DancePod with Skånes Dansteater

Panel discussion recorded on 13 June 2026 at Malmö Konsthall as part of Malmö City’s Democracy Week, ‘Malmö möts’. In 2025, choreographer Philippe Blanchard, dramaturge Maika Knoblich, and Skånes Dansteater initiated an ongoing inquiry into how the Performing Arts Society might assume a more active, accountable role in addressing the current ecological crisis. 

In a time when the climate emergency is accelerating, our questioning moves beyond emissions data and toward a critical reflection on the ethical dimensions of our methodologies, the infrastructures that sustain them, and the symbolic economies in which they circulate. In this context, we are developing a dance work that draws on Édouard Glissant's philosophical concept of opacity. In our research, we ask: Can we imagine artistic practices that embody this ethics of opacity—practices that do not seek to extract or explain, but to relate, resonate, and respond? 

In our panel, we want to enter a discussion and think together about what art can communicate and provide during times of crisis that other disciplines may not. 

Panel:
Phillip Blanchard (FR), specialized lecturer, teacher, curator, and artist in Sustainable Methodology in Performative Practice

Max Liljefors, professor of art history and visual studies at Lund University.

Lucy Smalley, Project Leader KOAS, Malmö Konsthall

Moderator:
Maika Knoblich (DE), Performance Artist, Choreographer, Theater Light Designer

Audio editor: Linda Tran

A conversation with former Skånes Dansteater dancers on how they are defying the prevailing conventions that a dancer’s career ends at 40. 

Our dancer Sam Denton meets Anette Jellne, Jan Vesala and Laura Cheesman - dancers born in three different decades - in dialouge about the challenges they face to keep dancing for longer, and how the working conditions and practices for dancers have and continue to change to make this happen. 

This episode features a public talk from the Dance Forever festival, held on November 27 2025.

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Host: Samuel Denton, dancer Skånes Dansteater

Guests: Laura Cheesman, Jan Vesala & Anette Jellne, former dancers at Skånes Danstateater 

In this special episode, dance archivist Celine Orman talks with Professor Susan Kozel to explore the intersections of dance, philosophy and digital technologies. Susan’s research in phenomenology, somatics, and responsive technologies has influenced archival practices, including Skånes Dansteater’s project Bevara Rörelse (Maintaining Movement). 

The conversation delves into the unique ways bodies think and sense, reflecting on themes of perception, attention, and human experience in a rapidly changing digital world. Susan shares insights from her extensive work, including collaborations with artists worldwide.

From her perspective as an professor and former dancer she explains how  dance is more than an art form, but also as a vital way of knowing, being and understanding what it means to be human.

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Host: Celine Orman, dance archivist Skånes Dansteater

Guest: Susan Kozel, professor at the School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University

I år firar Skånes Dansteater sitt 30-årsjubileum på flera olika sätt. Bland annat genom en serie samtal med olika röster som är och har varit delaktiga att skapa Skånes Dansteater. I detta specialavsnitt, för ovanlighetens skull helt på svenska, möter vi Skånes Dansteaters vd och konstnärliga ledare Mira Helenius Martinsson. Hon har lett kompaniet sedan 2019 och är en central kraft i utvecklingen av danskonsten i regionen.

I detta avsnitt utforskar vi Miras vision för framtidens dans, hennes drivkrafter och den roll scenkonstinstitutionen kan spela de kommande 30 åren. Vi pratar hållbarhet, relationer och vad det innebär att leda en institution i ständig rörelse.

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Gäst: Mira Helenius Martinsson, VD & konstnärlig ledare Skånes Dansteater

Värd & redaktör: Carl Johan Folkesson Karlidag, Skånes Dansteater

Between 2010 and 2019, Ben Wright choreographed over eight original works with us and served as Associate Artistic Director from 2014 to 2017, collaborating closely with former CEO and Artistic Director Åsa Soderberg.

He is perhaps best known for his groundbreaking production The Feeling of Going, a large-scale pop-opera-dance-theatre piece built around Jónsi’s album Go.

As part of our 30th anniversary, we revisit Ben’s time at Skånes Dansteater and reflect on his wide-ranging career.

Ben also shares thoughts on navigating transitions, letting go to allow for transformation, and exploring life’s essentials—love, death, and change. He emphasizes staying connected to the inner child, living with joy and compassion, and building trust through connection in his art, guided by kindness and empathy.

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Host: Samuel Denton, dancer Skånes Dansteater

Guest: Ben Wright, Choreographer & Artistic Director

Editor: Samuel Denton, dancer Skånes Dansteater 

Patrick King, Skånes Dansteater’s first Artistic Director, and his partner Johan King Silverhult, one of the ensemble’s dancers during its early years, are still active as choreographers, dancers, and now Artistic Directors of Salon K Privé.

