''Efva'' Maria Kristina Lilja (born 1956 in Huskvarna, Sweden) is a Swedish artist and professor of
choreography
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design ...
, working with performances, visual art, film and writing. Lilja is considered one of Sweden's most prominent choreographers and her influence on the Scandinavian dance field is incomparable.
Efva Lilja's work advocates a break with artistic labels, categories and genres. Since the 1980s, she has worked actively with critically developing the cultural politics of Sweden and abroad. Her work has been a part of developing artistic research specifically within the fields of dance and choreography.
Biography
Efva Lilja got her professional training at Balettakademien (in Swedish) and at the ''University of Dance'' (now
University of Dance and Circus) in Stockholm, where she graduated in 1980. Her subsequent training took place at the
Royal Academy of Dance
"Health and happiness"
, predecessor =
, successor =
, formation = 1920
, extinction =
, type = NGO
, status = Registered charity
, purpose = Examination board – dance education and training
, headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...
in England, in France and the United States. 1980-1981 she studied at the ''Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation'' in New York, where she also took composition classes with
Robert Ellis Dunn Robert Ellis Dunn (1928 – July 5, 1996) was an American musician and choreographer who led classes in dance composition, contributing to the birth of the postmodern dance period in the early 1960s in New York City.
Early years
Dunn was born in ...
and composition workshops at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, including work with
Meredith Monk
Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. From the 1960s onwards, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recording ...
.
She made her debut as a choreographer in 1982. In 1985 she started
E.L.D., a company where she was the
Artistic Director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
for twenty years. At E.L.D. Lilja established a new way of working for the art of dance in Sweden. In 2006 E.L.D. became Weld, an independent platform for experimental processes and knowledge production led by
Anna Koch.
Between 2006 and 2013 she was the
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
of the
University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2016 she became the artistic director at
Dansehallerne in Copenhagen.
Works
In collaboration with other artists, Lilja has created pioneering works that have been performed in more than thirty-five countries, at major stages, in small intimate venues, on television, films, in schools and art forums. In 1994 she produced ''Entre Nos Espaces'' on commission for the
Centre Georges Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...
in Paris. She produced ''A Gentle Cut'' in 2000 and ''ELDSTAD'' in 2003 for the
Swedish Museum of Modern Art
Moderna Museet ("the Museum of Modern Art"), Stockholm, Sweden, is a state museum for modern and contemporary art located on the island of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, opened in 1958. In 2009, the museum opened a new branch in Malmö in ...
. In 2001 she produced ''The Illuminated Dream Aflame'' for the
Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on 18 October 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spa ...
.
Awards and grants
Lilja has received a range of awards and grants for her artistic achievements in dance. She was appointed an Honorary Member of the ''International Centre for Cultural Relations'' in 1999, in 2000 she received the ''Prix D'ASSITEJ'' and in 2009 she was awarded S:t Erik Medallion (in Swedish) in commemoration of her artistic achievements by the
City of Stockholm
Stockholm Municipality or the City of Stockholm ( sv, Stockholms kommun or ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It has the largest population of the 290 municipalities of the country, but one of the smallest areas, ma ...
.
Bibliography
* ''Words on Dance'' (Stockholm: ELD, 2003).
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
br>
186486762* ''Helene'' (Stockholm ELD, 2004)
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
br>
486955096* ''Dance – For Better, For Worse'' (Stockholm: ELD, 2004).
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
br>
495481428* ''Movement as the Memory of the Body'' (University College of Dance, Committee for Artistic Research and Development, 2006)
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
br>
185258300* ''Do You Get What I’m Not Saying – on dance as a subversive declaration of love'' (Lund Ellerströms, 2012).
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
br>
918238688* ''100 exercises for a choreographer and other survivors'' (Lund Ellerströms, 2012).
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
br>
993538470* ''DOCH 1963-2013'' (DOCH School of Dance and Circus, Stockholm University of the Arts, 2013) ''
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
'
940869795* ''Breaking the mould'' (DOCH School of Dance and Circus, Stockholm University of the Arts, 2014)
* ''Art, research, empowerment : on the artist as researcher'' (Stockholm Regeringskansliet, 2015)''.
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
'
915580398* ''Choreographing the day : leaving the night alone : an apology for dance'' (Lund Ellerströms Förlag, 2017).
Artistic Research
In 2003 Lilja was appointed professor at the
University of Dance. Between 2002 and 2004 her research focused on ''Dance in a Frozen Landscape'' that took its starting point in a two-month polar expedition to the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...
where she explored her abilities to dance under extreme circumstances. Between 2003 and 2006 she worked on her project ''Movement as The Memory of The Body'', represented by three performances: ''The Memory'' (2003), ''Using The Eye In The Middle Of The Head'' (2004) and ''Smiling At Death'' (2005). She is involved in both national and international organisations in favour of artists' ability to perform research such as
Society for Artistic Research The Society for Artistic Research (SAR) is an international nonprofit, artistic and scientific society devoted to developing, linking and disseminating internationally artistic research as a specific practice of producing knowledge. SAR also aims to ...
(SAR) and
European League of Institutes of the Arts
ELIA (formerly known as The European League of Institutes of the Arts) represents some 300.000 students in all art disciplines.
History
ELIA emerged from a conference organized in Amsterdam in 1990, ''Imagination and Diversity'', aimed to pro ...
(ELIA). She is also a lecturer and in 2006-2013 she was the Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Dance and Circus (DOCH) in Stockholm.
Lilja has engaged in cultural politics in bodies such as the ''Swedish Dance Committee'' and Fylkingen (in Swedish). She was a founding member of the ''Association of Swedish Choreographers'' (FSK) in 1986 and was its first chairperson. She was the government's appointee to the governing board of the University of Dance (in Swedish) between 1994 and 1997 and was the designated expert in dance at the Swedish Ministry of Cultural Affairs (in Swedish) in 1995. During 2007-2012 she was a member of the board at the Swedish Arts Grants Committee (in Swedish). Since 2009 she is a member of the International Board for the ''Programme for Arts-based Research'' (PEEK), at
Austrian Science Fund (FWF). During 2008-2010 she was an expert in an advisory board concerning artistic research at the Swedish Ministry of Education (in Swedish) and in 2014 she was appointed ''Expert Advisor on Artistic Research'' at the Swedish Ministry of Education and Research (in Swedish). In 2012 she was invited to become a member of the project ''Team Culture 2012''initiated by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, and invited by the President of the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
,
José Manuel Barroso
José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and university teacher, currently serving as non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International. He previously served as the 11th president of the European Commi ...
to be active in the project ''A New Narrative for Europe'' 2013–2014. She also took part in Forum d'Avignon 2013–2014.
Archive of Efva Lilja's artistry
Additional biographical information and a complete list of works can be found on Efva Lilja's web site, in the
Swedish National Encyclopedia, the Swedish Who's Who (in Swedish) and other reference works. Information can also be found in the archives of the Swedish Museum of Dance (in Swedish) and in the archive of the
National Library of Sweden
The National Library of Sweden ( sv, Kungliga biblioteket, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish ...
(''Kungliga Biblioteket, Enheten för handskrifter, kartor och bilder. Acc.nr 2009/20'').
References
External links
Efva Lilja's web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilja, Efva
Swedish choreographers
Swedish female dancers
1956 births
Living people
Balettakademien
People from Huskvarna