She Was Black + A Sort Of ...
Mats Ek
Simon Regourd og Julie Petanova i "En slags ..." / Photo: Erik Berg
One of the greatest choreographers of our time
Experience two core works from a world-class choreographer with a unique Nordic expression when Mats Ek returns to the Norwegian National Ballet.
An explosion of emotions and colours
It promises to be both dark and colourful, surrealistic and humorous, when the Norwegian National Ballet performs two ballets by Swedish choreographer Mats Ek. The programme features the Norwegian premiere of A Sort Of... and reunion with She was Black, described as “an expressive explosion of movement and feeling”. These are no ‘action ballets’, but Ek is a master storytelling and characters, stories and pictures all make an appearance on stage.
Dance theatre that creates a stir
There was a buzz when the Oslo Opera House reopened after the pandemic with a performance by Mats Ek. Two decades have passed since Norwegian audiences last had the opportunity to experience dance by this master choreographer. Fortunately, we do not have to wait as long this time to enjoy Ek’s high-precision and clean-cut dance language.
Mats Ek confirms his position as one of our greatest living choreographers.
— INGER MARIE KJØLSTADMYR, DAGSAVISEN
Dream journey and God as a Black woman
Is it some kind of journey or a dream? You decide! Ek describes A Sort Of... as a collage that builds a story.
She Was Black shows the comical and intimate, yet dark situations that can arise in the field of tension between the private and the social. The starting point was an exchange of lines in a Swedish revue:
“I dreamed about God last night.”
“What did he look like?”
“She was black!”
An evening with music by Górecki
Both ballets are danced to the music of Henryk Górecki, performed by the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra.