images are more pressing than ever.

Featuring new music by Henrik Hellstenius, composed for electronics and cello and performed live, the work is shaped by a powerful sonic landscape. Combined with classical musical references, the score creates a dramaturgy rich in contrasts, tension and unpredictable energy.

Helena is an intense and poetic dance performance about the human longing to belong – and the distance between who we are and how the world sees us.

Honorary Award

Ingun Bjørnsgaard will receive the Honorary Award from Danseinformasjonen, Norway’s national information and resource centre for dance. The award will be presented by the Minister of Culture and Equality, Lubna Jaffery, shortly after the premiere 20th of January.

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A short introduction to Helena will take place before both performances at 18:30 on the Foyerstage.

More information will follow.

About Ingun Bjørnsgaard

Ingun Bjørnsgaard is one of Norway’s leading choreographers. Since 1992, she has created a wide range of innovative works with her own company, Ingun Bjørnsgaard Prosjekt. Her work explores the interplay between the everyday and the mythical, the precise and the unpredictable, often combining humour, seriousness and human vulnerability. Through close collaboration with dancers, she has developed a distinctive choreographic language in which movement, musicality and human relationships are central. Bjørnsgaard has received numerous awards and collaborated with leading dance companies in Norway and internationally.

Read more about Ingun Bjørnsgaard here.