About me

Elisabeth is originally from Sisimiut in Greenland, but has lived in Northern Sweden for 30 years. She was educated as an actress at the Tukak Theater in Denmark 1983-1988, and during this time she studied Butoh Dance and Noh Theater in Japan. Elisabeth works as a freelance actress and a mask dancer, as well as teaching Liberating Dance and Greenlandic Mask Dance through workshops across Scandinavia, Greenland and other parts of the world. She also lectures in various contexts within dance and health. Elisabeth has been employed at Giron Sámi Teáhter and also freelances in several different theatres, including in Greenland.

Upper photo by Dan Jåma. Portrait by Akvafjell.

What’s On

 CV

  • Guest teacher at Greenland’s National Theater’s stage school in Freeing Dance during Feb - March. Premiere of “Angry Old Sámi Aunts” in Trondheim, Norway, March 30th. Work in progress for a new performance experiment ”Flokken” with Sámi Lávdi (Sámi Association for Performing Art). Performing Greenlandic Mask Dance and give workshops frequently all over the world.

  • Participated in the research project “Earth Voices” as a dancer, initiated by Adada Produksjoner Norway. Participated in the Greenlandic Art Exhibition ”Worst - case Scenario” with four artists from Greenland at Lunds Art Gallery / Lunds Konsthall, in May. Toured with my dance performance ”The Homeless” in Greenland and Norway in June. Creating a new performance ”Angry Old Sami Aunts”, with premiere in Mars 2022.

  • Developed and performed “Angerlarsimaffeqanngitsoq – The Homeless” for the tour in India in February. Directed a performance with monologues for greenlandic acting students at the National Theatre of Greenland in Nuuk. Constantly gave workshops in Liberating Dance and Greenlandic Mask Dance all over the world.

  • Produced my Dance performance “Angerlarsimaffeqanngitsoq – The Homeless” in association with
    ”Indigenous Traces 2018-2019 ” and touring right now with that performance. Giving workshops in Freeing Dance and Mask Dance all over the nordic countries and abroad.

Photo: Akvafjell

Uaajeerneq - Mask Dance

“Uaajeerneq: the Greenlandic Maskdance is the oldest dramatical expression among the Inuits in Greenland”

“Uaajeerneq” - the Greenlandic Mask Dance is the oldest dramatical expression among the Inuits in Greenland. The tradition has been approximately alive for around 3000 to 4000 years, and for the last centuries especially on the eastern side of Greenland.

In the beginning, the Mask Dance was mainly used for fertility rituals, but as times passed it changed more into entertainment – in connection to shamanic seances and to get through the dark wintertimes.

The maskdance contains 3 dimentions and 3 elements. The dimentions are: A state of human being, animal world and the world of spirits. The elements are: fear, erotic and comedy (clown).

“The dance is deeply connected with our many inner capacities ”

In the mask dance the dancer is eliminating oneself as much as possible, by changing and deform the face and body (with make-up, a stick and a string) to reach the spirit level, where the borders between human and animal, female and male evaporates.

The dance is deeply connected with our many inner capacities. In other words, the primitive instincts which even the contemporary and high technological human still embodies.

“the borders between human and animal, female and male evaporates”

If you wish to know more about my mask dance shows please see ‘performances’ and if you want to participate in a Dance workshop, please find more info in ‘workshops’. Thanks!

Photo: Hans Olof Utsi

Performances

Photo: Dan Jåma

Angerlarsimaffeqanngitsoq / The Homeless

Meqqu, a shaman woman from small community in western Greenland set to go out into the wide world »Sila« to bring back the lost soul of a young man. The journey goes astray and suddenly, in 1978, she finds herself in a Danish prison cell.

In the same cell, a young man awakens.


Here you can read more about ‘The Homeless’.

Photo: Akvafjell

Photo:: Akvafjell

Shows

More performances of The Homeless coming soon!

Please find more info in ‘what’s on’ and follow the link below to book your tickets.

Photo:: Kristian Rødvand

Sinte gamle samedamer

Photo: DansIT

Sinte gamle samedamer er ment å være en hardtslående kunstfaglig knyttneve rettet mot stigmatiseringen av urfolkskvinner og av godt voksne kvinner generelt. Musikalsk, forførerisk, rasende og sensuelt, vil vi utfordre myter og normer knyttet til kvinner over en viss alder, samt kvinner av samisk opphav og tilknytning. Vi ønsker å gi kvinner fra hele Sápmi en stemme, helt fra brølet fra dypet til en stille hvisken.

Läs mer om Sinte gamle samedamer.

Photo: Torgrim Halvari

Workshops & activities

Liberating Dance

  • Liberating dance is a unique journey into yourself and it is a process that you “customise” from where you are right now. Liberating Dance focuses on your body's possibilities and sets no demands on achievement or perfectionism.

    To read more see ‘workshops’ by clicking on ‘more info’ below.

  • You can book a liberating dance workshop or book your spot on a course by emailing me! Looking forward seeing you!

    Please follow ‘more info’ below to find more details, where you also can read a bit more about liberating dance.

Maskdans workshop

  • The mask dance workshop is held for 3 full days and participants are given a genuine introduction in partly the mask dance function in a historical perspective and the basic elements of mask dance.

    If you wish to know a bit more about the workshop, head to the page ‘workshops’, please follow ‘more info’ below.

    Do you want to read more about mask dance please see the page ‘Maskdans’ as well as ‘Performances’ where you can read more about the performance “The Homeless”.

    See ‘What’s on’ to follow updates on my current and future shows.

  • You can book a mask dance workshop or book your spot on a course by emailing me! Looking forward seeing you!

    Please follow ‘more info’ below to find more details, where you also can read a bit more about mask dance.

Activities

  • I am running quite a few different activities. Please see ‘activities’ for more in-depth info. Follow the link below to navigate there.

  • Om du vill att jag håller aktiviteter för en grupper eller om du vill boka en plats, skriv då gärna ett mejl till mig. Ses!

    Följ ‘mer info’ nedan för mer exakta detaljer om aktiviteterna.