Share Culture Capital Crown
Norway’s attractive port of Stavanger set on the west coast kicked off a year-long extravaganza of performance and art in celebration of its role as one of two Cultural Capitals of Europe in 2008. The port has attracted artists from around the world as more than 200 major projects are in the works, plus a far greater number of individual performances and events. The program for the year consists of dance, theater, music, art exhibits, architecture, film, literature and festivals such as the Open Sky Kite Festival, Gladmat – Food Festival, The Tomato Festival, Stavanger Video Art Festival.
Drama on the Fjords
Many of the performances will take place in the dramatic fjords for which the region is most famous. At least one fjord performance will take place on a platform built an inch below the surface, so actors will appear to “walk on water.” Not to be missed are the aerial gymnastics of Project Bandaloop from California. Instead of dancing down the sides of skyscrapers as they often do, the group will perform on July 4 off the boulders and sheer cliffs of nearby Gloppedalsura. Among the highlights will be four month-long residences of several major groups: Muziektheater Transparant from Belgium, Handspring Puppets (spectacular adult puppeteering from South Africa), Inbal Pinto Dance from Israel and Oskarus Korsunovas Theatre (a Lithuanian group performing Fairytales in Landscape by Jon Fosse, one of Norway’s leading playwrights).
For information on Norway, call 212-885-9700; E-mail: usa@invanor.no or visit www.visitnorway.com, or information on Stavanger,