The fear that the human race might not survive has been replaced by the fear that it will endure.*
In an attempt to imagine a different world, Chest searches for a common ground from which new figures can emerge. Creating hybrids that are not cars, but living beings simultaneously moving and being moved, embodying the myriad properties of protagonists, landscape, and atmosphere.
Chest is a choreography at the intersection of ecology, animality, and masculinity. It folds practices around seeming binaries such as hard and soft, flaccid and erect, hairy and bald, into contradictory landscapes, switching between atmosphere and personhood in trying out ways of being nature to each other.
In Chest, Stina Nyberg continues to explore new musical horizons, this time collaborating with composer Kaki King, based in New York. King is considered one of the world’s greatest living guitarists, known both for her technical mastery and for her constant quest to push the boundaries of the instrument.
Chest is developed in deep collaboration with dancers Robert Malmborg, Pontus Pettersson and Stephen Thompson as well as the rest of the artistic team Andros Zins-Browne, Kaki King, Jenny Nordberg and Thabiso Kubheka Persson in a joint endeavour to stay with the trouble and the joy.
The work is the third instalment of Nyberg's investigation into humanity's assholery, previously developed in The Dawn Chorus (Northern Dance 2022) and Sweet (MDT 2022).
*Middle C, William H. Gass
In co-production with Dansens Hus. Chest part of STHLM DANCE - an international contemporary dance festival in the Stockholm region from 2-12 May 2024.
About Stina Nyberg
Stina Nyberg is a dancer and choreographer living in Stockholm. Her work is based on the political and social history of the body from a feminist perspective. She is interested in undervalued knowledge, magical practices and the language of power. Stina's artistic processes often start from a specific person or phenomenon as a node. This leads to a long period of research into the political aberrations surrounding the theme and she creates chains of artistic works in different formats based on the same artistic process. These can be live performances, city walks, lectures, concerts, texts or other formats.
She is part of the feminist collective Samlingen (Amanda Apetrea, Nadja Hjorton, Halla Ólafsdóttir and Zoë Poluch) who choreograph site-specific interventions with a critical view of dance history. Since 2013, she has been collaborating with Sofia Wiberg, researcher in Urban Studies, in a series of artistic investigations of collective knowledge processes. Since 2024 she is a part of Rose Choreographic School.
She is part of the feminist collective Samlingen (Amanda Apetrea, Nadja Hjorton, Halla Ólafsdóttir and Zoë Poluch) that choreographs site-specific interventions with a critical look at the history of dance. Since 2013 she has collaborated with Sofia Wiberg, researcher in Urban Studies, in a series of artistic investigations of collective knowledge processes. Since 2024 she is part of the Rose Choreographic School.
In recent years, she has immersed herself in a perspective on the current ecological catastrophe through a series of speculations on the possibility of an earth free of the human species. In 2022, she choreographed the work The Dawn Chorus for Norrdans, the following year she premiered the solo Sweet at MDT and in 2024 the premiere of Chest takes place at Dansens Hus Elverket.
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Opening night hangout after Stina Nyberg's performance Chest.
Post-conversation 10/5
Post-performance discussion with the cast in Chest and Tova Gerge. Tova Gerge is a dramaturge and writer working in the field of performing arts. Interested in themes such as power, body politics and subversive intimacy. Recently published the novel Fearplay (Albert Bonniers förlag).
The strongest part is where Robert Malmborg takes his place on Pontus Pettersson's body and then doesn't touch the ground for a long sequence, not even when they switch who is on top and who is on bottom. It is a remarkable sight. And marvellously skilfully executed.
So "Chest" moves from amoebic human lump via chest crushing to an almost euphoric finale, while worlds are born and fall and guitar virtuoso Kaki King's compositions set the mood without taking over.
Robert Malmborg, Stina Nyberg, Pontus Pettersson, Stephen Thompson
music
Khaki King
Dramaturgy
Andros Zins-Browne
Stage, mask and costume design
Jenny Nordberg
Light design
Thabiso Kubheka Persson
Film
Senay Berhe
Audio assistance
Julia Giertz
Tailoring
Anita Darmark
Production
Terry Johnson (Johnson & Bergsmark), Magnus Nordberg (Nordberg Movement)
Administration
The artists' cooperative Interim Culture
Photo
Senay Berhe and José Figueroa
With the support of
Kulturrådet, Konstnärsnämnden, Stockholm stad and Region Stockholm with residencies at The Chocolate Factory Theatre and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (USA).
Image collage
Mr Jens Strandberg
Co-produced by
Dansens Hus
Thanks to
The costumes used in Chest are recycled from the performances Sweet (2022) and The Dawn Chorus (Norrdans 2022). Thanks to Norrdans for the loan of costumes.
