Participants

From Sweet & Tender:

1. Mia Haugland Habib (Norway, Oslo) (fascilitating the project)
2. Tim Darbyshire (Australia, Melbourne)
3. Nuno Lucas (Portugal, based in Berlin)
4. Micheline Torres (Brazil, Rio)
5. Koen Vandendriessche (Belgium, Gent)
6. Montserrat Payro (Mexico, Mexico City)
7. Mariella Greil (Austria)
8. Marianne Baillot (France, Paris)
9. Min Kyoung Lee, (South-Korea, based in Europe)
10. Domenico Giustino, (Italy, based in Bruxelles)
11. Georg Hobmeier (Austria)
12. Thami Hector Manekehla (South Africa, Johannesburg)

The acadamy of stage arts, Fredrikstad:

1. Sille Dons Heltoft (set-design)
2. Susanne Fjørtoft (set-design)
3. Lisa Eikrann (set-design)
4. Erik Ebert Nilsen (actor)
5. Hanna Barfod (actor)

Other artists:

1. Loan Ha (Norway, Oslo)
2. Pernille Holden (Norway, Oslo)
3. Annesofie Norn (Denmark, Copenhagen)


Biographies

Mia

Mia Haugland Habib, holds a B.A. degree from the Choreography Course and a one-year study in Dance Pedagogy at the former State College of Ballet and Dance in Oslo, 1999-2003.

Identity, religious and cultural convergence, the individual in relation to oppressive structures and regimes are recurring themes in Mia’s work. She sees the journey as an integral part of her work and have several times visited areas of conflict as part of the research to upcoming productions.
Mia’s work, both as a dancer and a choreographer, has brought her to extremely different contexts all over the world.

Among others she currently works with Julie Nioche / a.i.m.e. in the piece “Matter” (F), the performance group L.U.N (N), Sweet & Tender Collaborations and lately for Tommy Noonan/ PVC company Stadttheater Freiburg in “Tout Court” (G).
She just premiered the duet, a couple dance, with Guilherme Garrido (P) co-produced by Dance house in Oslo which is also co-producing Mia's next collaboration this year, the international and nomadic project WE INSIST, with Rani Nair (S) and Jassem Hindi (F). She was facilitating and navigating the Sweet & Tender project “Living house” at Dance House in April 2009.
Mia is at the moment a member of the board of The Norwegian Opera and Ballet.

Tim

Biography
Tim Darbyshire hails from Australia. In 1992 he joined his father in a mid-life crisis by participating in a rock musical about a schizophrenic woman. Activities such as this continued throughout his childhood and avoided teenage years. He was later formally educated at Queensland University of Technology and found a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Dance). He then lived in Melbourne where he made many a
coffee and learned how to pour a beer. Aside from this he worked on his premiere independent performance creation entitled Room Service.
He found himself still engaged in contemporary dance as a DanceWEBBER (Impulstanz 2006) and at Centre Nationale de Danse Contemporaine (France), where he adopted various methods of creation and practice by working with choreographers Vera Mantero, Emmanuelle Huyhn and Shelley Senter amongst others. Recently he has been working in France, Portugal and Norway within the collaborative framework of Sweet and Tender Collaborations. He has been developing a solo work entitled Buckets and Other Things as well as working as a performer for a new creation by David Wampach and Meg Stuarts re-creation of Running. In 2008 he performed in two pieces created by Marianne Baillot and António Júlio for Portuguese dance company Companhia Instável
(Unstable Company). He will work again with this company in 2009. But again not sure of what he will do after August.

Nuno

Nuno Lucas was born in Portugal. Currently lives in Berlin. Works as choreographer and performer.
Began to show ability to comedy at the age of five, imitating public figures, typical characters, singers and voices of animals. Between 1989 to 1991 he lived on the island of Madeira where he began his studies of music (mandolin, acoustic guitar, electric and voice). Throughout the school years he participated in amateur theater shows, ballets and concerts.

In 1998 he moved to Lisbon where he obtained the degree in Economics at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. In 2001 he participated in his first dance workshop and debuting, that year, as a performer with the choreographer Miguel Pereira at Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. In 2003 he was invited by João Fiadeiro to develop his first choreographical sketches in LAB10. Later, he was co-author and performer with Claudio da Silva and Martim Pedroso of "Weekend" (2006). He created a solo "What can be shown can not be said" (2007). In collaboration with Hermann Heisig conceived and interpreted "Pongo Land" (2008). He presented his work in Portugal, France, Germany and Switzerland. He worked with many artists emphasizing his experience as a performer with Miguel Pereira, Mário Afonso and Nir de Volff. In his professional training standed out The Choreographic Course of Creation and Research in Forum Dança and the ex.e.r.ce program in the Centre Choreographic National de Montpellier, under the direction of Mathilde Monnier and Xavier Le Roy, where he received a scholarship of Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.

