A Swan Lake is a contemporary adaptation of the classic Swan Lake choreographed by Johan Inger. Based upon »The Stealing of the Veil« from Johann Karl August Musäusʼ considered to be the origin of Ivanov and Petipas Swan Lake, this rendition offers a nuanced exploration of the perennial narrative, delving into themes of love, betrayal, freedom and transformation, adding layers of complexity to the narrative through its modern lens.
Watch videoPASSING offers a poignant exploration of the human experience, highlighting the beauty and fragility of human connection in a world characterized by constant movement and change. Through its choreography and thematic depth, the piece invites audiences to contemplate the fleeting nature of life and the profound impact of brief moments of connection with others.
Watch video"Dust & Disquiet," choreographed by Johan Inger, explores themes of turmoil and mortality, drawing parallels to contemporary societal challenges. Inspired by a volcanic eruption in La Palma, Inger uses the slow descent of lava as a metaphor for societal collapse, juxtaposing moments of destruction with glimpses of resilience. Inger's choreography pairs moments of chaos and confusion with instances of serene beauty, mirroring the dichotomy of the human experience.
Watch videoJohan Inger
Amos Ben-Tal
- Arvo Pärt - Fratres - Arvo Pärt- My Heart is in the Highlands - Pete Harden: Precious Metals- Guiyu Guitars Upstream by Ensemble Klang
EstudiodeDos (aapee): Curt Allen Wilmer & Leticia Gañan Calvo
David Stokholm
Bregje van Balen
Yvan Dubreuil
+/-45 minutes
31st March 2023, Göteborg, Sweden
Tempus Fugit is based on the theory- 5 stages of grief . Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. “Throughout each stage, a common thread of hope emerges. As long as there is life, there is hope. As long as there is hope, there is life. Tempus Fugit explores these themes on its quest for acceptance.”
Watch videoJohan Inger
Johann Sebastian Bach
Albina Skvirskaya for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Yvan Dubreuil
Peter Lundin
Johan Inger and Els Mommaerts - rework in 2022
35 minutes
26th september 2013, Ballet Theater, Basel
Recreation: 23rd september 2022, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
Ismael Lorenzo
Johan Inger's angle on "Don Juan" involves a contemporary reinterpretation of the legendary character, focusing on his psychological complexity and the consequences of his actions. Rather than portraying Don Juan as a one-dimensional seducer, Inger delves into the character's inner conflicts and vulnerabilities, offering a more nuanced portrayal: the loneliness and emptiness that lurk beneath Don Juan charismatic facade is emphasized, and the existential angst that drives his pursuit of pleasure and conquest highlighted.
Watch videoJohan Inger
Marc Álvarez, orchestrated and conducted by MANUEL BUSTO with Orchestra de Extremadura
Yvan Dubreuil
Gregor Acuña-Pohl
Leticia Gañán and Curt Allen Wilmer (aapee) with estudiodeDos
Fabiana Piccioli
Bregje van Balen
90 minutes
09th October 2020, Fondazione Nazionale della Danza/Aterballetto at Teatro Comunale, Ferrara, Italy
Joris Jan Bos
How do we bridge the gap that grows as we stagnate?
Our world today feels defined by a situation in which no progress seems possible. IMPASSE by Johan Inger illuminates that the baseline of human behavior is rooted in peer pressure and a loss of self, determined by a seduction of unending streams of “newness". It problematizes the ease with which we seem to fall into what others say or do and how we lose the opportunity for fruitful growth in the process. Can we nurture the ability to seriously interrogate the world together, and find the capacity to reimagine it?
Through a steady increase in the number of dancers on stage and a simultaneous decrease in the size of the performance space, IMPASSE demands a sense of urgency. Fluid movements and strong rhythms are translated by the young dancers of NDT 2 through moments of hysterical comic relief and manic isolation, indicating that together we should be stronger, alone we are less.
In this creation, Johan Inger explores the themes of awakening and change. "I want to explore the world that lies behind people and their habits. Today’s society is confronted with many challenges in which a human being, an individual, can feel lost, small and insignificant. However, history has shown us that great winds of change actually begin with the smallest of breezes…"
Watch video"As if" draws on thoughts and ideas about the nature of mankind and how we relate to each other and our surroundings. "As if" is about the cycle of life and different phases in life. The course of events is affected by the wall, which dictates the space and the dancers. The wall represent something inevitable – no one yet can stop time from having its course.
