About Fargespill Trondheim
Not being able to communicate through a common language is part of the new everyday life of the many children and young people who come to Norway through immigration. Fargespill (“Kaleidoscope”) gives them an opportunity to approach a new language and culture through song, dance, play, and circus exercises. Trondheim Municipal School of Performing Arts and Trondheim Chamber Music Festival are behind this extensive and important work. The collaboration is an artistic, creative, and educational initiative, aimed at children and young people with an immigrant background in meeting Norwegian students. It was developed after inspiration from the Fargespill Foundation´s work in Bergen. The basis is that people can meet as equals through cultural expression.
The Trondheim model is special because of the collaboration with the municipality's schools with reception classes for foreign-language students. The students are children of refugees and migrant workers, with the commonality that they do not speak Norwegian. In 2021 Fargespill Trondheim celebrated ten years. Close to 800 pupils from over 40 nations have taken part so far, and the Fargespill performances have been seen by over 14,000 spectators.
Trondheim Chamber Music Festival and Trondheim Municipal School of Performing Arts started Fargespill Trondheim in 2012. Fargespill Trondheim is a multicultural artistic project where more than 100 children and young people from 40 nations, including Norway, participate in weekly rehearsals throughout the year. Through this, a performance based on folk music and dance, circus, play, and nursery rhymes from all over the world is created. Fargespill always focuses on music and art. The activity takes place throughout the year and is simultaneously cultural exchange, teaching, inclusion, and an artistic product. Top qualified musicians, light and sound designers, and instructors take care of the professional setting, and in this setting the children and young people have the starring roles, with their cultural expressions. The result is a fantastic performance and a unique experience. Through music, circus and dance we see it clearly: how obvious it is that we are alike and how enriching it is that we are different!
Fargespill debuted with great success in Bergen in 2004 and has since then developed into a nationally acknowledged project that has spread to several cities in Norway. Fargespill Trondheim is based on the model and method from the Fargespill Foundation in Bergen. Fargespill Trondheim is licensed from, but not financed by, the foundation. The artistic management of Fargespill Trondheim is trained and certified to run the project in Trondheim. Similar Fargespill projects can be found in Stavanger, Larvik, Ås, and Oslo, among others.
