HOW ROMANTIC
A choreography by Katerina Andreou / Carte Blanche
How Romantic, by the Greek choreographer Katerina Andreou, produced by Carte Blanche – The Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance, is a deeply ironic commentary on how we experience the struggles of life as a spectacle—both in their grand gestures and in the smallest details. We witness an intense marathon, echoing the dance marathons during the Great Depression in the US. There are no winners or losers—only 14 seasoned dancers (Carte Blanche), in couples, alone, or as a herd of horses, negotiating their way through movement and sound in a relentless choreography. Through feats of strength, joy, and fatigue, they urge each other on in an energetic mix of abandon and rigorous discipline. It is a collision of order and chaos in a fevered search for something real. How Romantic creates space for reflection—on power and relationships, intimacy, forced entertainment, and perhaps the role of love as the ultimate finishing line for any race, even when it feels unattainable.
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Video credit: David Alræk for Carte Blanche
Photos
Credits
Creation for 14 Dancers
Created in March 2025 by Carte Blanche – The Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance
Concept & Choreography Katerina Andreou
Artistic Assistant Costas Kekis
Sound Design Katerina Andreou & Cristián Sotomayor
Musical Arrangements Cristián Sotomayor
Light Design Yannick Fouassier
Costume Design Indrani Balgobin
Photos Øystein Haara
Video David Alræk
Adrian Bartczak, Aslak Aune Nygård, Brecht Bovijn, Dawid Lorenc, Gaspard Schmitt, Ihsaan de Banya, Iris Auguste, Mai Lisa Guinoo, Nadege Kubwayo, Noam Eidelman Shatil, Nuria Guiu Sagarra, Ola Korniejenko, Ole Martin Meland, Olha Mykolayivna Stetsyuk
Katerina Andreou
Katerina Andreou, born in Athens and now based in France, is a dancer, choreographer, and sound artist. She holds a degree in Law from the University of Athens as well as training from the State School of Dance in Athens. In 2011, with a scholarship from the K. Pratsika Foundation in Greece, she joined the ESSAIS program at CNDC Angers under the direction of Emmanuelle Huynh, and later earned a Master’s degree in Research and Choreographic Studies from Paris-VIII University.
As a performer, she has collaborated with renowned artists including DD Dorvillier, Lenio Kaklea, Bryan Campbell, Emmanuelle Huynh, Anne-Lise Le Gac, and Ana Rita Teodoro.
Her artistic work explores states of presence and identity, developed through the tension between contrasting tasks, fictional universes, and real conventions. She questions notions such as authority, autonomy, communication, and censorship. In many of her pieces, she also takes on sound design—and at times composes the music herself.
Her solo A Kind of Fierce received the prestigious Prix Jardin d’Europe at the ImPulsTanz Festival in 2016. Other solo and duo projects include BSTRD (2018), which was selected for the Aerowaves “Twenty19” program, as well as Zeppelin Bend (with Natali Mandila), Mourn Baby Mourn, Rave to Lament, and the group piece Bless This Mess, which premiered in 2024.
From 2022 to 2025 she is an Associate Artist at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Caen en Normandie (CCN Caen). She is also involved in the Master’s program EXERCE at CCN Montpellier, is a member of the Departures and Arrivals (DNA) network, and was selected as an Aerowaves Artist in 2019.
Carte Blanche – The Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance
Established in Bergen in 1989 and with its home base in Studio Bergen, which is the company’s production facility and home stage, Carte Blanche tours in Norway and internationally throughout the year. In 2026/2027 the company moves to its new home Sentralbadet Scenekunsthus with Bergen Internasjonale Teater (BIT). The official opening of Sentralbadet Scenekunsthus is 4 March 2027.
The ensemble consists of 14 dancers from all over the world. Each season, two to three new performances are produced in collaboration with new talents, well-known, and relevant choreographers. These and previously produced performances make up the company’s repertoire.
Carte Blanche gives artists the opportunity to grow. The Norwegian National Company for Contemporary Dance creates an exciting and unique repertoire, which supports the company’s goal of being a forerunner for innovation, presentation and development of contemporary dance, both in Norway and abroad.
Ownership
Carte Blanche AS is owned and funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture, Vestland County Council and the City of Bergen.
Currently there are no upcoming performances of this Program.
