SWOP Festival, Denmark

My final DYCP trip saw me, accompanied by Ant, head off for 3 days at SWOP Festival in Denmark. Hosted by Aaben Dans, SWOP is a biannual international dance festival in Roskilde for children and young people. The festival programmes a wide range of performances from all over the world as well seminars, workshops and networking opportunities.

SWOP Festival banner

Arriving late on Thursday night for 3 days of the festival, my itinerary began with a day long seminar titled 'Hosting and Invitation' which started with a keynote speech from Emma Holten, a well known feminist and activist who spoke about “the value of hosting in the perspective of people care – within the arts and within life." Emma's keynote highlighted what she called a 'friendship recession', how our relationship with the home has changed as society has changed as it is driven by economics where value is based on the highest price and prioritised by predictability. She believes this deeply impacts 3 things which are not valued in economics: care work, nature and art. These 3 things create relationships which are not transactional and therefore undervalued in today's society. Emma is an inspirational speaker, she set the tone for the day, provoking us to think about the role and value of art in society where control has become a way of life. Emma's book Defecit is, I think, worth a read and has been placed next on my book list.

The rest of the day we were invited to watch an R&D sharing performed by an intergenerational cast of 3, it was a poignant and raw exploration of relationships between different ages which left many of the audience in tears.

Also on the programme was a workshop led by choreographer and performer, Alfredo Zinola. Using the analogy of baking a cake, he spoke about the importance of how you lead an audience into a performance, first impressions and he also led us in a task where we explored a partners hand by tracing it with our fingers. It was lovely to recognise a few faces from previous festival visits as well as meet some new people, mostly programmers and some makers from all over Europe.

Friday evening, the performances began, over the festival I saw a dazzling array of 11 shows, including more traditional end on performances inside the theatre and street performances, both static and roaming for a range of children's ages. Unlike the previous festivals I had attended this one was dedicated to dance, it was surprising to note how many shows didn't have live music and also interesting to see where there was live music, how it was used. Often the musician is placed at the side of the stage and only sometimes incorporated into the action. There was only one performance, Rock Me Baby, where music was the main feature, this was a riotous show billed as 'a glam rock show for toddlers', definitely different, verging on sensory overload it was sadly not my cup of tea!

Outdoor shows included 'The Swings' a short acrobatic aerial dance duet on swings followed by an offer for audiences to have a go, Hit Out, a piece about rhythm and skipping plus a lively band and dance performances from local young people and The Elephant in the Room, a roaming and static performance featuring an elephant and sometimes other animals.

Other performances were split between Roskilde Library and Aaben Dans theatre these included:

Schon Anders (Delightfully Different), a fun, physical, and captivating performance about being different. The piece explored our desire to fit in and be the same, as well as what happens when someone goes a different way. With 6 performers, lots of humour, intricate and brilliant choreography, plus a live musician playing electronic keyboard onstage and integrated into the action, this was one of my favourite pieces.

Im Flatterland, a serene performance billed as a gentle and sensory dance experience, where we are invited into a poetic universe where body, live music, and fabric merge. Two dancers manipulated several enormous pieces of fabric as we watched it billow and transform accompanied by vibraphone, drums and use of the breath to create soundscapes. More like a moving art installation, there was some beautiful imagery which defintely engaged the audience but I felt it could have been so much more.

RepeatClub was performed by nine extraordinary young people from Belgium. The piece is about the group’s drive to explore boundaries and find new paths within limitations, celebrating their differences. I was so impressed by the level of skill, energy, commitment and maturity the performers brought to the stage, as well as the stunning choreography that clearly captured these young people as much as it did the audience.

Roskilde Harbour at sunset

Hvad er Det? (What is that?), a show for under 5's was a gorgeous duet on a set made of grey carpet, both flat and in rolls, with the theme of curiosity. With two dancers it was set in the round with surround sound playing a music score utilising quirky sounds and soft chilled jazz. I enjoyed observing the riveted toddlers watching as much as the show itself which had plenty of gentle humour and playfulness. The show ended with a gorgeous segue into an invitation for the toddlers to come and explore the space.

Lastly, Den Fantastiske Historie om Basarkus (The Fabulous Story of Basarkus) was an acrobatic and playful duet between two male dancers, who started as one connected body, forming a quirky creature which evolved into seperation and becoming two people. This piece was fabulously entertaining with extraordinary acrobatics, juggling, beautiful images, clever choreography and humour, it was probably the most accessible of the shows in the festival and I loved it.

Overall the quality and variety of shows on offer at SWOP is testament to the programmers and the strength of the theatre for young audiences sector across Europe. With the icing on the cake being 3 days of blue skies and sunshine I wouldn't have missed this for the world. I have learnt a great deal through my DYCP, with plenty of inspiration, I am now bursting with ideas and desperate to get back in the studio.