Can you imagine a football match without a ball? Well, the performance "A Dance Tribute to the Art of Football" is just that. In July it will be performed in Athens.
The Norwegian dance company of Jo Strømgren has been invited to participate at the 8th Athens International Dance Festival at the 11 and 12 July.
When watching technical gifted football players such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo it sometimes looks like they are dancing. Watching Jo Strømgren’s troupe dancing on stage, it looks as they are playing football.
– We are four dancers on stage, and there is no ball. We try to incorporate much theatre to the performance, so the audience will get the experience of attending a football game, says Jan Nicolai Wesnes, one of the dancers.
Sliding tackles and dance moves
In the performance all aspects of the football game are covered; the flamboyant players, the brutal sliding tackles and the maniacs at the stadium. The dance work about football features a variety of movements and situations with a comic twist to reflect the energy and sweat of the sport.
– Football has got so many aspects, and by watching the game you see so much impressive movement. It’s not only the aesthetics of football that we focus on, but also the macho and brutal culture of the game, says Wesnes.
The performance date actually from 1997, and was very popular when it was first released. The performance was awarded the best dance performance by the Norwegian Critics Association. And it has been applauded by personalities such as Andrew Lloyd Webber. Last year Jo Strømgren and his new troupe decided to perform it again. The new version includes fifty percent old and fifty percent new material.
An artificial barrier
A big challenge in bringing sports onto the stage is overcoming the prejudices of what art should be. A Dance Tribute to the Art of Football seeks to close the gap between football and dance, a gap which for many can seem rather large. But back in Norway, the performance has made football supporters attend contemporary dance for the first time in their life.
– One of the ideas behind the performance is to break the artificial barrier between football and dance, and the barrier between so-called high and low culture. This is a performance everyone can have a good experience from, whether they are football supporters or they like contemporary dance.
Wesnes notes that the variety of the people in the audience makes them focus on various elements.
– Some of the people find our tribute to football great, while some others find it fun when we focus on the macho culture in sports. After the performances we have heard several people saying it has been their first time at a dance performance and that they would like to attend others.
The festival has invited renowned dance companies from all over the world to perform. Complete program for the festival will be linked to our website in late June.