Compassion stories is an interactive dance performance that activates the energy and the emotions of the audience through a combination of a performance and a workshop. In the workshop part the kids will be led through simple physical tasks that they later will meet in the performance part. These tasks are made to create trust, so the children can feel safe when they later on will interact with the performers and each other.
The performance is a collaboration between the dance artist Jon Filip Fahlstrøm and Jens Jeffry Trinidad. One source of inspiration is the concept of moshpit. Moshpit is something we for instance can encounter at a metal concert, where the audience get outlet for power and aggression through free movement.
Through the performance they want to let the children experience how body contact with high energy, lean and lift exercises with a different energy, and dance, have a lot in common. Trust is an underlying fundamental element. Trust creates freedom to unfold. This is possible because we create common ground and rules, supporting each other and give space and possibility for individual physical expressions. It is also a way to get in touch with each other’s strength to reach an even higher level of energy and the understanding that we are in this together.
To Fahlstrøm and Trinidad it is important to show that powerful energy and force can be experienced as something positive and a resource for the children, and that the sensation it creates in the body can become something familiar and safe.
In COMPASSION STORIES the audience can be physically active and explore how their own energy and emotions respond with the performance. This gives the possibility to express themselves in an exciting and creative way.
Creators: Jon Filip Fahlstrøm, Jens Jeffry Trinidad, Music: Peter Baden, Knut Sævik, External eye: Loan Ha, Supported by: Spenn, Norwegian Arts Council, FFUK, Residence: Dans i Trøndelag, Co-producer: Kloden Teater, Documentation: Elin Osjord