Dancing stag, dancing stag

From Kartellet’s description of the production: 

“Dancing stag” is an expression hailing from the north of Norway, applied to the act of dancing with someone of your own gender. The practice was common during the cod fishing season in Lofoten, where men danced with men without anything being made of it. It was like playing cards, singing, or fighting. The term – “dancing stag”, or “to stag” – would also be used if two women danced together.

The dance company Kartellet included female dancers for the first time in this production, bringing new perspectives on dance, gender and expected behaviour between genders. Variations of human behaviours are central to this playful production, which brims with fiery dance. One example of this is the way the women in the North performed their couple dance: vividly and powerfully, in contrast to a simple couple dance that is balanced and full of tension between the two dancers.

But what is erotic, what is sensual, and what is just a dance? Even small choreographic or human adjustments make us interpret these movements in very different ways.

SOURCES:

Kalottspel, kalottspel.no, 22.04.2022, https://www.kalottspel.no/event-database-2020/dansestaur

Kartellet, kartellet.org, 22.04.2022, https://kartellet.org/event/dancing-stag-dancing-stag-danse-staur-danse-staur/

Sigurd Johan Heide, e-mail, 03.02.22