Celebrating a Milestone in Dance: Solveig Styve Holte’s Doctoral Defence

Today We Celebrate a Milestone in Dance

Today feels important.

I had the privilege of being present at Kunsthøgskolen i Oslo for Solveig Styve Holtes’ doctoral defence — a moment that marked not only the completion of years of artistic research, but an important contribution to the dance field as a whole.

Moments like this remind us that dance is not only something we perform or witness; it is also something we think with, research through, and build knowledge from. To pursue a doctoral journey in dance requires persistence, curiosity, and courage. It means insisting that embodied knowledge matters — that movement can produce insight, language, and understanding about how we relate to each other and to the world.

Solveig’s work expands how choreography can be understood: as relations, as archives, and as shared practices that emerge between artists, contexts, and audiences. Experiencing the defence today made visible how artistic practice and academic reflection can deeply inform one another.

At Dansekraft, we believe strongly in strengthening the conditions for dance artists to develop long-term practices in our region. Seeing a fellow artist based in Møre og Romsdal reach this milestone is both inspiring and affirming. It shows that artistic research and international-level artistic thinking can grow from here — from our communities, our studios, and our shared commitment to dance.

Today, we celebrate Solveig and this important achievement.

We also look forward to welcoming her work Røyster at IN2IT International Dance Festival on Saturday, 7 March — an opportunity to encounter the artistic practice that continues to unfold from her research.

Congratulations, Solveig.

Best regards

Tendai