Dance Migration and Norwegian Early Fri Dans

Abstract

This paper will look at how early Norwegian fri dans (“free dance”) was constructed and discuss how Norwegian theater dance, and especially the fri dans was developed through what we can call cross-cultural “dance migrations” between 1910 and 1950. The paper also looks at how elements from Norwegian traditional folkdance blended into the contemporary dance styles and created a special form of fri dans especially evident in the works of the Norwegian choreographer Gerd Kjølaas.