As part of Skånes Dansteater’s 30th anniversary, we revisit the birth of an independent dance institution. Patrick King set the tone for the company’s new beginning with his work "XXX Close Up", where a cast of seasoned dancers from Malmöbaletten met newly recruited talents in a physically demanding piece.

Hear Patrick and Johan not only recall the early years of Skånes Dansteater’s history, but also reflect on their broader dance careers: Patrick's experience of being a Black dancer in 1970s New York, performing in legendary productions such as "Fame" and Cirque du Soleil, living with elegance and dignity, and much more.

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Host: Kit Brown, dancer Skånes Dansteater

Guests: Patrick King & Johan Silverhult, choreographers & artistic directors Salon K Privé

Editor: Celine Orman, dance archivist Skånes Dansteater

‘Wing Ding’ is a vibrant, absurd and wonderful celebration of dance – and a dream come true.

For choreographer Lidia Wos, it's personal. In 2002, she took the Malmö Opera's stage as a young dancer. Now she's back - as a choreographer - with a marvelous team, the Malmö Opera Chorus, the Malmö Opera Orchestra and our dancers, who together bring three decades of dance memories to life.

In 'Wing Ding' anything is possible: movement, imagination, joy and a dash of madness. A celebration. An anniversary. Coming full circle.

This event was live streamed on Vimeo and Youtube on Thursday 3 April, 2025.

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Host: Samuel Denton, dancer, Skånes Dansteater.

Guest: Lidia Wos, choreographer.

Meet Norwegian choreographer and dancer Ludvig Daae in this live episode of Dance Pod with Skånes Dansteater.  An artist talk about dance, thoughts on utopias and the new dance performance ‘Attempting Alchemy’.

Medieval alchemy, the dream of making gold, may be the most utopian of all sciences. Alchemy pushes the boundaries of science and finds a home in the world of imagination. For Ludvig Daae, this dream of transforming everyday experiences into something different and elevated is a central part of creating art.

In 'Attempting Alchemy' he searches for utopia. He wants to transform ordinary movements, themes and objects into beauty, magic and gold.

This event was live streamed on Vimeo and Youtube Thursday 13 February, 2025.

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Host: Kit Brown, dancer, Skånes Dansteater.

Guest: Ludvig Daee, choreographer.

By DancePod with Skånes Dansteater in collaboration with Within Practice 2024.

Within Practice is a festival in Stockholm for contemporary dance practices that showcases the work of dancers and choreographers through various formats such as workshops, classes, panel discussions and practice presentations. Dancepod host Samuel Denton endeavour to explore all things ‘practice’ through a series of conversations with six different dance artists. 

This episode brings the dancer's voice to the fore. You meet four participants from Stina Nyberg’s Within Practice workshop: Anna Bitzok, Tova Gerge, Laura Linna and Elise Mae Nuding. They talk about what ‘practice’ means to them, and what’s it like to responde to someone else’s vision. How do you maintain a sustainable career in what can be a chaotic and uncertain profession, and lastly, how it feels to juggle several practices at the same time?

The ‘Within Practice 2024’ series consists of 3 episodes. (Episodes 49, 50, 51.)

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Host: Samuel Denton, dancer Skånes Dansteater

Guests: Anna Biczók, Tova Gerge, Laura Linna & Elise Nuding, dance artists & participants of Stina Nybergs workshop at Within Practice

Editor: Samuel Denton, dancer Skånes Dansteater

DancePod with Skånes Dansteater: Kit Brown, Samuel Denton & Tiemen Stemerding, dancers Skånes Dansteater

Special thanks to Within Practice, MDT, SKH & Dansens Hus.

By DancePod with Skånes Dansteater in collaboration with Within Practice 2024.

Within Practice is a festival in Stockholm for contemporary dance practices that showcases the work of dancers and choreographers through various formats such as workshops, classes, panel discussions and practice presentations. Dancepod host Samuel Denton endeavour to explore all things “practice” through a series of conversations with six different dance artists. 

In this episode you meet Stina Nyberg, one of the six featured artists that made up this year’s Within Practice programme. Stina talks about her broader relationship towards the term practice and what feeds her choreographic curiosities.

The ‘Within Practice 2024’ series consists of 3 episodes. (Episodes 49, 50, 51.)

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Host: Samuel Denton, dancer Skånes Dansteater

Guest: Stina Nyberg, choreographer, dancer

Editor: Samuel Denton, dancer Skånes Dansteater

DancePod with Skånes Dansteater: Kit Brown, Samuel Denton & Tiemen Stemerding, dancers Skånes Dansteater

Special thanks to Within Practice, MDT, SKH & Dansens Hus.