Praxisfestivalen

What does it mean to create dance under occupation, apartheid, and genocide?

As its name indicates, Praxisfestivalen 2025 – The Palestine Edition focuses on Palestine, inviting us to a week of workshops, performances, discussions and exchanges between Norwegian and Palestinian dance artists. Amidst an inconceivable loss of life, we are also witnessing an enormous loss of art, dance and cultural heritage. By inviting Palestinian dance artists to Norway, the festival reflects on which bodies get to be seen – and how dance can be a language for resistance, grief and community.

The programme is curated by Palestinian dance artists Farah Saleh and Amir Sabra in collaboration with Praxisfestivalen, which this year is made up of Maja Roel, Martin Lervik and Sara Christophersen. Curatorially the programme brings together artistic, political and geographic perspectives and includes dance artists from Gaza, the West Bank, Palestinian artists with Israeli citizenship and the diaspora. The festival thus brings together dance artists who are usually seperated due to occupation, apartheid and genocide. These geographies create violent barriers that prevent the possibility of common meeting places across Palestinian society.

Praxisfestivalen 2025 – The Palestine Edition presents works that have not been performed before in Norway, enabling a better understanding of what Palestinian dance art is – and can be. The works explore the political body and decolonial embodied practices. Dansens Hus creates a space for sharings, discussions and conversations – and for solidarity in practice.

We are delighted to present works by Mohanad Smama, Nur Garabli, Amir Sabra and Farah Saleh.

The festival is co-produced and hosted by Dansens Hus. Collaborators are Proda, Rom for dans, Høyskolen for dansekunst, PraxisOslo and Black Box Theatre. Funded by the Arts Council Norway.