Stages: North Atlantic Islands Dance Network
Stages is a project that gathers twelve dance artists from Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands to collaborate artistically and create three choreographic works. The project will allow a meeting between North Atlantic dance artists facing similar challenges and geographic barriers to connect and build professional relationships through working in the dance studio.
From the 3rd to the 28th of August 2026, at Dansverkstæðið in Reykjavík, the artists will be exploring what North Atlantic dance art can be. By the end, the three 20-minute choreographic works will be shared with the local community at Dansverkstæðið. Additionally, during the project period, all warm-up classes will be open to the local dance professionals, and further public events will be hosted to build bridges between the borders of the North Atlantic dance community. Read more about North Atlantic Dance Network here.
Schedule:
3rd – 28th of August: Rehearsals and research during weekdays.
The rehearsals will be in Studio 1 and 2 at Dansverkstæðið, the main workspace for dance in Reykjavik, Iceland. The dancers will be divided into the following working groups: A (Group piece with everyone), B (6 people), and C (3 people).
The daily schedule will be as follows:
9-10 Warm-up class (open and free for all dancers in Reykjavik)
10:30 – 13 Rehearsals for piece A
13-14 Lunch
14-16:30 Rehearsals for piece B/C
4th, 6th, 11th, 13th, 18th, 20th of August:
Public events will be hosted in the evening at Dansverkstæðið and at the Nordic House in Iceland. This will consist of a range of networking activities such as: roundtables, artist talks, screenings of stage work, dance films, improv jams, presentations, and more.
28th of August:
Public sharing of the three pieces at Dansverkstæðið.
The aim of Stages is that the participants will get to know one another through working in the dance studio. One choreographer from each country will get to work on a choreographic idea with a group of dancers from all three countries over the duration of one month. The creative process will focus on developing the craft of dance. Each piece will receive a small budget to spend on music, costumes, lights, or props.
The individual dance scenes of Iceland, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands have particular resources and structures to work within, yet there are common obstacles. The network organises one larger project a year, and the basis of the project is to support the needs of the hosting country. The Icelandic dance scene is well established. There is an increasing number of dance professionals; however, a gap in work opportunities has emerged between graduating dancers and established professionals.
As a network, we have managed to establish connections between artists, and we want to ground those connections into long-term collaborations. Our network meetings in Tórshavn in 2024 and Nuuk in 2025 have been between 3-12 days, and the participating artists and members of our network have voiced the need for support to tie longer-term collaboration. A longer working period would enable a deeper and more sustainable colleagueship. Stages would allow dance artists facing similar challenges to connect through meetings in the dance studio and share knowledge embedded in the body. This project is an important step for the network to facilitate a meeting point for a community of colleagues to emerge and confront the isolation when working in the North Atlantic region.
We, the network, envision that the three choreographic works would be developed individually into full evening performances or as short pieces into a triple bill that then, in the future, could tour in the North Atlantic region.
Information on accessibility in the Nordic House can be found here.
Stages is supported by:
