Fargespill (or “Kaleidoscope” in English) is an ensemble consisting of children and youths from all over the world.
When different cultures meet, what happens if we look for gold instead of dirt? Because that’s how we humans are put together – the things we look for in other people, is what we find. And the things we don’t look for, we rarely find. And what we look for – that’s up to ourselves.
Fargespill (or “Kaleidoscope” in English) is an ensemble consisting of children and youths from all over the world. On stage we meet about 100 young people from around 35 different countries, including Norway. Most of them have come to Norway as refugees and immigrants. These young people are the heart of Fargespill.
The shows are made from folksongs and folkdance they have brought with them from their respective countries and cultures, on their journey all the way to Norway; gems from around the world that we never would have experienced if these kids hadn’t come here. These gems are in turn united with our Norwegian folk heritage, and global youth culture such as hip hop and beatboxing.
Fargespill focuses on what happens when differences meet through traditional music and dance: Ethiopian shoulder dance meets Norwegian “gangar”. Mogadishu meets Bollywood, “fallturillturalltura” meets “habibi habibi”. Children-rhymes from all over the world unite in one grand polyphonic mantra. Through the fusion of our musical heritage we seek to encourage an emotional and deeply rooted understanding of the fact that we wander this little planet together – and that we need to make the best of it. Through traditional music and dance it becomes so clear; how obvious it is that we are alike, and how enriching it is that we are different.
The result is an intimate, musical meeting with young peoples’ stories about who they are and where they come from, told through music and dance from their respective cultures. The experience is elevated by professional musicians, choreographers, instructors, sound- and light designers and set designers.
Fargespill debuted with great success during the Bergen International Festival in 2004, and over 135 000 has since seen their performances. They have released a book and an album, which was nominated for the Norwegian Grammys. They have performed for Aung San Suu Kyi, most of the European Royal Houses and most ministers in Norway – amongst others. The Fargespill concept is licensed to several municipalities all over the country, as well as to Sweden – and several others are on the verge of starting up their own ensembles.