THE HAT

A piece that both touches and captivates.

Scenekunst, Norway

The performance

Like sepia-toned, “old-fashioned” photographs, bathed in warm shades of brown, afterimages of past experiences mixed up by memory, which has its own subjective chronology, the choreographic images conjured up by Jo Strømgren from the magic hat remind us that memories, although fleeting and intangible, do not lose their realness.

Echoes and mirages of events, shuffled by the passage of time, scraps of what has passed, a nostalgic look back and from a distance – the performance „The Hat" draws the viewer into a memory session that allows you to penetrate the hidden meanings of what is old, past, not fully conscious.

Hazy images with slightly blurred contours show phantasms of performances, interpersonal situations, close-ups and distances, departures and returns, speak several languages of the world and a dozen or so languages that the bodies of the dancers of the Polish Dance Theater “speak”.

What else can you take out of a hat? What action will this (un)ordinary item trigger?

The last time JSK collaborated with Polish Dance Theatre (PDT) was on Czterdziesci for their 40th anniversary, performed at the Oslo Opera House in 2013 and which continues to tour around the world. The Hat will be a 50th celebration for PDT!

Premiere: 12th of September 2023, Poznan, Poland
Norwegian premiere: 26th of October 2023, The Norwegian Opera and Ballet, Oslo

Media

Previously touring

Norway, Poland

Credits

Choreography, set design, lighting design, sound design, texts: Jo Strømgren
Costume design: Bregje van Balen 
Lighting design: Przemysław Gapczyński 
Music: Mr. Enirbod, Abe Schwarz, Bergmund Waal Skaslien, Kevin Keller, Shimon Dzigan, Carlos Gardel, Maria Tanase, Vaska Ilieva, Jørgen Knudsen.
Choreographic assistant: Rebecca Hoback 
Dancers from Polish Dance Theatre: Evelyn Blue, Kacper Bożek, Momoko Den, Julia Hałka, Patryk Jarczok, Jerzy Kaźmierczak, Zbigniew Kocięba, Mateusz Krzysiak , Katarzyna Kulmińska, Dominik Kupka, Aleksandra Kuś, Daniel Michna, Jinwoo NamKung, Sandra Szatan, Zofia Tomczyk , Emily Wong-Adryańczyk
Stage crew and preparation: Michał Beszczyński, Adrianna Cygankiewicz, Dominik Dudek, Przemysław Gapczyński, Krzysztof Ludwiczak, Zuzanna Majewska, Dariusz Szych
Photo: Andrzej Grabowski
Production: Polish Dance Theatre
Co-production: Jo Strømgren Kompani
Supported by: The Ministry of Culture of Norway, The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland, and the Wielkopolska Region.