Scandinavian Culture Calendar: February 2024

Timulak/Portner (9 February to 2 March)

Can you dance in a bathtub? Sure you can, if you ask the young choreographer Emma Portner. Portner is a hot name in dance, and the youngest ever West End choreographer. The stage will be taken over by 24 bathtubs, foam and steam. We can already feel our fingertips wrinkle… The evening’s other work is by Lukaš Timulak and created specifically for the Swedish Royal Opera.

Gustav Adolfs torg 2, Stockholm

operan.se

Timulak/Portner. Photo: Kungliga Operan / Henrik Halvarsson

Copenhagen Light Festival (2 to 25 February)

February gives us a hint of the approaching spring with increasing sunlight, but it’s still dark enough to experience cool light installations outdoors. The Copenhagen Light Festival programme is not yet out at the time of printing, but expect to wander around this Scandi capital with a hot cup of coffee and plenty of Instagrammable light installations.

Venues around Copenhagen

copenhagenlightfestival.org

Carte Blanche: But Then We’ll Disappear (I’d Prefer Not To) (22 to 24 February)

How do we meet people? And how to find one’s place in a community? These are some of the questions posed by a contemporary dance production by Bergen-based ensemble Carte Blanche, choreographed by the Canadian Frédérick Gravel.

Nøstegaten 119, Bergen

carteblanche.no

Carte Blanche: But Then We’ll Disappear (I’d Prefer Not To). Photo: Thor Brodreskift

Circa: Sacre (26 and 27 March)

Many famous stage versions of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring exist, most notably in ballet, but now you can see a circus version, too. The Australian Circa ensemble is staging this dark and fasci- nating production from the group’s Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz at Cirko – Center for New Circus. Recommended 12+.

Kaapeliaukio 3, Helsinki

cirko.fi

Circa: Sacre. Photo: Brennan Spark Photography

Hand and Machine: Architectural drawings (until 31 March)

Technology is changing everything, including the practice of architects. Norway’s National Museum’s Hand and Machine: Architectural drawings looks into how architecture is adjusting to the contemporary world, and what place it holds in contemporary societies.

Brynjulf Bulls plass 3, Oslo

nasjonalmuseet.no

OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen: Border Garden (perspective) (2005). Photo: National Museum / Andreas Harvik

Garden Futures: Designing with Nature (until 31 March)

Helsinki’s Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture, currently located in separate buildings facing each other, have long planned to join forces in a brand new exhibition space. While the project is slowly moving ahead, a joint exhibition on gardens, bringing together art, design and architecture takes over both buildings – only one ticket is required for entry.

Korkeavuorenkatu 23 and Kasarmikatu 24, Helsinki

mfa.fi
designmuseum.fi

Spin (until 26 May)

So much around us spins, not least the planet we all inhabit. Spins, pirouettes and turns are also key movements in dance. The Dansmuseet in Stockholm celebrated its 70th anniversary last year. At the same location, you can also check out the museum’s Treasures exhibition, with a selection of dance-related items from around the world and collected by one of the museum’s founders, Rolf de Maré.

Drottninggatan 17, Stockholm

dansmuseet.se

Copenhagen Light Festival takes over the city in February. Photo: Copenhagen Light Festival