Watch videoWhen Johan Inger was commissioned by CND to create a new version of Carmen, he knew he was facing a great challenge, himself being Swedish, creating a traditional Spanish work for a distinctly Spanish audience. His approach to this classic tale would have to propose something new. For this reason, Inger decided to focus on the theme of passion and violence, approaching it through the eyes of someone pure and not polluted… that of a child. "In this character, there is a certain mystery. The child could be anybody, could be Don José as child, could be a young Michaela, or the unborn child of Carmen and Don Jose, or anyone of us, with a primitive goodness, wounded by an experience of violence, which although brief, would have an adverse effect on our lives and in our capacity to relate with others forever.Where does domestic violence start, and where does it end?”
Watch videoThat here in the darkness immutable tranquility holds sway’ (In praise of shadows, Jun’ichiro Tanizaki).
Watch videoWhile I re-read Ibsen’s play searching for a concept for this new creation, I realised the multitude of similarities and parallelism with my own life that I felt I could just replace my whole life experience in Peer Gynt’s footsteps. I have then chosen to tell and place my Peer Gynt through different dance worlds and styles: this evening will go from classical ballet, to the work and worlds of Mats Ek and Jiri Kylian as well as my own, embracing Ibsen’s storm as my own fears in my own search for identity. A very personal, enticing and joyful journey I would be curious to share with you.
“Really to sin you have to be serious about it.”
“A clear conscience makes an easy pillow.”
What ought a man to be? Well, my short answer is “himself”.
“My new path could very well start here”.
"Falter" describes a world where nothing is constant; a world that appears to be constantly changing shape. Where we are forced to always adjust to the external and internal changes, where we must constantly start anew, be taking off. Where things accelerate until the only point that remains is a resting point.Through change, conflict, harmony, individuality and that which is in unison, "Falter" is seeking a kind of acceptance.Falter is dedicated to the choreographer Per Jonsson (1956-1998).
Watch videoA piece set to the nostalgic music of Van Morrisons album Astral Weeks. A look back on a time that was both pure and simple but with the distinct challenges of becoming an adult. This dive into the past had to be done with honesty, therefore resulting in trying to leave behind unnecessary gestures, movements and structures. We tried to be honest and pure, like we were every time meeting the choreographic material for the first time. I wanted it to lead to freshness, clarity and colour. I will never, never grow so old again. (Van Morrisson).
Watch video"It progresses through a formation of moods and memories with the goal of breaking loose, moving on. This piece is an attempt to deviate from the path I know and by doing so, hopefully find new beginnings..."
Watch videoWith "Dreamplay" Johan Inger has created an abstract yet narrative ballet to Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps”.
Watch video"I raise the mirror of my life up to my face/ With a swing I smash the reflection – The world as usual all in its place" - Taigen Sofu (1555)
Watch video *Video by Valeria + Theater MannheimIn Johan Inger's version of Petrushka he takes us to the current and always controversial World of Fashion, where dolls become Mannequins, the Magician becomes an international fashion and mass guru, the protagonists and consumers of an incredible circus of vanities. Johan Inger, with the intention of bringing this story to his aesthetic and narrative world, review this classic in a present and contemporary way providing the necessary dose of criticism and reflection on the world of consumerism, where praise of the youth discards previous generations without further consideration nor emotions.
Watch videoA pedagogical Ballet by Johan Inger
4 Karin is a choreography inspired by the short dance film ‘The Dance of the damned Women’, made in 1976 for the Swedish television by Ingmar Bergman. Bergman and the choreographer Donya Feuer were inspired to make a black and white movie, about four women in an isolated environment, where feelings and emotions between them would be seen through the reflections of their faces and expressions, on theirs hands, looks and movements. The original structure of the film was meant to see a choreography once, followed by an explanation in words, and end the experience by watching it again with clearer intentions, creating a pedagogical exercise in order to perceive and understand this dance piece better.
Taking this idea as an inspiration, Johan Inger decided to develop the concept of four women in a closed and confined space... These four characters represent power struggles between different generations: women who play a role imposed on them by other women from previous generations.
