Espen Giljane (born 28 February 1962 in Oslo) is a Norwegian ballet teacher and dancer. He was the Artistic Director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet from 2002 until 2012. Giljane held the post of head of the ballet from August 2002 and was part of the administration of Den Norske Opera & Ballet. Since 2015 he has been a faculty member of the Juilliard School in New York City.
Giljane trained under Eva Haalke, with Den Norske Opera's ballet school (1976–78) and then at the School of American Ballet. From 1981–95 he was a dancer with the New York City Ballet.
He also danced with Makarova and Company on Broadway and in Cynthia and Fernando Live at City Center. He has been a guest teacher at the New York City Ballet since 1994, and has also taught at the Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, School of American Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Feld Ballets NY, Carte Blanche, Cullberg Ballet, Maggio Danza, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Washington Ballet, Cedar Lake, Steps on Broadway, David Howard Dance Center, and Ballet Academy East.
Giljane was the 2009 recipient of the Anders Jahres kulturpris with Mari Boine and was knighted by the King of Norway in 2012.
Sverre Fehn was a Norwegian architect.
Nederlands Dans Theater is a Dutch contemporary dance company. NDT is headquartered at the Lucent Danstheater in The Hague. In addition to the Lucent Danstheater, NDT performs at other venues in the Netherlands, including Amsterdam's Het Muziektheater and Nijmegen's Stadsschouwburg.
Mark William Morris is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments. Morris is popular among dance aficionados, the music world, as well as mainstream audiences.
Vera Zorina, born Eva Brigitta Hartwig, was a Norwegian ballerina, theatre and film actress, and choreographer. Today, she is chiefly remembered for her films choreographed by her then-husband George Balanchine. They include the Slaughter on Tenth Avenue sequence from On Your Toes, The Goldwyn Follies, I Was an Adventuress with Erich Von Stroheim and Peter Lorre, Louisiana Purchase with Bob Hope, and dancing to "That Old Black Magic" in Paramount Pictures' Star Spangled Rhythm.
Natalia Romanovna Makarova is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West."
Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint was a Norwegian soprano who had an international opera career between 1956 and 1990. She was particularly celebrated for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and for her performances in operas by Richard Strauss. In addition to performing in operas, Bjoner was an active concert soloist and recital performer throughout her career.
Halldis Moren Vesaas was a Norwegian poet, translator and writer of children's books. She established herself as one of the leading Norwegian writers of her generation.
Stein Mehren was a Norwegian poet, essayist and playwright. He made his literary debut as poet with Gjennom stillheten en natt (1960). He wrote more than fifty books, mainly poetry.
Geir Kjetsaa was a Norwegian professor in Russian literary history at the University of Oslo, translator of Russian literature, and author of several biographies of classical Russian writers.
Bentein Baardson is Norwegian actor, instructor and theatre director.
Jakob Weidemann was a Norwegian artist. Jakob Weidemann is regarded as one of Norway's more important artists of post-war Modernism. Weidemann's work Storfuglen letter (1959) was selected as one of the twelve most important Norwegian artworks by Morgenbladet.
Liv Dommersnes was a Norwegian actress and reciter of poetry. She was a member of group that founded Studioteatret in 1945.
Kjersti Alveberg was a Norwegian choreographer and dancer. Over the last 30 years of her career she created ballets for stage and television and won prestigious awards for her work.
The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet is the first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway, the only such professional organisation in the country. Its current residence is the Oslo Opera House, since the spring of 2008.
Knut Skram is a Norwegian baritone. Considered one of the most important Norwegian opera singers of his generation, his career has spanned more than four decades.
Gordon Hølmebakk was a Norwegian publishing editor, essayist and novelist.
Ingrid Trøite Lorentzen is a Norwegian ballet dancer. Since August 2012, she has been artistic director of the Norwegian National Ballet.
Eva Haalke was a Norwegian dancer and ballet teacher. She was born in Trondheim, and was a sister of painter Hjalmar Haalke, and sister-in-law of novelist Magnhild Haalke.
Alan Lucien Øyen is a choreographer, writer, and director from Bergen, Norway. He is the founder and artistic director of the company winter guests.
