Post-Show Talk: Like the Shadow: I am And I am not

Norwegian choreographer Ina Christel Johannessen has led her to more than 70 works. She founded her company »Zero Visibility Corp« in 1996 and still thrills audiences worldwide. »Frozen Songs« is one of the productions that has been touring intensely. It revolves around the Global Seed Vaults in Svalbard and the climate change, threatening the globe.

Ina Christel has a long list of commissions and additional works for companies such as Ballet de Monte Carlo, Australian Dance Theater, CCDC Hong Kong, Cullberg, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani​​, Iceland Dance Company, Helsinki Dance Company, Oldenburg Tanz Theatre, Scottish Dance Theatre and Royal Swedish Ballet. Her close relationship with Carte Blanche (The Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance) has also been significant, resulting in 14 full-evening works. Ina Christel Johannessen received the Norwegian Critics Award for »Ambra«, created for Carte Blanche and Iceland Dance Company. She has also created several works for Den Norske Opera & Ballet, among them »Scheherazade«, »Desolating Persephone« and »Rite of Spring«, all of them performed with The Opera Orchestra.

In the last years Ina Christel Johannessen’s works have concentrated around the topic of huge changes in nature, environments and climate.

Chrisander Brun is a Stockholm-based set designer, lighting designer, costume designer and photographer who graduated from the Dramatic Institute in 2010. Chrisander has created lighting design and set design for a large number of dance and theatre performances in Scandinavia and at international performing arts festivals in Europe. Chrisander have long term collaborations with artists and choreographers such as Halla Ólafsdóttir, Amanda Apetrea, Nadja Hjorton, Dorte Olesen, Ludvig Daae, mychoreography, Tatu Hämäläinen, TOYBOYS, TO-EN Butoh Company, Ina Christel Johannessen, Martin Forsberg, Björn Säfsten, Magnus Myhr, Örjan Andersson and Stina Nyberg.

Chrisander has been commissioned by institutions such as Rogaland Theatre, Dramaten, Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, Folkteatern Göteborg, Helsingborgs stadsteater, Nationaltheatret in Oslo, Skånes Dansteater, Turteatern, Carte Blanche, Cullberg, Gärtnerplatz Theater, Spritmuseum and the Royal Swedish Opera. In 2017, Chrisander did the set and lighting design for the highly appreciated and acclaimed production of 'Hamlet' at Folkteatern, directed and choreographed by Örjan Andersson, and in 2023 he did the set and lighting design for 'A Dream Play', also directed and choreographed by Örjan Andersson.

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’.