The Cullberg Ballet belongs to Riksteatern, Sweden’s National Touring Theatre, and has been one of the leading companies in modern dance for the past five decades. They have enjoyed success in over forty countries and with their international tours are acknowledged as travelling ambassadors for Swedish culture, be it in Europe, Asia, Australia or America. Over the past ten years, more than half of their performances have been in Sweden and this is one reason why dance in that country is now so popular. It is the dancers who are the greatest treasures of the Cullberg Ballet. From its inception, it has been a colourful company and today it still comprises of a diversity of nationalities. The professional expertise and powerful stage presence of the dancers gives the company its individual character. The world première of Empty House was given jointly with Nederlands Dans Theater in The Hague in 2002. “I raise the mirror of my life Up to my face […] With a swing I smash the reflection – The world as usual All in its place.” (Taigen Sofu, 1555) “Negro con Flores exists in a landscape between darkness and light, seriousness and levity. It weaves its way through a formation of emotional states with the aim of breaking loose, moving on. This piece is an attempt to break out of known patterns of mine, and in this way, hopefully, to find new openings.” Johan Inger Walking Mad was created for Nederlands Dans Theater in 2001. This dramatic adventure composed to the melodies of Ravel’s Bolero is the story of the relationship of three women with themselves, and with the men who enter their lives. Its mood is upbeat but what it has to say is serious.

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