Meet the Team
UTVIK/BARFOD is a Danish-Norwegian performing arts collaboration between choreographer Ida Cathrin Utvik (NO) and scenographer/costume designer Lærke Bang Barfod (DK). They create multisensory works for children through a practice that integrates dance, textile art, and spatial installations.
Ida Utvik
Ida Cathrin Utvik is a choreographer from Karmøy, an island on Norway's west coast. She holds a BA in dance and pedagogy from the University of Stavanger and an MA in choreography from Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Ida also has a background as a dance teacher and performer, which gives her a broad experience base in performing arts for and with children.
Ida's choreographic practice derives from a fascination with the interaction between body and material. She emphasises multi-sensory and cross-artistic formats in performing arts for children, as she believes this approach allows for bodily experiencing rather than passive observation of the performance.
Her work is based on a close relation between the body and space, living and non-living matter, so that both bodies, materials, and space are choreographed.
Lærke Bang Barfod
Lærke Bang Barfod is a Danish scenographer and costume designer with an MA in Fashion and Costume Design from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, a BA in Accessory Design from Design School Kolding, and trained as a tailor at a technical school. She works at the intersection of performing arts, textile art, and spatial installation.
Her practice explores a wide range of materials, with textiles consistently at the core of her work. She is particularly interested in investigating the senses through different artistic approaches, creating tactile and immersive environments that invite sensory engagement.
Interactivity is a defining element in her work, often expressed through participatory elements inspired by dress-up play.
Nature plays an important role as a recurring source of inspiration in her work. With a playful approach to form and function, she creates imaginative and sensorial worlds that invite curiosity, exploration, and engagement.
Our Story
Lærke and Ida started their collaboration in 2022, when they met at The national academy of arts in Oslo, and their work has been shown at venues such as:
Kilden teater (NO), Kloden Teater (NO), Bærum Kulturhus (NO), Festiviteten Haugesund (NO), Elefantteateret (NO), Prague Quadrennial (CZ), Klap Teaterfestival (DK), Teatermagi Festival (DK) and in The Round Tower in Copenhagen (DK).
UTVIK/BARFOD creates multisensorial works for children of different age groups, and their work moves in a landscape between dance performance and installation art. They are particularly interested in materiality, and the encounter between body and material. They connect with other artists on a project basis, both dance artists, composers, musicians and scenographers.
With their work, they have a goal of creating rich, sensorial and inclusive performing arts for children and their adults, which also dares to touch upon big themes.
Their current repertoire consists of the performances:
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Rock-a-bye (2023) for children/babies 6-18 months
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Once there was a forest (2024) a site-specific library performance for children 0-2 years
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Himstregimser og andre duppeditter (2024) for children 3-6 years.
Currently, UTVIK/BARFOD is working on two new productions, both set to premiere in 2027, see more here.
Previous
Performances
Himstregimser og andre duppeditter
Reviews
