Irene Vesterhus Theisen

In her speech at the awards ceremony for Norwegian Critics' Award for Dance 2019/2020, Karen Frøsland Nystøyl said the following, among other things:

"We Come in Peace is a remarkable production. It has been called a beautiful piece of performance art, a brave and moving project, a performance shining far into space and back. It is rare, because it is a genre of its own: We Come in Peace is the first contemporary dancical in the world. We hope it's a genre come to stay.

For in this intersection, there are possibilities both dance and music can grab hold of. When the freedom and enormous repertoire of contemporary dance meet the essence of the musical - the kind that can, with the lightest of hearts, embrace the cliches and has let go of irony a long time ago - the essence of We Come in Peace comes to life.

Through the Matrix look, through PVC and leather and babydolls, the naked, unvarnished and unaffected shine through, what is often the most difficult of all: Sincerity. It sits in every movement, in the demanding choreographic patterns, in the intricate footwork, in the tempo, in the sweat, in the pauses, in the music - and in the address.

I said that this year's nominees challenge the gaze. We Come in Peace challenges to be seen. We Come in Peace is like Frida, it stands with its heart in its hand. We Come in Peace invites us into ourselves. The performance is a visit from space, creatures who come - in peace - and want to show us something. It could have been a show of power. Instead, it is a show of love."

SOURCE:

Norwegian Critics' Association, kritikerlaget.no, 21.09.2020, https://kritikerlaget.no/saker/dansekritikerprisen-2019-2020