9 May 2025
Premiere of Relaxed Performance at Vara Concert Hall
Yesterday was the premiere of Relaxed Performance at Vara Concert Hall. The concert had the theme of the forest, and on stage Danskompaniet Spinn and Bohuslän Big Band came together. The concert was presented in a more permissive format where the audience could enjoy it in their own way – regardless of temperament, age, or functional variation.
“It was a successful premiere with cheers from the audience and many people saying they went home both moved and impressed. Some even said it was the best they had ever seen,” says producer Ida Jarlgren.
The concert had the theme of the forest, and the stage space in Sparbanken Blackbox had been transformed into a green forest glade with the help of set design, projected leaf patterns, and decorations such as branches, stumps, and tents.
Bohuslän Big Band treated the audience to swinging, powerful and sensitive big band music, including works by Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Maria Schneider. The dancers in Danskompaniet Spinn enhanced the music with expressive movement. Between the pieces, the audience was guided by Spinn’s artistic director Veera Suvalo Grimberg and a sign language interpreter.
“A Relaxed Performance is a bit more permissive than a regular concert. The audience is allowed to make noise, move around freely, the auditorium is a bit brighter, and the doors to the foyer are kept open so that people can go in and out as they wish,” says Ida Jarlgren.
The music at the concert was classic big band music by, among others, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington. Photo: Daniel Strandroth.
The Relaxed Performance format is offered at several different concert halls, including the Gothenburg Concert Hall. This is the first time that this type of concert is being done with big band music.
“It’s been something of a dream to collaborate with Bohuslän Big Band. We at Spinn have worked with this concept before, but we’ve never collaborated with a world-class big band until now. It was very special to see the encounter between the musicians, the dancers and the audience,” says Veera Suvalo Grimberg, artistic director of the dance company Spinn.