Fields Of Tender
▶︎ Dalija Acin Thelander
We‘ve worked with Dalija since 2023, with a focus on presenting her ambitious new work, Fields of Tender - both in the UK and internationally.
Image Credit: Krsto Vulovic
Dalija Acin Thelander is a freelance choreographer and researcher working across the performing arts, with a focus on audience agency, intersensoriality, and immersive choreography. Since 2008, she has developed sensory dance performances for neurotypical and neurodivergent babies and young children. In 2022, she began a three-year academic research project at Stockholm University of the Arts, exploring transdisciplinary methods to foster sensory immediacy, kinesthetic response, and intersubjectivity. Her work for young audiences has been presented internationally in Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa, and she has created commissions for the Royal Opera in Stockholm. She teaches and lectures worldwide, and has received the ASSITEJ International Artistic Excellence Award (2021) and the Swedish Expressen Culture Award (2023). Born in Serbia, she lives in Stockholm.
Image Credit: Krsto Vulovic
Fields of Tender is an enchanting and playful, dance performance, which immerses you in an imaginary world of tenderness, affection and love. Within this awe-inspiring, sensual world, the extravagant and peculiar events interlace with ethereal and gentle ones.
The abundance of dance, music, sounds, extraordinary objects and interactive video projections welcomes the audience's curiosity as well as provides the calm and intimate space for relaxation. The feeling of extravagance and allure interlaced with sensation of ethereal and sensual fosters the empowerment, togetherness and easefulness.
Fields of Tender caters to all senses and embraces every individual. The performance provides various extents of experiences for all types of perceptions and it welcomes all kinds of behaviors. The audience is invited to enjoy the performance freely and on their own terms. Within the several hours of duration the audience can come in when they are ready, exit and re-enter during the show, and leave when it suits them the most.
Audience and performers are sharing the same space where the performance takes place. You are free to sit anywhere in the space, on the floor, and freely move around at any time. You are welcome in the space in the wheelchairs too. Everything in the space is touch-friendly, including the dancers, with whom you can always communicate in case you need to share something with them or you have some questions.
The performance has been created within her three-year academic research project Towards sensuous ecologies, Rethinking ableism in choreographic and movement practices, supported by the Swedish Research Council and in affiliation with Stockholm University of arts / Dance department.
Credits
Choreography and overall design: Dalija Acin Thelander
In collaboration with and performed by: Noah Hellwig, Jimmie Larsson, pavleheidler, Jilda Hallin
Music: Thomas Jeker
Digital animation and interactive technologies: Filip Mikic
Supported by
Supported by: Menų spaustuvė/Arts Printing House (Vilnius, Lithuania), Kulturhuset Dieselverkstaden (Stockholm, Sweden), Muzeum Susch / Art Stations Foundation CH (Susch, Switzerland), LaSala (Sabadell, Spain)
The 2025-26 UK tour is produced by Third Version Creative and supported through public funding by Arts Council of England.