Johan Inger
Carolina Armenta
“Il Ballo delle Ingrate, SV.167” (1608) by Claudio Monteverdi. Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie in 1983
Gregor Acuña-Pohl
Jörgen Jansson
Curt Allen Wilmer
Johan Inger and Carolina Armenta
Heléne Friberg
30 minutes
June 5, 2018, Norwegian National Opera House- Oslo-Norway part of Dancing With Bergman’s program Co-production Productions Internationales Albert Sarfati and Norwegian National Opera and Ballet.
Eric Berg
Golden Days presents two existing works of Johan Inger RAIN DOGS and BLISS, connected by a new short solo creation, BIRDLAND. RAIN DOGS and BLISS are two distinctive works, made years apart and are conceptually and choreographically far from each other, inviting the viewer to dive into two different worlds, though illustrating reoccurring themes in Johan Inger’s work: loss, change and the consequences thereof. The solo BIRDLAND carries the thread between these two different periods of life, in a grit and a rebellious streak against changes in life. The concept and what holds this evening together is of course the choice of music: Tom Waits, Patti Smith and Keith Jarrett. Through their music and their art, these artists have influenced and help change a whole generation. We feel a certain sense of history/nostalgia, a place in the past that seemed (at least looking a it nowadays) simple and free. “As we grow older we often reflect on our journeys and I, for once, look back on my path with a true smile, when things were bright and carefree. Those were golden days!
Watch videoNow & Now is an intimate study of a man and a woman through different stages of their relationship. Trying to capture both the simplicity and complexity of coming together, dealing with what’s expected, and the true reality of things.
Watch videoThe starting point of this new piece is the music of Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert, which, apart from myself also inspired and touched millions of people due to its maybe perfect timing of catching a generation moving from one part of their lives to another. My task, together with the dancers will be how we relate to this iconic music. There is both a composing and an emotional challenge as to how we meet this music with today’s eyes. Being present in the moment, like Keith Jarret was, is what we’re looking for. Trying to be pure and fresh with no preconceived ideas. I have today been asked to present a thought about what my new work will be about, but the truth of the piece will have to be discovered through my meeting with the dancers, and us together, meeting the music of the Köln Concert. So we are, all of us, no matter how experienced, newcomers related both to each other and to the music that will give a voice to this new meeting.
Watch videoOne on One centralizes the dance between two people and investigates the progression of duets and the evolutionary stages in the relationships they portray. These stages can include the exploration and sensing of two bodies, their meeting and touching when coming together or the collapse that occurs through the small cracks in their uniformity.
Watch videoI wanted to create a feeling of space and to be able to zoom in and out from these people who delve in to themselves, are absorbed by their inner-self. Busy trying to leave their traces behind. It should feel like you see them from a thousand metres up in the air and in the next minute zoom in and see their processes close up..." - Johan Inger
Johan Inger
Jean-Louis Huhta
Jens Sethzman
Jens Sethzman
Carolina Armenta and Johan Inger
70 minutes
Cullberg Ballet
Urban Jören
The beginning of the performance is very physical in a nearly manic kind of way. The point of departure was to conquer and master the space. The first part is about conquering the room. In the second part meetings ensues. In the third and final part there is a parting. There, the space will be cleaned out and become pure, ready to be conquered again.
Johan Inger
Jean-Louis Huhta, JS Bach
Jens Sethzman
Jens Sethzman
Carolina Armenta and Johan Inger
70 minutes
Cullberg Ballet
Urban Jören
It starts to rain. A dog, curious and self-confident. With its sense of smell, moves beyond its usual boundaries, discovering what lives far away. He suddenly can't find his way back, the rain has washed away every trace. This metaphor is the starting point. A world where Inger explores relationships, identity and gender. Systems that we as individuals try and comply with, as well as rebel against, all set to the music and voice of Tom Waits.
Watch videoJohan Inger
Tom Waits
Johan Inger
Peter Lundin
Johan Inger
35 minutes
Ballet Basel
Ismael Lorenzo
Johan Inger was asked by the director of the RSB, Johannes Öhman to “finish” the Rite of Spring, since he had done the first half year 2000. It was a challenge to continue something that he started 15 years earlier, not being quite the same choreographer as then? The first part “ Dreamplay” plays out in a dream, he therefore decided that the second part had to be the “reality”. The piece is due to this clearly divided into two parts. The first part being an erotic game between a man and two women. Young, playful, almost naïve with quick dramatic turns, the second part becoming its opposite, with a rawer approach to a similar theme, the objectification of a woman, group pressure and mans tendency to dominate and revenge women with sexual means.
