Anne Golberg Stavn

When Anne was given the opportunity to start dancing at the age of 14, the choice was easy. The fact that it was hip-hop was a coincidence.

– I was drawn in because I found a community. Hip hop was more than dance – it was a whole environment, a culture I could be a part of.

Dance took her from Gol in Hallingdal to a bachelor's degree in dance and cultural communication in Oslo. After her studies, she started as a performing dancer.

– Working with art is about taking an idea and making it real. I like to dig, explore and reflect – and to use the body as an instrument in the process.

Hooked on the street

In Oslo, Anne was introduced to the street scene – a dance tradition with roots in the Afro- and Latin American diaspora in the United States. Street dance encompasses styles such as hip-hop, house, popping and breaking, and is characterized by rhythm, improvisation and individuality.

She was quickly hooked. Anne has spent extended periods in New York and Paris to immerse herself in street and club dance culture, and continues to participate in jams and battles at home and abroad. At the same time, she works to elevate the culture here at home through shows, festivals and club nights.

– For me, it's also about what street dance can mean in Norway, and what it can add to both the dance field and our culture.

Finding your style

In addition to creating and performing, Anne is passionate about teaching the subject. She has taught at Subsdans, KHiO, Kristiania University College, Follo Folk High School, Flow Dance Academy and Edvard Munch High School, among others.

– What I want to give the students is tools to develop their own movement language – their style. I teach technique, but primarily as a tool for them to create something of their own.

She describes the teaching as a dialogue in which she also learns herself.

– Every class is different, and everyone has different ways of learning. It's incredibly exciting.

Dance for everyone

– When we work with freestyle, you dance with what you have. The goal is to use the material in your own way and develop within it – regardless of level.

She believes that the folk high school is an ideal setting for dance.

– With grades and assessment forms, you easily lose a lot of the creativity that is actually the basis for developing as a dancer. At folk high schools we are freer, and the process is at the center – as it is when you work with dance in the field.