More About Contemporary Dance

The workshop is a fantastic opportunity for anyone who wants to gain insight into the work of a choreographer and learn more about contemporary dance in a lighthearted and fun way.

Maybe you’re the kind of person we usually see in our studios? Or maybe you’ve never set foot here before. Either way, this is your chance to take a deep dive into contemporary dance, try out different approaches, and get to know the ideas behind Björn’s choreography.

No prior dance experience is necessary—just a body that’s eager to explore!

About Björn Säfsten

Björn Säfsten is a dancer and choreographer, originally from Umeå, based in Stockholm. He is active both in Sweden and internationally and, over the past 20 years, has primarily created works through his own company, but also for a number of Swedish dance institutions such as Skånes Dansteater, Cullberg, and Regionteater Väst.

Säfsten is interested in the intersection between movement and gesture—between what conveys meaning and creates significance in a movement and what constitutes a movement physically: its mechanics, dynamics, and musicality. Säfsten is interested in developing methods of analysis and production that address both of these perspectives and allow them to later cross-fertilize one another. In this way, he seeks to shift the logic—or the perspective—that governs the development of choreography. In this, Säfsten finds a scope for experimentation—a space where gestures can shift in symbolism and where the body and its interpretation are challenged. In his work, Säfsten strives to replace unambiguity with multilingualism. Multilingualism encompasses humor, identification, transformation, and criticism. Observing how the body can create symbols, images, and situations is seen by Säfsten as a way to situate the body within a cultural sphere, and examining movement construction, mechanics, and dynamics is interesting in terms of challenging and developing the body’s potential, as well as processing one’s own movement heritage.