Carmen Recycled is a multisensory experience cooking down Merimées and Bizets Carmen into an one hour long epiphany of what power, love and ageless classics can be today. Recycling is about using something deemed useless in new ways, here staged through the presence of four personas schooled in flamencodance, woodwinds, guitar and classical song – all taking on the role of Carmen.

Pia ”del Norte” Pohjakallio is a freelance dancer and choreographer with flamenco as her speciality. The artist also often acts as a co-producer in different works/performances and is the driving force of the Stockholm flamencohub FlamencoFredag.

Pia believes in the true and direct expression of flamenco and is convinced of flamencos strengths as an universal art form. She is credited for her “aire” and nerv as a dancer, her work often characterized by a close co-operation with musicians and different art forms. Her interest in the musicality of flamenco as a percussive and reactive danceform has taken her to exiting cooperations combining electroacoustic music, looping techniques and cooperations with Finnish singer Anna Fält to name a few.

As a three-year-old Pia was absorbed by flamenco in Granada and declared that she when she grew up, she would be a flamenco dancer! After years of dance classes with Anneli Uronen in Helsinki at an early age, she studied at the University of Dance and Circus in Stockholm (DoCH), at Conservatorio Superior de Danza de Malaga, and still continually at Amor de Dios in Madrid and other dance schools in Spain, Sweden, Finland and wherever she happens to be.

Now the Stockholm-based dancer is touring with the shows ¡RÅ! and Pling, Tuut, Ta-Ria Takata as well as with the group Trio del Norte. She is also entwined in an exiting project with working name Ljudrörelsen initiated by experience designer and sound artist Jan Carleklev as well as working with sustainable dance pedagogy at ReMida in Skillingaryd.

When not on the road or teaching, she is in the studio working on new material for some exiting new projects as well as planning ahead for the productions to come! Through her company LP Flamenco, she has cooperated with swedish organisations such as Dans i Norr/Norrbottenmusiken in the northernmost north, Scenkonst Sörmland, Västmanlandsmusiken, Dans i Stan and Länsmusiken in Stockholm, Musik i Syd in the south to name a few.

In 2015 Pia said YES to being the artistic director and driving force behind series of monthly flamenco-fridays at a theatre in central Stockholm. FlamencoFredag has become the only continuous flamenco stage in Sweden and is a important platform for flamenco that strives to show both more traditional tablao-style flamenco as well contemporary, artist specific work. 2018 FlamencoFredag was granted “Årets Arrangör”, the stage or organizer of the year award at the national Folk- och Världsmusikgalan! Read more about FlamencoFredag here!

Pia’s co-operation with Finnish singer Anna Fält and the production ¡RÅ! was nominated for “Årets Tvärspel” – “co-operation beyond borders of the year” – at Folk- och Världsmusikgalan 2015. She was also the first percussive dancer to be admitted as a part of Musikcentrum.

She has been granted artist recidency at SITE Sweden – a great honour and possibility to deepen her work and proud receiver of the Stockholm City Culture Scholarship award 2016 for her work within the dance field.

Pia teaches people of all levels and ages, works as dancer/choreographer in both traditional productions, theatre and more experimental constellations with various musicians, artists and directors both on and off stage, as well as co-producing flamencorelated projects. She teaches continually at Dans Compagniet in Stockholm, Rum för Barn at Kulturhuset, Stockholm, is invited as a guest teacher at Base 23 Alhanko line, gives private classes and appears as a guest teacher on festivals (such as Helsinki Flamenco Festival, Tampere Flamenco Festival, Stockholm Tap Festival and Sundsvall Guitar Festival) and schools in Sweden and abroad spreading the word on flamenco.

Read more about Pia ”del Norte” Pohjakallio