The dance / Teater Galeasen
In a private visiting room at a municipal hospital, a motley group gathers to keep vigil and wait — perhaps to grieve and yearn. Katja, Andrej, the mother, and the friend talk about life, its meaning, and its finiteness. They speak of grief, losses, and love. Most of all, they seem to talk about the dance, the Dance with a capital D — Katja’s dance. The dance eludes and fascinates; it is said to have emerged as a tribute to filth and horror, to the distorted and tragic. Yet, no one seems entirely able to understand or explain the dance — not even the dancer herself.
“We are born to dance, and our whole life is just a dance, whether we want it or not. When you eat or go to work or slaughter a pig or have sex or fix the car, you are performing the dance.”
Ivan Vyrypaev has written a rare and beautiful play that explores the conditions of human existence — happiness and misery alike. Life is set against death, provocative political commentary follows worn-out declarations of love, and profound philosophical reflections mix with the most banal and pretentious statements. The Dance was written in 2010 and marks Teater Galeasen’s third Vyrypaev production directed by Olof Hanson, following the previous performances of Illusions (2014) and Embraces (2017).
Ivan Vyrypaev, born in 1974 in Irkutsk, has renounced his Russian citizenship and has been wanted in absentia since May 2023 for spreading false information about the Russian army.
By: Ivan Vyrypaev
Directed by: Olof Hanson
Translation by: Nils Håkanson
Cast: Frida Beckman, David Rangborg, Sandra Huldt, Ia Langhammer,
Emil Hernried
Team:
Musician: Sole Gipp Ossler
Lighting: Tobias Hallgren
Set Design/Costume: Matilda Hyttsten
Makeup: Anna Olofson
Music and Technical Support: Sole Gipp Ossler
Music: Mikael Nilzén
Choreography: Ossi Niskala
Prompter: Fredric Odenborg
Dramaturg/Assistant Director: Agnes Norlin
Producer: Joakim Bayoumi Karlsson
Theatre Director: Sophia Artin