In October 2025 a new dance score from Valgeir Sigurðsson premieres at Norwegian National Ballet. Láhppon/Lost, choreographed by Elle Sofe Sara and Hlín Hjálmarsdóttir, is a physical narrative of the 1852 Kautokeino rebellion – a turning point after years of conflict between the Sámi and the Danish-Norwegian authorities. The piece examines the event – one of the most violent in Sámi history – is from the current global perspective.
The 60-minute work is a collaboration with The Sámi National Theater Beaivváš in Kautekeino, where the ballet will appear on 14 and 15 November after its world premiere run of five performances in Oslo. Sigurðsson’s electronic soundscape brings together traditional and newly-composed joiks – chanting songs of the Sami people – by Lávre Johan Eira and Sara Marielle Gaup Beaska; the former will also appear onstage. Costumes and sets are by Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov, with the action taking place on a futuristic stage landscape that playfully interacts with nature and tradition; the mise-en-scene also draws on Sámi traditions, building practices and techniques.
Láhppon/Lost is Sigurðsson’s third ballet score. Architecture of Loss, a 30-minute ballet for a chamber ensemble of 3 players and electronics, was created in 2012 for the Stephen Petronio Company and toured the United States; in 2017-18 excerpts from the show toured the United Kingdom and China with Avant Garde Dance. In 2015 Sigurðsson’s composed the electronic score to Extremalism, an 80-minute piece created for the Holland Festival presented by the combined forces of Ballet National de Marseille and ICKAmsterdam, choreographed by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten. In 2016 the production toured to the Netherlands, Belgium, Slovenia and France – watch an excerpt here.