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Alan Lucien Øyen | |
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Born | |
Occupation(s) | Choreographer Director Writer |
Alan Lucien Øyen is a choreographer, writer, and director from Bergen, Norway. [1] He is the founder and artistic director of the company winter guests. [2]
Øyen grew up in Bergen, Norway. Starting at age two, Øyen spent his childhood attending plays. This early exposure to theater heavily influenced his decision to pursue a career in the performing arts. [3] His father, Yngvar Øyen, was a dresser at the Den Nationale Scen, [3] the largest and oldest theater in Bergen, where playwright Henrik Ibsen once served as artistic director. [4]
After graduating, Øyen joined contemporary dance company, Carte Blanche. He went on to dance for Amanda Miller's Pretty Ugly Dance Company in Cologne, Germany. [5] In 2008 and 2012 he returned to Norway to create commissioned works for Carte Blanche.
Øyen founded Winter Guests – an international company performing works in English, often using meta-devices – in 2006. They have produced over a dozen original works and toured in over 15 countries. [6] Since 2009, he has co-written works with British-born actor and director Andrew Wale [7] In 2014, Winter Guests won the Hedda Award for "Best Stage Text", for their 5.5 hour-long Coelacanth, [6] which also received nominations for "Best Production of the Year", "Best Director" (for Øyen), and for "Best Supporting Actress" (for company member, Yvonne Øyen. [8] In 2016, Winter Guests was Artist-in-Residence at Robert Wilson's Watermill Center in Long Island, New York. [9]
Øyen has been an Artist-in-Residence with the Norwegian Opera and Ballet since 2013, where he often creates works.[ as of?]
Known for combining dance, theater and text, Øyen has been commissioned to make many works across Europe. In 2015, he created Timelapse at the Norwegian National Ballet, [10] and, for the Gothenburg Opera in Sweden, If We Shadows Have Offended [11] [12] Further to this, he directed the stage play, Stort og Stygt by Olaug Nillsen at Den Nationale Scene [13] in Norway.
In 2017, Øyen directed Lars Norén's Som Lauvet i Vallombrosa at Det Norske Teatret, [14] and created Kodak for the Gothenburg Opera. [15]
Øyen will create an original work for the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2018. [16]