The fall season at the Norrlandsoperan has just begun with a festive 50th-anniversary celebration. During the celebration on August 24, the program included a shortened version of the cult-classic dance piece *Rosa löften* by Hagar Malin Hellkvist Sellén. Once again, we saw dancer Marianne Kjærsund lovingly explore Swedish dance band culture, with her swaying chino pants.
But now it’s Monday, and in the dance director’s office, Åsa Söderberg is sitting there familiarizing herself with an unfamiliar computer system, while memories from the past are flooding back to her from all directions.
Marianne Kjærsund in the play *Rosa löften*. Photographer: Åse Bengtsson Helin.
Åsa was the Norrlandsoperan’s first director of dance at the turn of the millennium, and she is now filling the position on an interim basis, after Birgit Berndt—following ten years in the role—became artistic director of the Norwegian dance festival, Coda.
Åsa has, as she puts it, “almost retired,” but she can’t resist fun projects.
Her most recent full-time position was as CEO and artistic director at Skånes Dansteater in Malmö. From there, she has followed the Norrlandsoperan’s development in the field of dance.
“I’ve seen how it has become an internationally significant stage. The Norrlandsoperan co-produces much of what is touring far and wide today. I’m impressed,” she says.
Åsa Söderberg, acting director of dance at the Norrlands Opera.
But it’s no coincidence that it happened right here. As early as the 1990s, Umeå and Västerbotten served as a breeding ground for influential Swedish choreographers. The aforementioned Hagar Malin Hellkvist Sellén is one of them.
“What was missing back then was a professional platform and continuity in the dance offerings,” according to Åsa.
As a newly appointed county dance consultant, she was given her first office at the Norrlands Opera in 1998. Together with then-CEO Lars Tibell, the idea of a dance department began to take shape. Dance is traditionally an important part of opera houses, and in this case, it had the potential to bring something new—and even groundbreaking—to the region.
After what she describes as “a successful coup” at the Dance Biennial in Stockholm, her dream began to come true.
– We handed out a flyer pointing out what a great place Umeå would be for the next dance biennial, and on the last day we heard people say, “See you in Umeå in two years!”
The rest is—dare we say—modern dance history. Over the years, Norrlandsoperan has attracted a diverse dance audience. It has been an important partner in the Dansnät Sverige network of organizers, where numerous significant works have been co-produced and performed. In addition, the company has created opportunities for artistic development in dance through a series of international collaborative projects. One example is *Dancing in Your Shoes*, in which choreographers Sofia Södergård and Sindri Runudde* guided volunteers through norm-challenging artistic processes.
Participants in the “Dancing in Your Shoes” project during rehearsal. Photo: Samuel Pettersson.
This active effort to broaden the stage and open minds is something Åsa Söderberg wholeheartedly endorses. Through dance, she believes, we can expand our view of beauty and help more people see themselves reflected in it—not least by including a greater variety of body types and perspectives:
– As a taxpayer, you help fund these programs, and that’s why everyone should have the right to say at some point: “That was me. That was my life and my body that I saw on stage.”
Text: Hanna Kangassalo
* We’d like to extend our warmest congratulations to Sindri Runudde, who has been named the 2024 Cullberg Fellow by the Swedish Arts Council! Sindri’s work , *Cosmetic Demons*, kicked off the fall dance season at the Norrlandsoperan. Check out upcoming dance performances here !
