Mattias

EDUCATION / START / BEGINNING

Mattias Ekholm is a choreographer, dancer and coach, from Stockholm in Sweden. He graduated from Balettakademien in 1993 after which he joined Carte Blanche in Bergen and over a decade became a highly accomplished dancer in the company. He is based in Oslo, Norway.

Mattias Ekholm is from Stockholm in Sweden. His life as a dancer began as a teenager in the mid eighties at Lasse Khülers Dansskola where he was involved in many Show Dance and Jitterbug performances. In 1993 he graduated from a three year education for professional dancers at Balettakademien in Stockholm with a focus on modern dance.

CARTE BLANCHE

After graduation he moved to Bergen on the rainy west coast of Norway to join the Carte Blanche. Here he was immediately exposed to many of the prominent choreographers who were active around Europe during the 1990s, and he soon became one of the more profiled dancers in the company. He worked under four different directors over the next decade and was fortunate enough to work with many great artists and choreographers some of  whom are still an important part of Mattias’s working life.

NEW CHALLENGES

During his time in Carte Blanche Mattias took several periods of leave to work with other companies and choreographers. The most important of these was Kenneth Kvarnström who took Mattias to Finland in 1996 to work as a dancer with the Helsinky City Theatre Dance Company. Mattias then continued his collaboration with Kenneth by joining his company K. Kvarnström & Co in Stockholm. Over the next six years he worked closely with the company which resulted in several long and successful tours in Europe, Africa and the USA, and a dance production for SVT, Swedish Television.

DEPRESSION IS GOOD

In the years between 2004 and 2007 Mattias lived in Stockholm and tried to find out if there was a life for him beyond being a performer. This was a somewhat depressing time, both mentally and economically. Mattias was pushed in to new situations and circumstances, but these difficult times ultimately helped to spark new motivation and re-awaken his passion for creativity. His long experience was instrumental in developing his skills as a coach and Mattias moved to Malmö to work as a Rehearsal Director for Skånes Dansteater. It was during this period that Mattias and Suzie first started working together.

NEW BEGINNINGS

With renewed vigour and inspiration Mattias returned to Norway and joined Ingun Bjørnsgaard and her company Ingun Bjørnsgaard Prosjekt (IBP) in Oslo. Since 2008 Mattias has been working both as a performer and rehearsal director for the company. In 2009, after being granted a work scholarship, Mattias was able to start focusing on developing his ideas together with Suzie. Over the next couple of years they tested their working methods and their ability to collaborate with each other, and after creating two works together decided to establish DEED. Mattias continues to work with many other projects and choreographers and since 2012 has also been employed by The Actors and Dancers Alliance (SKUDA). Through the Mentoring programme at Skuda Mattias has been guiding and mentoring two young professional dancers.