Recently he is part of the network Sweet&Tender Collaborations, a group of 40 artists from around the world.

Micheline

Micheline Torres lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is dancer, choreographer and performer. Graduated in classical ballet and contemporary dance. Studied Performing Arts and Philosophy. Worked for twelve years at Lia Rodrigues Companhia de Danças as a dancer, creator and assistant. She develops her own work, situated among dance, performance and visual arts, since 2000.

With CARNE (FLESH), Micheline Torres has been selected for a residency program at Centre International des Récollets in Paris at the summer of 2008.

CARNE is a performance with the support from Centre National de la Danse (CND-Paris) in the provision of rehearsal studios and Micadanses Studios (Paris).

CARNE is the first part of Micheline Torres´s project “My Body is my Politics”.

The second part of the project, entitled “I promise, it´s political” had a first working period with norwegian dancer Mia Haugland Habib during four weeks in Portugal at the frame of SKITe/Sweet and Tender Collaborations Porto 2008 and was presented as a work in progress at Fragments of Experience (Mosteiro de São Bento - Porto/Portugal).

Koen

Koen holds a Master's degree in both Philosophy and Knowledge and Information Management at Ghent University and is living in Sint-Amandsberg (Gent). Previously, I worked over four years as a in Interaction design consultancy in a Brussel where he was working as a technical writer, information architect and interaction designer.

Currently he's working as assistant to the organizer of PRISMA forum Mexico 2009 (http://www.prisma-forum.org) in communication, promotion and organisation. During the Summer he start working with LOCUS (http://www.locusnet.be), an organisation supporting local culture in Flanders, as responsible for communication and Knowledge management.

Montserrat

Performer / choreographer / artistic promotor

Director of Dharma, a company that promotes, since 2002 interdisciplinary and collaborative work and director of the PIAA (International Program for Artistic Advancement). Her work has been presented in the main stages and festivals of Mexico, and internationally in New York, Brazil, England and France. Choreographer in residence from the company Danza Joven de Sinaloa.

She’s been recipient in two editions of the FONCA grant for performing arts interpreters (2004-2005) y (2007-2008), and she has received the danceWEB Europe scholarship 2006 and 2008. She has been finalist in two editions of the Premio Miguel Covarrubias INBA-UAM (Contemporary Choreographic Contest). In 2006 she is awarded with the best interpreter prize in this Contest. Member of the international artistic network Sweet and Tender Collaborations and artistic director of Prisma Forum.

Mariella

Marianne

Min

Min Kyoung Lee was born and grew up in Seoul, Korea. She studied Philosophy at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, before starting her dance training at Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Since graduation in 2003, Min has been working as a performer and dance/performance maker in New Zealand and Europe.

In her works, Min has been interested in dance in its experiential state (with works titled as Did She Dance On Stage / Untitled / Untitled 2 & 3) and psychology in relationship (All and Only For My Dancers / Three Wives, Meditation, and Motion Sickness), especially around political issues (How Long It Takes to Convert Gary to Communism / Know Myself or Thyself / The Station of Conviction).

Min is a recipient of 2006 danceWEB Europe scholarship, Creative New Zealand Professional Development Funding, and 2007 Akademie Schloss Solitude Fellowship.

Domenico

Domenico Giustino is a freelance dancer, performer, and choreographer. While obtaining a theater degree from Colorado College, he began dancing under WinYu Wang, Peggy Berg, Andy Wong and others. His training later brought him to Russia where he studied at the Moscow Art Theater and later the Conservatory of Opera and Ballet of St. Petersburg. Domenico finished his dance training at P.A.R.T.S. school in Bruxelles, where he now lives.

Domenico has been creating his own works as well as dancing for choreographers around European stages. Co-founder of the Rabbit Hole Collective, he made several dance works from 2004-2006, including a repertory of films. He has worked with William Forsythe (guest), Maria Clara Villa Lobos, Christian Smedts Ensemble, Sioned Huwys, among others. He has been a member and collaborated with the Sweet and Tender network since 2006, creating various works in Iran, Portugal, Spain, France, Norway, and Mexico. In 2007 he was a recipient of the Traject Research Grant from the Flemish Government, and he began a series of site specific works ranging from urban spaces to musuems, including “Area” and “WePods”. He has toured Europe with the Bal Modern project since 2003. As a member of the Solo Conversations Dance Collective, he has been developing, performing, and teaching improvisation techniques for the past 2 years.

