Saturday, August 16, 1 pm
Sunday, August 17, 7 pm
Garrick Theatre
16 Church St., Bonavista
Doors open 20 minutes before each performance.
Seating is first come, first serve.
The performance is ~20 minutes in duration.
Join us for performances by Dáiddadállu members Ann-Sofie Kallok, Ánna-Katri Helander, Sebastian Björkman, with music by Anthoni Hætta.
Guoddi is a unique art performance where dance and music are sculpted through the expression of avant-garde duodji. These elements, deeply rooted in the Sámi craft tradition, move towards highly experimental forms of expression. “Guoddi,” a word from the Northern Sámi language that means “someone who carries,” in this context becomes a metaphor for the role of the dancers. They wear body parts that symbolize pride and strength, but also the weight and burden that carrying an indigenous culture can entail.
Guoddi is thus a central element in this performance, a bearer of cultural identity and history. Through a creative collaboration between designer and duojár Ann-Sofie Kallok, dancers Ánna-Katri Helander and Sebastian Björkman and composer Anthoni Hætta, a new and exciting artistic landscape is explored. The composer and dancers draw inspiration from the expression, movement and temperament of the elements. Music and dance are united in a way that elevates the avant-garde elements into a powerful, challenging and multidimensional performance.
About the Artists:
Established in 2014, Dáiddadállu is a Sámi artist network based in Guovdageaidnu, Sápmi (Norway), consisting of 22 artist partners and an administration. Dáiddadállu represents artists working in visual arts, film, dance, theater, choreography, TV production, performing arts, design, authorship, music, and joik. Sámi epistemology is the basis of Dáiddadállu’s work. Dáiddadállu emphasize holistic thinking, openness and solidarity between each other, sustainability for nature, people, animals, Sámi culture and Sámi industries.
Ann-Sofie Kallok is a duodjár (craftswoman) and designer who makes unique products with a modern Sámi expression. With deep respect and extensive knowledge of duodje, she creates products that in different ways capture attributes from Sámi culture and presents them in an innovative way. In this way, she allows tradition, knowledge, soul and heart to find new ways into new contexts. Ann-Sofie grew up in the Stockholm area, but after high school she moved back to her ancestors land in Jåhkåmåhkke and today she lives in Guovdageaidnu.
Ánna-Katri Helander was born and raised in Guovdageaidnu but has roots from Deatnu. She started dancing oriental dance at the age of 13, a dance style that was for a long time the main focus of Ánna-Katri’s artistic work. At the age of 16, she lived with her family for a year in Aotearoa (New Zealand) where she was introduced to Hip Hop. Slowly but surely, the focus and passion changed from oriental dance to Hip Hop, and since then a large part of her identity has consisted of mixing her Sámi cultural heritage into urban dance.
Sebastian Björkman is a dancer with his Sami roots in Ammarnäs but also among the families who were forced to migrate south from the Karesuando area in the 1930s. Through his dance he invokes the voices of his origins while keeping one leg firmly planted in urban dance cultures. In his artistry he is exploring versatility as a mover, interested in the body as ancestral yet also experimental when it comes to claiming his own indignity through dance.
Anthoni Hætta is a pianist and musician from Guovdageaidnu who is educated in rhythmic music at the University of Agder, where he spent three years working to focus on Sámi music and culture. During his years at university he developed a cool and lyrical playing style and further developed his deep interest in electronic music through Ableton.