The Syncopators

Conversation with Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay and Ingri Fiksdal at the Intercultural Museum in Tøyenbekken 5 after the dance performance on Thursday, October 19th. The conversation starts at 6 PM.

“This conversation will address issues of temporality in relation to contemporary dance and speculative fiction. We’ll discuss the idea of coevalness, and how it challenges hierarchies of knowledge within dance and literature.”

The conversation will be conducted in English.

Where are the boundaries of dance? Five performers go out in the public space to inspire new and “superhuman” movements in this new work signed by the trio Fiksdal/Floen/Slåttøy.

The Syncopators is the continuation from the successful solo Fictions of the Flesh (2021) by the trio Fiksdal/Floen/Slåttøy. Combining classic jazz dance techniques with dark sci-fi and future fiction from literature and film, five performers attempt to inspire new and superhuman physicalities. The “syncopators” is performed in sites  around the city that are “gathering places ” for  residents and tourists, such as squares, plazas, train stations or other places where people relax or meet.

The title derives from the word syncope, which refers to a deviation from an expected rhythmic pattern in music or dance. Syncopation is a typical feature of jazz dance as a genre, and will necessarily also disrupt the usual flow or habits of a particular public space.

The Syncopators question the conceptual boundaries of dance as an art form and its history; how far is it really possible to stretch the boundaries of dance, as we once knew them?