FESTEN (The Party)

FESTEN (The Party) – a show for, and with, youths.

FESTEN (The Party) plays with ‘party’, the concept, as a symbol of life. Through the use of social media in combination with the action onstage, FESTEN seeks to understand young people’s socio-cultural norms, and their modes of communication.

FESTEN (The Party) holds a mirror up to the microcosmos and the challenges young people face, especially when attempting to stand up for themselves and set their own boundaries, while simultaneously trying to be part of a group. Their communication also takes place in a parallel universe, on the internet. FESTEN illustrates how it’s become more important to show others how you’re living, than to actually live.

The performance guides the audience through the youths’ own stories, where differing experiences of the same party exposes the loneliness we all share. To some, the party represents joy, inclusion, networking, fun and shared experiences. To others, the party is all about exclusion, loneliness, shame, abuse and poorly handled intoxication.

Onstage Nanna Knutsson, Oliver Paulsson, Melanie Kajanne Källström and Lars Henriksen

ODE Ung (established in 2012) is an autonomous foundation led by experienced dancers and artists Nina Lill Svendsen and Christer Tornell. ODE Ung’s productions/shows are all based on the stories and experiences of teens/youths/young people, after engaging creatively with said youths. When working on their productions/shows, they are accompanied/joined by a varied cast of creative collaborators. In this case, 10-15 students from Edvard Munch High School will dance alongside professional dancers.