Alan Lucien Øyen
Alan Lucien Øyen is one of the most exciting artists from Norway today, whose work as writer, director, and choreographer has been highly acclaimed in his home country and abroad.
As the son of a dresser, Øyen grew up in a small theater, Den Nationale Scene, established by Ibsen himself, in the town of Bergen, Norway. Here he would watch theater religiously from the age of seven: classical productions as well as contemporary masterworks like the very first world premieres from Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse.
At the age of 17, he went on to study ballet with Bulgarian ballet master and Vaganova Academy graduate Peter Tornev, whom he studied with for four years before being accepted into the State School of Art in Oslo where he graduated as a dancer in 2001.
Øyen spent his first years as a dancer with the Norwegian National Contemporary dance company, Carte Blanche, where he met American choreographer Amanda Miller. He later went on to join her company Pretty Ugly in Köln in 2005.
Øyen choreographed his first piece excerpts of citation without context in 2004, a solo dealing with the over-exposure of information in modern day society based on Jean Beudrillard’s essay “Ecran Totale,” (Screened Out).
By 2006, he’d already established his own company winter guests—a multidisciplinary company bringing together actors, dancers, writers, set designers, and technicians, to tour theatrical works in English for the international stage. Since 2009, his plays for winter guests have been written and developed together with British playwright and director Andrew Wale.
Whether it’s theater, dance, or film, Øyen’s works have a highly emotional and dramatic drive. His choreographic language is complex and technically challenging. His works are informed by the world around him which allows him to draw inspiration from a myriad of sources including high art and popular culture as well as personal conversations and experiences—always in pursuit of a sincere and human expression.
Øyen has won several awards, both for his choreographic works as well as his theatre productions. His six-hour long play Coelacanth, (co-written with Andrew Wale), won him the prestigious HEDDA Award (Norwegian Theatre Awards), for Best Original Play, as well as three other nominations including Best Director and Best Play.
Besides his work for winter guests, Øyen is also commissioned internationally to create work for opera houses, contemporary dance companies, and stage plays for regional theaters. He was one of the first two guest choreographers commissioned to create a full-length piece for the renowned Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, which premiered June 2018 and is currently touring the world.
As associated artist at the Oslo Opera House since 2013, Øyen is given the space and freedom for himself, and his company winter guests, to make groundbreaking theater and dance performances in the stunning new Norwegian Opera House. Øyen was awarded the 2018 Wilhelmsens Opera og Ballettpris Award for challenging the traditional opera and ballet context with his original theater works.
Øyen and winter guests receives annual funding from the Norwegian Arts Council and has been generously supported since 2004.