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21 September, “Dancing Into Fire” – Audiovisual performance @National Opera, Oslo

21st of September, "Dancing into Fire” - audiovisual performance by Oddrun Lilja, Zhanna Gladko, Kringkastingsorkestret (KORK), Fatemeh Ekshtesari, Paal Nilssen-Love og Rolf Wallin.

Fatemeh Ekhtesari, Oddrun Lilja and Zhanna Gladko. Photo: Aliona Paz

Music, poetry and visual art combine in a performance about freedom, hope and exile, told from a female perspective. Dancing into Fire is a sweeping, large-scale audiovisual performance where the right to liberty and self-expression and the sacrifices it may involve, are urgent topics. At the heart of Dancing into Fire lies the experience of three female artists from very different political backgrounds: Islamic theocracy, patriarchal dictatorship and idealistic social democracy.

A jail sentence hangs over Iranian poet Fatemeh Ekhtesari. Visual artist Zhanna Gladko left Belarus after finding it impossible to work as a female artist in a deeply patriarchal environment where culture is heavily censored. Zhanna lives in Norway supported by the organisation Safemuse, an organisation working for artists that have been threatened, persecuted or censored, Fatemeh is a City of Refugee artist in Lillehammer through ICORN. Guitarist /composer Oddrun Lilja grew up in the comparatively safe social reality of Iceland and Norway, but travelling the world with her music has opened her eyes to the limitations on self-expression that her peers experience elsewhere. She has created the music together with composer Rolf Wallin.

Performed by Kringkastingsorkestret and soloists, Dancing into Fire is a tribute to all artists who are persecuted for their work.

Saturday, 21 September, at 17:00–18:00 – Den Norske Opera & Ballett
https://www.ultima.no/en/dancing-into-fire

© Safemuse Organisation - Oslo/Norway

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News Event

14 September, Concert by Pouya Pour-Amin at the Ultima festival @Trekanten, Oslo

14th of September, Concert by Pouya Pour-Amin for Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival at Trekanten in Oslo

Safemuse organisation Norway

Pouya at Ultimafestivalen / Photo: Nabeeh Samaan

A special club night for the head as well as the feet. In a commission from Ultima and the Trekanten club venue, Norway’s Fakethias (aka Mathias Humlen) will play with visuals by Felix Scheele. Following a Spellemann prize nomination for his 2023 album Core Echo, Fakethias has become increasingly interested in combining digital noise with live instruments, and enhancing the specific qualities of the space where he is performing, such as the modernistic concrete architecture of the Trekanten-building.

The night also includes a set by Iranian musician Pouya Pour-Amin, making his Norwegian debut. Pour-Amin is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and actor from Tehran, Iran. His harrowing album of abrasive electronic meditations, Prison Episodes, from 2019, explored the experiences of a political prisoner from incarceration to breaking point. The influence of drama and storytelling is evident in his solo album, “Prison Episodes,” where his passion for narrative comes to life. He has been residing in Hvitsten since June 2024 as part of the Safemuse Artist residency.

Saturday, 14 September, at 23:00–01:00 Trekanten
https://www.ultima.no/en/acute

© Safemuse Organisation - Oslo/Norway