Hvad er det ? ("What's That ?") - 2020
Curiosity is the strongest drive as a small child discovers the world. A drive that can last for a lifetime.Through movement and dance, the dancers explore both the body and the space without taking anything for granted.
Created by the renowned choreographers and directors Thomas Eisenhardt and Kamilla Wargo Brekling, in collaboration with dancers Antoinette Helbing and Ole Birger Hansen, to music composed by Fredrik Lundin, in a scenography created by design duo KASPERSOPHIE.
Link to Åben Dans
Music
Press reviews
A very nice review in Teateravisen Sept. 16th 2020
"Aaben Dans har med ’Hvad er det?’ skabt et nysgerrigt performanceværk, der udrydder alle regler og koncepter og opdager verden på ny."
"Musikken [..], er skønt komponeret af jazzmusiker Fredrik Lundin. Den lyder, som nysgerrighed ville lyde, hvis den var instrumenteret. Og sammen med performerne, den imponerende scenografi og det fine lysdesign omslutter musikken fint forestillingens udtryk."
"Vi er ikke bare på en opdagelsesrejse, men faktisk på en dannelsesrejse. For hvordan lærer vi at sætte fødderne foran hinanden, når vi går? Det gør vi ved at opdage det."
Read the review here
The making of "Hvad er det"?
Ai-Ai-Ai ! - 2018 - now
A humorous performance about body and technology, Ages 6 years +
Technology is all around us, within us and between us. We love to play computer games, send snapchats and text messages, watch Youtube and to be on the internet – each on our individual screens. We are in contact with all of the world like this – but maybe we are not in contact with the persons who are right next to us – nor in contact with ourselves.
So, what do you do, when you would like to play with somebody, who prefers to play games on a screen instead of playing with you? When are you really together with somebody? And what if the person you spend time with is actually a machine?
In a physical and humorous way, Folmer, Ole and Antoinette investigate our world filled with screens, artificial intelligence and human presence.
Idea + concept + choreography + direction: Thomas Eisenhardt and Catherine Poher
Dancers + choreography: Antoinette Helbing and Ole Birger Hansen,
Performer: Folmer Kristensen,
Music: Fredrik Lundin
Costumes: Charlotte Østergaard
Production manager: Madeleine Lind Hoppe
Light + video + technique: Elke Laleman
Technical student: Joakim Bruhn Krogh Rødgaard
Photo: Ditte Valente
Graphics: Line Thornberg
Produced by Aaben Dans
Ai-Ai-Ai !
Igen ! (Again !) - 2011 - 2019
A dance performance for the smallest children and their adults about the joy of life.
Idea: Catherine Poher and Thomas Eisenhardt
Choreography: Thomas Eisenhardt
Direction: Catherine Poher
Dance and choreography: Antoinette Helbing/Jenny Ecke or Georgia Kapodistria and Ole Birger Hansen
Set and light design: Carina Persson
Set design and costumes: Ulrika van Gelder
Music: Fredrik Lundin
Textile sculptures: Catherine Poher and Valentine Fell
Production: Madeleine Lind Hoppe
Graphic design: Line Thornberg
Pruced by Aaben Dans
I svanesøen (In the Swan Lake) - 2013
A Theater/Dance performance by Simon Vagn Jensen of Odsherred Teater and Thomas Eisenhardt of Åben Dans. Von Rothbard played by Henrik Ipsen and his daughter danced by Kristina Sørensen. Video art Arthur Steijn.
About the music:
When composing the music for this performance, I ventured into Tchaikovski's Swan Lake-music, and composed , for instance, new melodies on the rhythms of very well know themes of his. I also sampled a couple of bars of a recording of his music, reverted the sample, and wrote new music on top of that.
King Lear - on tour now
Childrens theater puppet version of Shakespeare's King Lear by Jacques Matthiessen.
The Puppets are made out of tin cans, so I chose to use tin cans in different sizes to generate the percussions sounds you hear.
For more information go to Passepartout Theater's homepage
News and playing dates
About the play
Shakespeare's drama about the vanity King Lear, told in a nonverbal, sparkling, heartbreaking puppet show version for the whole family.
