It began with a moment
1984, Park Hotell. It smells of dance floor and perfume. Mum is showing off new dresses at a fashion show. Then a man from the USA steps onto the floor, puts on the music and glides backwards, while everyone in the room sees him walking forwards.
I stood completely still. Not out of fear, but because of what I saw. It wasn't a trick I wanted to learn. It was a mystery I had to live.
That mystery has followed me ever since. The rug in our living room became my first piece of cardboard. Break times at school became my practice room, and the town square on market day became a stage, with a ring of people around. Breakdance in the '80s, competitions and medals, and then something few would have believed: classical ballet at the Norwegian National Ballet School (Statens balletthøgskole). Later came graphic design, and then the road back to dance as an instructor and choreographer for children and young people.
Light and darkness
The book is called «Oppmerksomhetens kraft i lys og mørke» (The Power of Attention in Light and Darkness) because the journey has had both. The light is the joy, the strength and the rhythm that were there before I had words for them. The darkness came in adulthood, through a long and demanding period that left its mark on my body, on my rhythm and on how I saw myself. What I learned then was that attention – the ability to see, to pause and to feel – is what carries us on.
Why a book?
The book is a piece of Norwegian dance history, from the first years of street dance in Norway to the ballet studio. At the same time, it is a personal story about holding on to what you are passionate about. I hope it can give courage to everyone who felt the rhythm before they heard the music.
More than half of the book is written. The goal is for the book to come out in summer 2027. The digital book will be available in 11 languages, while the printed book will be in Norwegian only.
Read the sample and see the book here
Thank you so much for wanting to join the journey. ❤️
Fredrik
kulturspiren.com