Looking back at three decades.
JO STRØMGREN KOMPANI was founded in 1998 by Jo Strømgren and Agnes Kroepelien in Bergen, Norway. Following the principle of learning by doing, along with a rather fearless spirit, the company quickly adapted corporate efficiency standards and a radically high working pace. However, maintaining the nature of a young artist collective with idealist charm and artistic weirdness was important. The aim was to look like a Lada, but with a Roll’s Royce engine inside.
Within shortly, Jo Strømgren Kompani rose to become one of Norway’s leading exporters of culture, criss-crossing the world on parallel tours with multiple productions. A distinct style with a peculiar mix of dance and theatre, often infested with dark humour and political undertones, seemed to attract a broad segment of audiences. Acclaim from critics, along with frequent awards and prizes, fortified the company’s quality mark and paved way for an unexpected source of income – ticket sales.
Bergen International Theatre was the company’s home venue, steady co-producer, and intellectual nesting ground for the first years, but its marginal network and strong ideological justice soon become a limitation. The company moved to Oslo and initiated an 8-year residence at the National Theatre, allowing solid production support and public recognition. This fruitful period was followed by 4 years at the newly opened House of Dance, before the company settled permanently at the Norwegian Opera & Ballet in 2012. Along with co-productions and rehearsal space residences, this is where the company performs 50-100 shows annually.
The company’s artistic trajectory is difficult to describe in few words. The repertory covers 56 productions with a plethora of styles and formats, produced and toured in 66 countries with hundreds of artists and collaborators involved. A red line through this massive rabbit hole journey is probably the decision to be deliberately untrendy. Fashions shift from year to year, whereas weird and personal can last forever. The company performs about 10 different productions annually, maintaining an active repertory that spans over three decades of creative work. It also has a film catalogue that seems to live its own life on linear TV stations and VOD-platforms around the world. Art exhibitions are displayed when locations and time allow it, and workshops and masterclasses have become a cornerstone of the JSK identity. Another important activity has been co-productions and collaborations, both with institutional theatres and independent groups, allowing the company to create within larger formats and budgets.
Although the company bears Jo Strømgren’s name, the creative spirit has always been collective. Performers and collaborators, temporary or long-term, have been instrumental in the creation of the repertory with their personal input. The ethical ownership of the work is shared by many and maybe herein lies a key to the company success – respecting and valuing people and what they have to offer. As symptom of this, the company has experienced ridiculously few conflicts during its existence. Collaborators often refer to their periods with JSK as formative years, having allowed them to develop and execute their professions with depth and continuity. Although with an international identity, the company reflects an overall Norwegian vibe, by many defined as a mix of humbleness and confidence. As a small country and culture, competing for a presence among global giants, the crux of the case is and always will be – to present relevant content. Small voices can be important if they speak or challenge the truth. As a resident of a country where freedom of speech is still a virtue, the company also has a responsibility to present strong opinions and viewpoints around the world. Not necessarily to win debates, but to defend the right to debate.
The founding principles included a set of values that seemed radical at the time. Anti-harassment rules, diversity incentives, multi-culturalism, gender equality, ecological sustainability, audience accessibility. Most of these principles have now, three decades later, become buzzwords in the art fields. Early convictions can sometimes be naïve and unrealistic, but in JSK’s case they turned out to be a solid platform for growth and continuity. However, on a few other buzzwords like cultural appropriation and respect for religions, the company has deliberately chosen a confrontational track.
From the very beginning, the company has been on a rather militant political quest, advocating for increased support for the independent art scene and general culture infrastructure. The long-lasting impacts of these efforts have not only benefitted professional colleagues in the field, but also newer generations of emerging artists. The company is proud of these achievements, but decades of strenuous lobbyism with ministers and politicians took its toll and at one point enough was enough. Since 2023, the company has been fully devoted to art production and expecting others to replace us in the political gladiator ring.
The company is per today supported by the Arts Council of Norway with an annual funding of 3 million NOK, forming approximately 40% of the financial base. The rest comes from ticket sales.