about
Kristian Larsen is a Tamaki Makaurau based multi-disciplinary artist: dancer / choreographer / musician / composer / writer / researcher / teacher / improviser. Working at the edges of contemporary dance and experimental music in live performance, Larsen’s performances describe relationships between the somatic and the acoustic through creative misuses of dance techniques and audio technologies. His choreographic thinking on bodily agency in an era of hyper-capitalism is filtered through notions of hauntologies of obsolescence, disability, and hope.
Larsen’s eccentric practice spans over three decades. His interrogations of contemporary dance have been compelled by radical methods of improvisation and movement sampling. His movement palette scrolls through the nostalgia’s of puritanical ballet and anally retentive 20th century American modernist dance forms such as Hawkins and Limon. Postmodernist darling Contact Improvisation alongside dance somatics such as Skinner Releasing and Body Weather are informed by the vocabularies and principles of interaction from movement arts such as capoeira, boxing, and Cheng Hsin.
Professional Background:
Larsen is a graduate of three of New Zealand's key dance institutions - UNITEC - PAS, The New Zealand School of Dance, and has a Masters and a Doctoral Degree in dance from the University of Auckland.
Larsen's dance performance and collaborations with New Zealand choreographers include Joshua Rutter (Germany / NZ), val smith, forest v kapo (AUS /NZ), Lisa Densem (Germany / NZ), Sean Curham, Malia Johnston, Maria Dabrowska, Julia Milsom, Zahra Killeen Chance, Daniel Belton, Lemi Ponifasio, Cat Ruka , Raewyn Hill (Aus /NZ), and Alicia Frankovich, (NZ/AUS).
Larsen’s sound making for choreographers include Frank Van de Ven (NE/NZ), Claire O'Neil (Brussels / NZ), Ross McCormack, Alys Longley, Sean Macdonald, Suzanne Cowan, Adam Boonkrabob - Naughton, and Tallulah Holly-Massey.
Larsen’s international dance projects include working for choreographers Min Tanaka (Japan), Jerome Bel (France), Ko Nakajima (Japan), Hans Van Den Broeck (C- De La B, Belgium), Kerstin Kussmaul (Austria), and improvisers Magpie Music Dance Company (Netherlands).
Commissioned works include four choreographies for dance company Footnote Dance Co, a UNITEC Graduation piece, and a collaboration between mixed ability dance company Touch Compass with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra.
Larsen has collaborated on theatre works with director Paul Pinson (Scotland) and istheatre (Australia) visual artist and MJ Lee (Korea / NZ), as well as NZ directors Stephen Bain, Sam Trubridge, Andrew Foster, actor Miranda Manasiadis and Emma Willis.
Music and sound collaborations include , sound artmakers LTK4 (Germany), Scratch Orchestra (UK), NZ composers Phil Dadson, Eve DeCastro Robinson, Warwick Blair, Norman Skipp, leyton, Miriama Young, Drew MacMillan, Gareth Farr, and musicians Jazmine Mary, Jeff Henderson, Ivan Mrsic, Adam Rotgans, Adam Ben-Dror, and Paul Smith.
Larsen is formerly known as THROW disposable choreography, was artistic director for interdisciplinary improvisation ensemble Shameless Crowd Pleaser, has presented for IDOCDE in Impulstanz, Vienna, had a film shown in Ravflost Festival in Iceland, and produced sonic compositions for Audio Foundation Radio.
“In the end it is Larsen’s amazing risk-taking as a performer that really propels this work towards something different” Sam Trubridge, theatreview
“We need more of this wackiness to challenge and refresh our take on humanity. Episodic, random, at once dry and gleeful” Deirdre Tarrant, theatreview
"He's one of the few improvising dancers who can really pull it off." Phil Dadson, The Aucklander