A dance performance by Elle Sofe Sara & Joar Nango

Comissioned for Carte Blanche

In recent decades, several Western countries have set up commissions to investigate the history of minority groups subjected to systematic state abuse.

“BIRGET; Ways to deal, ways to heal” is a response to the Norwegian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which in June 2023 submitted proposals to reconcile the Sami and Norwegian people.

Birget is a Sami expression that describes a state of mastering or surviving in a changing environment. Driven by birget, Sara, Nango, and Carte Blanche invite the audience to overcome the fear of touching a heavy and challenging topic with a frisky performance that questions social and political boundaries, limitations, and today’s climate of reconciliation.

The performance process started in Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino where the Carte Blanche dancers experienced the Sami culture, polar night, and the northern cold on their bodies. Through encounters with the Sami people, personal stories of state abuse were shared with the dancers – experiences they carry with them on stage. The scenography’s materials and objects were also collected on the tundra in Finnmark.