Sleepless beauty at Den Norske Opera & Ballett

Get ready for a unique evening of dance! Four choreographers, each with their unique signature style, have created new works to music ranging from Tchaikovsky to Rolf Wallin. Ingun Bjørnsgaard, Melissa Hough, Hege Haagenrud and Ina Christel Johannessen all have their followers within their respective arenas, and will now meet to battle it out at the Main House of the Oslo Opera House.

All the performances are based on the story of that classic ballerina, the sleeping beauty – the glorified woman of the ballet world. But who is she today? Has she come out of her hundred-year slumber? Is she wide awake, or sleepless? The stage is hers, and the entire Norwegian National Ballet and Norwegian National Opera Orchestra will fill the performance space.

Ingun Bjørnsgaard is one of Norwegian contemporary dance’s clear voices – and one of its most experienced. As with Et moderne sted, which was the opening performance at the inauguration of the Oslo Opera House, she has choreographed a piece to the music of Rolf Wallin.

As a soloist with The Norwegian National Ballet, Melissa Hough has danced title roles such as The Firebird, Carmen and Giselle. She is also a choreographer, and has undertaken assignments for the Houston Ballet and Boston Ballet. Audience members will now finally be able to see one of her works in Norway. Here, she has created a new piece to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, played by Håvard Gimse.

Hege Haagenrud works at the boundary between dance and theatre, and has created dozens of productions. Here, she once again uses a text as the foundation for a new work.

Ina Christel Johannessen is an award-winning and internationally recognised choreographer. She often uses improvisation to develop the language of each of her dancers. When she last choreographed a performance for The Norwegian National Ballet, audience members were left speechless after books rained down on the stage and its two fighting dancers in Scheherazade.

The first thing Ingrid Lorentzen did in her role as Ballet Director was plan a large-scale evening featuring new dance works. The performance was called Fokines verden, and was a great success. Once again, we invite you to a grand evening featuring four world premieres!