“When I met Stravinsky’s music there was an instinctive resistance, and a meeting with an elemental force. Me meeting the dancers, and in-between the group and the individual, where in the end, the group becomes the sacrifice.”
Johan Inger
Igor Stravinsky
Mylla Ek
Erik Berglund
Mylla Ek
40 minutes
Royal Swedish Ballet
Hans Nilsson
"Tone Bone Kone" is a collection of short solos accompanied by Arthur Russell's World of Echo. Each part is a tiny story moving in and out from different perspectives of the songs, with their hushed vocals half sung and half whispered. With an explicitly open, passionate and engaging style of movement, the idea is that the performer is in the process of building their own relationship with the plucked, stroked and struck cello; together as a variation of ambiently spiked vocals, intimately transferred limbs as if each part is a little story that you try but fail to recall.
Johan Inger
Arthur Russell (from the album World of Echo)
Jens Sethzman
Jens Sethzman
Johan Inger & Carolina Armenta
30 minutes
Nederlands Dans Theater
Joris Jan Bos
The life and personality of world acclaimed artist Nina Simone has inspired the creation of Under A Day and more precisely the powerful testimony present in the song “Be My Husband”: a message of love intertwined with life struggles, sensitivity without limits, containing imperceptible and indescribable layers of complexity.
The work will open in a white open space, almost without limits, where clouds spread their shadows and where light piercing through them is as much of Nina Simone’s hopes and attempts to survive.
Nina Simone’s song will unfold different times, processed by the voice of another artist, opening windows of possibilities towards the relationship and the love to another.
I have been contemplating since a long time through my works this ever-lasting play between oneself and the other, affecting the way we behave in our world and society. Nina Simone’s music as well as her bipolar personality guided me to explore the contrasts between our brighter moments and actions, and the darkest, unpredictable and confusion of some of our reactions.
Our greatest blessings come to us by way of madness.
Johan Inger
Maurice Ravel, Arvo Pärt
Johan Inger
Erik Berglund
Johan Inger
28 minutes
Nederlands Dans Theater
Urban Jören
ABOUT ME
Johan Inger made his breakthrough as a choreographer in 1995 after a very successful dancing career at the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT). Inger’s choreographies have won numerous prestigious awards. Between 2003 and 2008 he was the artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet, and between 2009 and 2015 he held the position as Associate Choreographer with NDT.
Johan Inger is now an established and renowned choreographer who has shared his works with numerous dance companies around the world.
The Swede Johan Inger (Stockholm, 1967) had his dance training at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and at the National Ballet School in Canada. From 1985 to 1990 he danced with the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, the last year performing as a soloist. Fascinated by the works of Kylián, Inger was convinced that the next step in his dance career should take him to Nederlands Dans Theater. In 1990 the hour had come. He joined Nederlands Dans Theater I and was a high-profile dancer in this company until 2002.
When Inger tried his hand at Nederlands Dans Theater’s annual Choreography Workshops (now Switch), Jiří Kylián noticed his talent for choreography. After four workshop pieces Inger was asked in 1995 to make his first choreography for Nederlands Dans Theater 2. The resulting Mellantid marked his official debut as a choreographer. It was part of the Holland Dance Festival and was immediately a resounding success. It brought him the Philip Morris Finest Selection Award 1996 in the Contemporary Dance category. In 2001 Mellantid was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award in the Best New Dance Production category.
Since his debut, Inger has made various works for Nederlands Dans Theater. For his ballets Dream Play and Walking Mad he received the Lucas Hoving Production Award in October 2001. Walking Mad as it was later performed by Cullberg Ballet was awarded the Danza & Danza’s Award 2005. Inger himself was nominated by the VSCD Dance Panel for the Golden Theatre Dance Prize 2000 and received the Merit Award 2002 of Stichting Dansersfonds ’79.
Inger left Nederlands Dans Theater for the artistic leadership of Cullberg Ballet in 2003. Over the following five years he created various pieces for this company.
