ÁJTTEGA
the ancestors
ÁJTTEGA
the ancestors
A memory a feeling
About the project
A memory a feeling is a project created by Invisible People Contemporary Dance Company with the aim of elevating Sami dance artists. They were given the task of creating a dance improvisation based on a place that means something to them, connected to their Sami roots. This project is a part of Låvda, Sapmi Screendance Festival
With support from Kulturrådet
“In my body there are memories of both the people of the mountains and the sand. My ancestors gave me knowledge from both heat and cold, from several indigenous peoples. It is through dancing that I learn more about my different sides and my surroundings. This is how I listen to my guides and their stories that sing through me in 'jojk' and 'dengbêj', at the same time. The more I learn, the more the stories come out through my body when I improvise. I believe that when we dance, they dance with us, and that is how we discover a way to heal our wounds - creating new ways in which we can move as free people. ”
Marit Shirin Carolasdotter
Marit Shirin has her Sami roots in Hotagen, Jämtland and a Kurdish background from Iraq. She lives in Ubmeje and is currently working as a choreographer and project manager for Humans & Soil, which had its premiere of the work "of itself: in itself" at Norrlandsoperan 2021. She is passionate about using her dance art to fight for the Sami's physical rights and the repatriation of indigenous peoples. of its culture. Through inter-artistic co-creation and her international collaboration with, among others, the Ainu people in Japan, she strives for an increased presence of indigenous peoples in the performing arts.
Website: www.humansandsoil.com
“In my stage expression, I have reflected on the original Sámi. To me, the Ursami means the time when the Sami lived and followed nature. A time when you had respect for the water, the mountains and the fire. The original Sámi makes me feel a sense of belonging to the Sámi culture, even though today I live far from the traditional Sámi industries. Therefore, I have chosen to perform my dance at a pond on top of the bedrock and around the fire. Society today goes against the Sami ideals. Instead of living side by side with nature, the resources that nature gives us are misused. My education as an environmental engineer means that I will work with polluted water and polluted land alongside my art. Therefore, with my dance, I want to portray the rage that the nomad would experience in our modern society when water that has been clean for thousands of years becomes unusable. ”
Simon Viklund
Simon Viklund is a dancer and circus artist with Sami roots.
“When I was in Lásságámmi, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää's artist home, when I improvised this, it was natural for me to start from something he had created. Sami eatnan duoddariid is a song by him that has meant a lot to me for a long time, but I got to know very recently what the text really means, as it is in northern Sami. He sings magnificently about our home. The expanses of the Sami children. Based on that, at his home, I dance the love I feel for my expanses. ”
Marika Renhuvud
Marika is a contemporary dancer/choreographer from the North of Dalarna, Sweden and based in in Funäsdalen/Härjedalen Sweden. She travel around the world to dance, choreograph and teach.
She was educated at the school of New Education For Contemporary Dance in Härnösand and Balettakademien in Stockholm and has a diploma in dance for children and youth – didactics 1.
In addition to the dance she is very passionate about spreading knowledge about her Sami origin, and all of her dance pieces are based on or containing thoughts and ideas that come from the Sami culture.
“– My dream is to spread knowledge and understanding of the Sámi culture through dance. “
My body as a carrier of memories I have not experienced
My body as the narrator of these memories
My body as always existed
Even before me
Not knowing but always feeling
The wealth I lost
And yet always had
It's coming home
To something familiar and at the same time foreign
Linnea Sundling
Linnéa Sundling is educated at the School of Dance and Circus in Stockholm and has since 2010 worked both as a dancer, educator and choreographer in various projects and companies. She grew up in Umeå, and has Sami roots from Åsele, Vilhelmina and Anundsjö. Through the dance, she explores, among other things, the relationship to her identity, preferably with improvisation based on different emotions and states. Other interests are communication, the relationship to nature and the body's ability to heal. Listening and being inspiring and in addition to dance, she has studied psychology and trained as a therapist in Craniosacral biodynamics.
Dance: Linnéa Sundling
Music: Cicely Irvine
Photo: Lucas Carlsson
Filmed at home in a small oasis on Hägerstensåsen, in Stockholm.
The theme I chose to work with is the journey to finding my Sami identity. I have always known that I am Sami, but what it means to me is something that is constantly evolving. During my upbringing, the Sami has always been present but not central. With each passing year, I find myself more in the Sami and the Sami more in myself. It is for me a searching, a finding and a growing pride. A feeling of being a part of something bigger and stronger than I can comprehend and to find confidence in it. That the legacy, stories and memories live on through me is invaluable and I will do my very best to follow the path that is laid out for me. Forward, for us.
Agnes Nilsson
Bures! My name is Agnes Nilsson, I am twenty years old. I was born and raised in Skellefteå but have my roots in Girjas. I currently attend the dance line at Lunnevad Folk High School. My dance journey began at Skellefteå Dance and Ballet Association where I danced for 14 years, in addition I also attended the Aesthetics program with a focus on dance in high school.