Tomorrow’s Witnesses

    Morgendagens Vitner/Morgondagens Vittnen/Huomisen Todistajat is a dance-theatre project that speaks about the impact of war on the individual and what it means to be forced to leave your home, your family or your country because of war. Tomorrow’s Witnesses  bridges stories from World War II to the present, from the forced evacuation of Finnmark, the scorched earth campaign in both Finnmark and Finnish Lapland, Finnish children being evacuated to Sweden to the stories of refugees who have recently fled from war and conflict in other parts of the world. The project took place in Hammerfest (Norway) in 2018, Luleå (Sweden) and Rovaniemi (Finland) in 2019.

    The project brings together elderly that survived the Second World War and young refugees that have come to the north of Scandinavia from wars and conflicts in other parts of the world. Each of the three projects have a different focus related to what happened in each region during WWII and the stories/memories of the participating elderly and young refugees. Together with a team of professional dancers/performers they created a poetic, visually delicate performance led by choreographer Benno Voorham.

    By listening to stories from our past, we get a better understanding of the present so we can build a future together.

    The project started in 2017 when Benno Voorham and Solveig Leinan-Hermo from Stellaris Dance Company visited schools for newly arrived young refugees and met with elderly that survived the atrocities of WWII in Hammerfest and Kirkenes. All three projects started with an initial period with open workshops in dance improvisation and movement-based theatre to culminate in the performance project that is based on the stories, dreams, memories and reflection of both the elderly, youngsters and professional team.

    In Hammerfest and Luleå an installation with video portraits of some of the participants was created by Nadja Voorham. This installation with the Norwegian participants was shown in exhibitions in the Museum of Reconstruction in Hammerfest and Varanger museum in Vadsö. The installation with the Swedish participants was exhibited at Stadsbiblioteket in Luleå and at Försvarsmuseum in Boden.

    A Documentary film was made by Tinus Kramer about the making of the performance project in Hammerfest.

    In each of the three countries the performance was presented to general audiences and to schools and toured in Finnmark, Norrbotten and Finnish Lapland.

     

    Choreographer and director: Benno Voorham (Netherlands/Sweden)

    Music: Shadi Ali (Syria/Sweden)

    Costume Designer: Pablo Londono Sarria (Colombia/Sweden)

    Artistic consultant in Norway: Solveig Leinan-Hermo (Norway)

    Light Designer: Alina Pajula (Hammerfest), Anna Lindkvist (Luleå), Riikka Vuorenmaa (Rovaniemi).

    Dancers/performers: Gerd Kaisa Vorren, Sebastian López-Lehto, Moa Westerlund, Jenny Schinkler, Nadja Voorham, Randi Simonsen, Odd Selnes, Ahmad Ziyadeh, Ahmed Takesh, Mohammad Khaled, Temesgen Gehbremariam, Mahir Abdullrahman, Sara Arnia, Eine Johansson, Aleksej Prokopov, Mohinur Nurmatova, Saleh Omar, Zabiba Temam, Abdulkarim aToya, Kaarina Kapraali, Kyllikki Vilander, Hamudat Suhail, Ibrahim Hilowle Abdullahi and An Duong Quynh.

    Video portraits: Nadja Voorham (Sweden/Netherlands)

    Documentary: Tinus Kramer (Krater Productions- Netherlands)

    Project idea: Solveig Leinan-Hermo,  Marie Hermo Jensen and Benno Voorham.

    Performances in: Hammerfest, Kirkeness, Tana Bru, Tromsö, Alta, Luleå, Boden, Haparanda, Pajala, Övertorneå, Rovaniemi, Pello, Kemijärvi, Salla and Sodankylä.

     

    For this project LAVA-Dansproduktion has collaborated with Stellaris DansTeatern (Norway), Dansinitiativet (Sweden) and Tanssiteatteri Rimpparemmi (Finland).

    The project has received its main funding from the Swedish Postcode Foundation.

    Project supported by: The Swedish Postcode Foundation, The Nordic Culture Fond, Swedish Arts Council, Fond For Utøvende Kunstnere, Riksteatern Norrbotten, Dansinitiativet, Skaf.

    Morgendagens Vitner (Hammerfest-2018) Photos: Ingun A. Mæhlum

    Morgondagens Vittnen (Luleå-2019) Photos: Marcel Köppe

    Huomisen Todistajat (Rovaniemi-2019) Photos: Tatu Kantomaa