In the summer of 2008 Inger stopped as artistic leader for Cullberg Ballet so as to devote himself entirely to choreography and produced ‘Position of Elsewhere’ (2009) for Cullberg Ballet. In the years 2009-2015, Inger became ‘associate choreographer’ for the Nederlands Dans Theater creating regularly for both NDT1 and NDT2 (Dissolve in This, Tone Bone Kone, I New Then, Sunset Logic, B.R.I.S.A and One on One).
As of 2015, Inger also started to make his own versions of more narrative ballets and created his Rite of Spring, Carmen, Peer Gynt and Petruschka.
Inger is now established as an independent choreographer.
His works belong to the repertoire of numerous dance companies over the world such as:
Nederlands Dans Theater, Cullberg Ballet, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballett Theater Basel, The Norwegian National Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Aterballetto, Ballet Vlaanderen, Ballet Staatstheater Nurnberg,, Lyon Opera Ballet, Stanislavski Theater, Ballet BC, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Charlotte Ballet, National Theater Mannheim, Gauthier Dance Company, Theater Dortmund, Ballett des Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken, Staatsoper Hannover Ballet, Ballet du Rhin, Hungarian National Ballet, Semperoper Ballet Dresden, Aalto Ballett Essen, Hessisches Staatstheater Ballett, Finnish National Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, Cedar Lake, Ballet Chemnitz, National Dance Company Wales, Icelandic Dance Company, Luzerner theater, Bern Ballet, Staatstheater Mainz, Ballet du Capitole - Toulouse.
- Petruschka - 2018 for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
- 4 Karin - 2018 for Dancing with Bergman, program Ek/ Ekman/Inger - Sarfati productions
- Under A Day - 2018 for Lyon Opera Ballet
- Birdland - 2017 for Aterballetto
- Peer Gynt - 2017 for Ballett Theater Basel
- Sweet Sweet - 2017 for Gauthier Dance Company
- Bliss - 2016 for Aterballetto
- One on One - 2015 for NDT2
- Now & Now - 2015 for Gauthier Dance Company
- Carmen - 2015 for Compania Nacional de Danza
- Rite of Spring - 2015 for Royal Swedish Ballet
- B.R.I.S.A. - 2014 for NDT2
- Tempus Fugit - 2013 for Ballett Theater Basel
- Sunset Logic - 2012 for NDT1
- I New Then - 2012 for NDT2
- In- Exact - 2011 for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
- Rain Dogs - 2011 Ballett Theater Basel
- Stabat Mater - 2011 for Italica Festival
- Tone Bone Kone - 2010 for NDT1
- Falter - 2010 for GöteborgsOperans Danskompani
- Dissolve in This - 2009 for NDT1 & 2
- Position of Elsewhere - 2009 for Cullberg Ballet
- Point of Eclipse - 2007 for Cullberg Ballet
- Blanco - 2006 for Cullberg Ballet
- Empty House - 2005 for Cullberg Ballet
- Negro con Flores - 2005 for Cullberg Ballet
- As If - 2005 for Cullberg Ballet
- Within Now - 2004 for Cullberg Ballet
- Phases - 2003 for Cullberg Ballet
- Pneuma - 2003 for NDT 1
- Home and Home - 2002 for Cullberg Ballet
- Out of Breath - 2002 for NDT2
- So Now Then - 2002 for NDT1
- Walking Mad - 2001 for NDT1
- Arcimboldo - 2000 for NDT
- Dream Play - 2000 for NDT2
- Among Others - 2000 for NDT1
- Hurry Slowly - 1999 for NDT1
- Couple of Moments - 1998 for NDT3
- Livnära - 1997 for NDT1
- Round Corners - 1997 for NDT 2
- Sammanfall - 1996 for NDT 2
- Mellantid - 1995 for NDT 2
- 2016 Benois de la Danse for pieces Carmen and One on One Danza y Danza Prize for Best Italian production with the piece Bliss
- 2013 Carina Ari medal in Stockholm for Inger’s worldwide promotion of Swedish art and dance
- 2005 Danza & Danza’s Award 2005 for Walking Mad
- 2002 Merit Award of Stichting Dansersfonds ’79.
- 2001 Lucas Hoving Production Award for pieces Dream Play and Walking Mad Nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award in the Best New Dance Production category for the piece Mellantid.
- 2000 Nominated by the VSCD Dance Panel for the Golden Theatre Dance Prize
- 1996 Philip Morris Finest Selection Award in the Contemporary Dance category for the piece Mellantid