King Lear is old and must share his kingdom between his three daughters. He will do this according to how much they love him. But how do you measure love in Lear's world?
Two bakers who are going to bake Lear’s birthday cake tell the story. In a simple and comic way, they knead, bake, share and serve the drama so that children from age of six can understand.
As in all the Shakespeare's tragedies, all ends terribly wrong, and Lear finally understand his mistake ... you cannot put a price on love.
Concept and Stage Director: Jacques S Matthiessen
Set Design: Rolf Søborg Hansen and Christian Q Clausen
On Stage: Lene Hummelshøj and Christine Gaski or Rune Antonio Bro
" Puppet Theater in W-o-r-l-d-c-l-a-s-s. "
– Børn I Byen
Produced by HamletScenen in 2014
From summer 2018 in a tour-friendly set up from Passepartout Theatre Production.
Children's theater puppet version of Shakespeare's play by Jacques Matthiessen.
I took this opportunity to find some new musical friends, and asked saz player Fuat Talay and multi instrumentalist Mads Kjøller-Henningsen (hardy-gurdy, bagpipes and more) to join me in recording the music for this play
For more information go to Passepartout Theater's homepage: https://www.passepartout-theatre.com/copy-of-performances-projects
A fresh, figurative and quite different puppet show version of Othello, with dramatic focus on Shakespeare’s political rapture.
Two political spin-doctors meet to make an account over a chess-party. On the game board, there is no room for any scruples, and the nasty story unfolds - about how the sneaky Jago with dirty tricks and fatal lies distorts the head of the naive Othello - just to reach the top of power.
And it is Shakespeare - nobody is spared, there is no winner, everybody dies.
In short - half an hour's serious, nonverbal entertainment for the whole family!
" ★★★★★ for Othello - a delight for the eye - quite and achievement "
- CPH Culture
Concept and Stage Director: Jacques S Matthiessen
On Stage: Finn Rye Petersen and Lene Hummelshøj
Set Design: Christian Q Clausen
Puppets: Martynas Lukosius
Produced by HamletScenen in 2017.
From summer 2018 there will be a tour-friendly set up from Passepartout Theatre Production.
News and playing dates
About the play
A light, unconventional version for the whole family, where the Monk Lorenzo – with deep seriousness and humor - navigates us through Shakespeare's classical drama about the feuding families and the adolescent, impossible love.
He tells the story without a word and with help from his co-actors - his garden tools! Booms, shovels and rakes turns out to be a surprising and lively person gallery accompanied by Fredrik Lundin's magical music.
Concept and Stage Director: Jacques S Matthiessen
Developed with Finn Rye Petersen in 2013.
Set Design: Rolf Søborg Hansen, Christian Q Clausen
On Stage: Olaf Højgaard
" A lively mini-drama for children ... without words, but with sensually tense acting, great music and unbelievably imaginative dolls .... and to understand, though the staging focuses very sharp on the feud between the Montague and Capulet families and the impossible love between their teenage children. "
-Randi K. Pedersen / Teateravisen
Men de begyndte / But they started
A collaboration with Khayal Theatre, Beirut/Lebanon.
Who started!?
They started!
How often doesn’t a small trifle grow to a huge matter, because of our entrenched prejudices?
’But they started!’ is a warm, clever and amusing performance about something so serious and relevant as xenophobia, conceited adults and preconceptions. Two little boys defy the adult foolishness and go out into the world to find the source of the conflict.
The show is aimed, at eye level, for children between 5-9 years and the whole family. It is a nonverbal puppet performance, full of music, drama and humor-, which speak directly to our hearts.
“ A phenomenal play about children’s spontaneous ability to be friends and adult’s destructive ability to bear grudges. ”
- Anne Middelboe Christensen, Børneteateravisen
Idea and Stage Director: Jacques S Matthiessen
On Stage: Lene Hummelshøj, Gaia Rosberg and Christine Gaski
Composer: Fredrik Lundin
Set Designer: Rolf Søborg Hansen
Puppets: Walid Dakroub and Jacques S Matthiessen