About
Welcome to Skåne's most dangerous circus and a new dance performance by Jo Strømgren.
It is not easy being in a circus. Usually, the ones doing the same old tricks, the same old way, are the ones who can join the crew and become artists. Those who think differently must leave and become something else. But not anymore!
Skåne's most dangerous circus has hired the most unusual talents and created a show where anything can happen. Isn’t it much more exciting to see the lion eating its tamer, the knife thrower piercing the assistant and the acrobat falling to the floor? In a real circus, it's not about being the best, but about being the bravest.
Press quotes
'Outrageous, gaudy and utterly wonderful and a celebration to look forward to.'// Sydsvenskan
'There are no safety nets for neither the artists nor the audience, what happens happens.'// Sydsvenskan
'Jo Strømgren is not an adult with pointing fingers but instead a mischievous game master discarding all boundaries. But in the giggly delightful response to the wickedness there is also space for a melancholy over the circumstances and the Ring Master's desperate wish for appreciation and entertainment.'// Sydsvenskan
'Chaplin-esque slapstick, pantomime, nonsens dialogue and acrobatically elegant shorts are the ingredients. And it is the play with the stereotypes of circus and brutal, black humour that makes this family performance full of surprises.' // Dagens Nyheter
'Explorations of the question 'what is freedom' work well in a physical art form such as dance, and in the circus' wonderful play with the inherrent comedy of power.' // Dagens Nyheter
Jo Strømgren about 'The Dropouts'
'The Dropouts' is not really about the absurd show numbers, but the encounter with the artists. They are human beings who don’t fit into a regular circus, but have found one another and joined forces to create their own – singular – free zone.'
Read our interview with Jo Strømgren in the latest edition of Skånes Dansteater Magazine
Program
Read more about the dancers in 'The Dropouts' and the choreographer Jo Strømgren in our performance program. The program is in Swedish, and available online in the following pdf:
Performance program The Dropouts
ACCESSIBILITY
SEATING
The first row in our venue is accessible to all who avoid the use of stairs. There are eight wheelchair seats which you are welcome to book via the BUY TICKETS button on the page menu or via phone 0703-44 58 11 or via email info@skanesdansteater.se. But all seats on the first row can be used by wheelchair users.
COMPANIONS
Should you require a companion for your visit, their ticket is free of charge. Companion tickets are booked via phone 0703-44 58 11 or via email info@skanesdansteater.se.
Skånes Dansteater is part of Malmönyckeln.
EARLY BOARDING
Early boarding welcomes anyone needing some extra time or assistance in finding your seat in our venue, gathering 20 mins in our foyer prior to performance.
ENHANCED AUDIO
Our enhanced audio equipment is available for loan during your visit with us and is free of charge.
Additional activities
Performance introduction
11 Mar, 17:00
In Swedish. Free admission. In the theatre foyer.
Arts Club meets Jo Strømgren
16 Feb, 09:30-10:30
In Swedish. Free admission. NB: live at the theatre and online via Vimeo.
Read more about Arts Club here
Feel It: The Dropouts
11 Mar, 17:00-17:30
Free admission. NB: Pre-event sign-up.
Read more about Feel It
Creative team
Choreography: Jo Strømgren in collaboration with the dancers.
Set design, text: Jo Strømgren.
Costume design: Bregje van Balen.
Lighting design: Ludvig Uppman.
Poster photo: Jacob Stage.
The Dropouts is a co-production by Jo Strømgren Kompani and Skånes Dansteater.
About Jo Strømgren
Jo Strømgren was born in Norway. He is a choreographer, director, and a playwright. He has also developed his own style of set design and lighting design. Adding to this he has vast experience in filmmaking, both in front and behind the camera.
As a choreographer he has been commissioned by a wide range of companies – from classical to contemporary. As a theatre director he has worked mainly with national and municipal theatres in the Nordic region, but also with several productions in USA, Germany, and Russia. As a playwright he has written a long list of plays for theatre and scripts for film.
Jo Strømgren is the artistic director of Jo Strømgren Kompani and currently Resident Choreographer at the Norwegian National Ballet. His CV covers more than 150 productions, most of them full evenings. His works have been performed in 64 countries.
About Bregje van Balen
Bregje van Balen has been a prominent dancer for 18 years with Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) I and II. Always with an interest in costume design, she created her first costumes for the annual NDT workshop and for smaller dance projects in 1995.
After retiring as a dancer, she trained as a designer at Baruch Mode Academie. She has designed costumes for several companies including Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) I and II, The Royal Ballet London, Norwegian National Ballet, Gothenburg Ballet, Malmö Stadsteater, Hamburg Ballet, Introdans, Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Icelandic Dance Theatre, Puschkin Theater Moscow, Bolshoi Ballet, Staatstheater Mainz, Gärtnerplatztheater, Aalto Theater, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and Stuttgarter Ballet.
She has worked with choreographers, including Johan Inger, Jorma Elo, Medhi Walerski, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, Lukas Timulak, Bryan Arias, Ina Christel Johannessen, Jo Strømgren, Alexander Ekman, Patrick Delcroix and Cathy Marston. At Theater Basel, her costumes can be seen in Richard Wherlock's story ballet ‘Heidi’.
Dancers roles
Circus Director Tomáš Červinka
Mermaid Madeleine Månsson
The Lion Tamer Iris Telting
The Knife Thrower / The Lion Dario Minoia
Assistant to the Knife Thrower Kat Nakui
Pierrot, the sad clown Kit Brown
Understudy The Mermaid Ine Garré
Voice Over Anette Jellne
Images
