Å REKKE Å ELSKE

A poetic solo piece
with multi-artist
Ulf-Arne Johannessen

Å rekke å elske is a musical and visual storytelling performance about and with dancer, musician and woodcarver Ulf-Arne Johannessen, who alone on stage drives the story forward together with video art,
his own music and dance.

Both the accordion and the woodcarver's tool - and the traditions associated with them - Ulf-Arne has inherited from relatives. At the same time, he pushes these traditions to the limit, just as he does with the Halling dance, with which he has won several national championship titles.

The key word is: Desire. Or rather - urge. Ulf-Arne needs to wear these traditions - and to break with them. And he has turned them into a way of life.

Ulf-Arne's grandfather lived the opposite life. More than anything else, he wanted to move to Oslo to get an education and pursue a career in arts and crafts, but his parents talked him out of it because working for the railroad offered a better pension. After thousands of frustrated days working for NSB, and in his workshop at home every evening, he died before retirement age.

Ulf-Arne Johannessen
Aslak Moe
Bozhidar Tsakov

World premiere at Riksscenen, Oslo November 16th 2022

Photo: Knut Utler