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In 2010, Basic Movements Dance Company was established by Norwegian dancer and choreographer Thomas Voll. Shortly after, the company changed its name to Thomas of Norway, and has since worked to give social taboos and difficult topics theatrical expressions - with more than 15 productions on its repertoire. Thomas of Norway is Vesterålen's only professional dance company, and is based in Stokmarknes.

 

Thomas of Norways is interested in how social taboos and topics related to shame can be given a performative expression - driven by an interest in creating entrances for conversation and reflection, most often about topics that we as society tend to put a lid on. We all have our "baggage". Shame, taboos or trauma are something many people in society carry. Some of it we can perhaps call a natural part of life, and some not. 

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"I use dance as language when I create, and experiment with intensity in various forms. Intensity in speed, intensity in the quiet, and intensity in meeting the audience. As an artist, I get straight to the point when I talk about eating disorders, suicide, child neglect, sexual abuse, and violence in close relationships. When I talk about grief and experiences of loss, the language is gentler, but just as direct. I mainly work in the solo format. A solo is vulnerable in itself, and vulnerability is a central thematic element in everything I create. An artistic process usually starts with me imagining images of how a subject can be given a performative expression. Thoughts and mental images turn into physical drawings and/or paintings, which then turn into movements. First as a form of draft, then as defined choreography or structure. The language of movement is often detailed and intense, and I often challenge the body to push itself to the limit. At the same time, I am concerned with the energy that is created when meeting the audience, and I often place the audience close to me, or preferably on the stage. By doing so, I seek to create an experience of participation and recognition in the audience. That this could have been any of us".