The Project
The Choreography is an interactive dance performance in which the audience participates by following instructions in headphones. The show has toured schools and theaters around Sweden since 2016 and has played over 500 times. During the first years of touring, The Choreography was only available in Swedish, which meant that a lot of people could not participate. From that experience we got the idea to translate the show into more languages.
In the project The Choreography – Interactivity, language and integration the performance has been translated into 9 languages so that more people can participate on equal terms. From 2019, The Choreography can be experienced in 10 languages simultaneously! In addition, another project has ensured that the performance from 2020 onwards is available in some of Sweden’s official minority languages.
Parallell to this we have gathered methods and knowledge about multilingual performing arts. This work has culminated in the book Anthology for Multilingual Performing Arts (Antologi för en flerspråkig scenkonst, Haglund, Styrke & Wiklund 2020). We hope that the anthology can both increase interest in the multilingual performing arts that exist and encourage more performing artists to work with multilingualism!
The project has included extensive translation work followed by voice recordings and a variety of tests with multilingual students and pupils. Throughout the project we have also worked with a reference group of multilingual youth who have contributed with both language skills and a youth perspectives. As a part of the project, we have arranged a methodology seminar in seven parts where researchers, artists and practitioners have gathered around various themes such as translatability, norm creativity, language, power, identity and participatory performing arts.
Partners for the project have been Haninge municipality, ABF Stockholm interpreter training, the children’s theatre Unga Klara, Dance consultants in Sweden and the School of Culture in Sweden. The project was carried out with the support of the General Heritage Fund between 2018-2020, and with support from Stockholm Municipality, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and The Institute for Language and Folklore between 2020-2021 for translation into minority languages.
Have a listen!
Click here to listen to a sample of The Choreography in English.
