{"id":101970,"date":"2024-02-28T12:14:50","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T17:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=101970"},"modified":"2024-02-28T12:14:50","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T17:14:50","slug":"preview-composer-frode-fjellheim-talks-vastadus-eana-answer-land-coming-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/02\/28\/preview-composer-frode-fjellheim-talks-vastadus-eana-answer-land-coming-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Composer Frode Fjellheim Talks About V\u00e1st\u00e1dus eana \u2014 The Answer Is Land, Coming To Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"S\u00e1mi
S\u00e1mi dance performance Va\u0301sta\u0301dus eana \u2013 The answer is land (Photo: Antero Hein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

V\u00e1st\u00e1dus eana \u2014 The Answer Is Land, takes the stage at the Fleck Dance Theatre on March 6 and 7, but the performance begins outside in Ontario Square. It underscores the work\u2019s message about reclamation of S\u00e1mi culture and spirituality, and the environment through activism.<\/p>\n

Ontario Square is the open courtyard in front of 235 Queens Quay West, planted with trees, and with seating, weather permitting. The performance is part of Harbourfront\u2019s Torque Dance series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re honoured to present this significant work, coming off its international tour, and now here in Canada,\u201d says Nathalie Bonjour<\/strong>, Director, Performing Arts at Harbourfront Centre in a statement. \u201cThis piece seeks to amplify the long-repressed voices of the S\u00e1mi people, inviting audiences to participate in the performers\u2019 healing and restorative journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"S\u00e1mi
S\u00e1mi dance performance Va\u0301sta\u0301dus eana \u2013 The answer is land (Photo: Antero Hein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The S\u00e1mi People<\/h2>\n

The S\u00e1mi people were the original inhabitants of a region called S\u00e1pmi. Today, it stretches across northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. The S\u00e1mi languages are part of the Uralic family, which includes Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. It is believed they moved into the area from the Volga River region in Europe around 1500 to 2000 BC.<\/p>\n

Sometime during the later periods of migration, a separate influx of Germanic-speaking peoples, the Norse people or Scandinavians, also began to settle through parts of the same region. After centuries of little to no contact between the two peoples, however, the Scandinavians began to aggressively colonize the northern regions from about the 18th century forward.<\/p>\n

During the 19th century, they implemented forced assimilation programs that will sound familiar to North Americans, including residential school systems designed to remove their language and culture from society. S\u00e1mi language and culture was widely banned in schools.<\/p>\n

The Work<\/h2>\n

V\u00e1st\u00e1dus eana \u2014 The Answer Is Land combines a reclamation of a culture in artistic expression that is intertwined with a sense of the earth as a grounding element of all people. Community, kinship, and the relationship between humans and nature are underlying themes.<\/p>\n

In it, seven women performers in traditional headwear embody the music, composed by Frode Fjellheim, and based on polyphonic yoiks, the traditional mountain songs of the S\u00e1mi.<\/p>\n

The work is choreographed by Elle Sofe Sara<\/strong>. A native of Guovdageaidnu, Norway, her work often looks to reveal the overlooked aspects of S\u00e1mi culture and its unspoken rituals. She earned an MA in choreography from the Oslo Academy of Arts, with studies in dance at the LabanTrinity School in London, UK. A frequent collaborator with artists internationally, she is the co-founder of D\u00c1IDDAD\u00c1LLU, a S\u00e1mi contemporary art collective.<\/p>\n

Co-choreography is by Alexandra Wingate<\/strong>, with dramaturgy by Thomas Schaupp<\/strong>, costume design by Line Maher<\/strong>, set design by Elin Melberg<\/strong> and light design by \u00d8ystein Heitmann<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

From the FTA\u2014Festival TransAm\u00e9riques in May 2023:<\/p>\n