Georg

Thami

Sille

Sille Dons Heltoft is a scenographer working in the field between visual and performing arts. Following a basic education in puppet and object theatre she has taken a series of courses at The School of New Dance and Theatre, DK, Hippocampe, F, The Drawing Academy, DK, and Kunsthojskolen Holbæk, DK.
Sille has been working as assistent scenographer in productions with artists like Catherine Pohér, Claus Helbo, Philippe Lefèbvre, Paolo Cardona, Helle Damgaard, Gitte Kath a.o., and is now finishing a BA in scenography at Norwegian Theatre Academy in Fredrikstad, N.

Susanne

Lisa

Erik

Hanna

Hanna was conceived in international waters, but grew up in Langesund, Telemark, Norway. She made her career choice at the age of 7: to become a song star. At ten, she played in the musical Annie, the peak of her career so far. Later she found that nearly all kinds of performing was fun. She studied at the European Film College in Denmark, then moved to Oslo to study drama, maskplay and dramaturgy at HiO and dance at Skolen for Samtidsdans, before ending up in Fredrikstad at the Norwegian Theatre Academy (graduating 2009). She has been involved with the former artist network/festivalmaking cookingclub: Strangedays, toured with the exhibition/workshop JAM! curated by Nasjonalmuseet, developed the performance group Team Stunt Tent and made physically challenged children re-invent dance. In ten years she will be art-farming, having turned her old farm into a production- and artist in recidency place.

As a performer her goal is to be at risk. She works on understanding what she is as a signal within the frame of each project, how to find the recistance required to shiver, to be reacting to whatever happens in the moment, daring to be "in the shit" and having fun with it! Her recipe for art making is to put love & care in the details, adding variations of known combinations to challenge taste, smell, sound, visual appearance, and stimulate reflection as well as sensuous experiences.

Loan

Loan Hà was born in Oslo, Norway, where she later studied at Skolen for Samtidsdans (the School for Contemporary Dance) in 2000-2002. in 2006 she graduated from the 4-year contemporary dance-programme in P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, where she continued to live for 2 years as a freelance-dancer working with projects in Belgium and Norway.
Since august 2007 she has been working (and still is) in Impure Company with the choreographer Hooman Sharifi. Together with the company, besides touring the piece "God exists, the Mother is present, but they no longer care" , they have taught workshops at kHio and Skolen for samtidsdans in oslo, worked with Joao Fideiro in Lisbon and Cena 11 in Brazil a.o.
Since 2006 Loan has been teaching at Skolen For Samtidsdans og Rom for Dans in Oslo.

Pernille

Pernille Holden is a freelance dancer born and raised i Norway. She recieved her educaton at Skolen for Samtidsdans (Contamporary dance in Oslo) in Oslo 2002 - 2005 where she continued to live and work. She has worked with Wee Company/Francesco Skavetta, Zanussi/markus Project, Impure Company/Hooman Sharifi, Panta Rei Dancetheatre and Project Isadora/ Caroline W Nesse og Camilla Myhre. She also works with her own projects and is involved in several collaborations.
Scince 2005 she has been teaching at Rom for Dans in Oslo.
She is also involved with the Norwegian production network Landing who works with sitespecific projects.

Annesofie

At the age of 18 Annesofie decided to return from the woods and finally not abandon the world at this early state, consequentially she moved to a long sweedish island, called the Island-land to study sculpture. She was interested in her bodily experience of space and often made extensive sculptures to see them individualize and interact with the surroundings. Fascinated about perception of space she studied scenography at the Norwegian Stage Arts Academy and her understanding of sculpturing grew to include the level of time while engaging in collaborative art-projects, devised experimental performance work, physical theatre and dance, multimedia and performance art.
After completing the education she was offered several big productions and staged an opera and two theatre pieces in New York, Gothenburg and Copenhagen, but eventually learned that she didn’t want to build imaginary utopist realities, but rather suggest temporary concrete social middle spaces to create refuges and durations whose rhythms may contrast those of everyday adaptations and favor human meetings.
In the field of life-art she has collaborated on productions like The 8th Sister in the ocean of Norway, Desertwalker on the saltflats of Utah, Sulten Kommer mens man spiser exhibited at JungeHunde and Zirkulation among others.

Her wish is to stay curious, keep on knowing that she is not knowing.
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.