Can reality be choreographed? Can reality dictate the choreography? Norrdans’ ten dancers share the stage with ten local residents, forming a unique ensemble that explores the concepts of crowds and power.

The crowd is a force in itself, capable of both support and destruction. In Crowds & Power, Martin Forsberg creates a choreographic field that stretches between the human mass and the actions that reveal the scales of power – between human connection and the dynamics of both the grand and the small. We experience set and costume design by David Gehrt and newly composed music by Anna-Sóley Tryggvadóttir. The work is enriched by lighting design from Mads Lindegaard.

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Martin Forsberg, trained in choreography at the Danish School of Performing Arts and artistic director of Norrdans, is an internationally active choreographer who creates energetic and idiosyncratic scenic worlds. By exploring everyday phenomena and situations, he transforms them into complex artistic expressions that challenge conventions and prejudices. His work is characterised by a holistic view of the dancer’s virtuosity and a deep dialogue with the artists he collaborates with. Forsberg’s art has a strong contemporary feel and endeavours to both comfort and provoke. In 2017, he received the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s Birgit Cullberg Scholarship, where he was honoured for his ability to create a vivid, complex experience that reflects human existence. 

Anna Sóley Tryggvadóttir is a composer and sound designer based in Stockholm. She graduated from the Dramatic Institute in 2010 and has worked in theatre, dance, television, radio, commercials, music and art installations. During the period after her graduation, she has written music and sound design for a large number of performances around Sweden, Norway and Germany at institutions such as the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Norrdans, Riksteatern, Örebro Länsteater, Cullbergbaletten, Moderna Dansteatern, Malmö Stadsteater, Riksteatret in Norway, Gothenburg City Theatre and Swedish Radio, etc. Tryggvadóttir has previously created the music for Norrdans community project Poor.resilient (2020).

David Gehrt is a Danish set and costume designer, based in Copenhagen. He trained in set and costume design at Den Danske Scenekunstskole in Copenhagen and holds a bachelor’s degree in textile design from Designskolen Kolding. Between 2017 and 2022, Gehrt worked as a house stage designer at Aarhus Theatre. David Gehrt has worked on a wide range of productions including new writing, classical works, opera and dance, and his work has been seen on stages in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Gehrt has previously created the costume design for Norrdans’ acclaimed Cave (2022).

Mads Lindegaard is a lighting designer who graduated from Den Danske Scenekunstskole in 2008. He lives in Copenhagen and works as a freelance lighting designer in Denmark and Sweden within dance, music and theatre. Some of the productions he has worked on are Reumert-winning Beton at Aalborg Theatre, Vildanden og Med Sne at Det Kongelige Teater in Copenhagen, Clusterfuck at Göteborgsoperan, Yahya Hassan’s poems at Mungo Park, Babettes Gæstebud at Østerbro Theatre and Dylansällskapet and Svek at Malmö Stadsteater.

Choreographer: Martin Forsberg
Set & Costume Design: David Ghert
Composer & Sound Design: Anna Sóley Tryggvadóttir
Light Design: Mads Lindegaard
Dance Artists: Viktoria Andersson, Lander Casier, Fie Dam Mygind, Kaelin Isserlin, Kevin Julianto, Sierra Kellman, Théo Langohr, Sofia Larriera, Liana Licious & local participants