Price
Pay what you can 80kr – 280kr
Location
Rosendal Teater - Sal 1
Duration
1 hour

Suitable for 15+
Language: English

Accessibility – Sign Language

This performances will be sign language interpreted in Norwegian

This is an interpretation of the performance in sign language for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Audience members who wish to use of this offer are asked to meet in the foyer of Rosendal Teater at least 15 minutes before the start of the performance, where a sign language interpreter will be present.

Content Warning

  • Loud sound / music
  • Strobe lighting
  • Use of complete blackout
  • Use of theatrical haze (stage smoke)
  • Reference to substance use: Yaniv takes a pill at the beginning of the performance. Some audience members may interpret this as taking Ritalin.
  • Reference to incest: A sentence from a film plays in the background over the sound system, in which one character states that he had intercourse with his aunt. (approx. 15 seconds)
Tuesday 25. March 2025 - kl.19:00 Billetter

I I work with the potential that I might be a DOG is a performance that intertwines Yaniv Cohen’s personal experiences with ADHD and dance. Yaniv plays with neurotypical rhythms and explores the emotional spaces that open through the exhaustion of body and mind.

Based on his personal experience with ADHD, Yaniv Cohen combines his addiction to exercise and love of dance in an intimate and informative piece. On stage, Yaniv performs an impossible multitasking feat, where exercise routines and bodily sensitivity are woven together with a constant stream of text. The performance addresses themes such as self-image, shame, and the cultural constructs of psychiatric disorders.

In the machinery of my body, skin stretches, bones support, muscles contract and sweat pours down. I move my body, and joints pivot, limbs extend, tendons flex. Breath quickens, pulse races in a synchronized dance of effort. My senses sense the journey of exertion. Sometimes I find peace. 
– Yaniv Cohen on the process of DOG

It may seem like we are more easily distracted these days, like children bubbling over with restless, untamed energy. At the same time, we are expected to have self-control over this “natural” behavior, which makes some of us feel like “animals in a cage.” The dog was domesticated about thirty thousand years ago, and its wild behavior was kept in check by humans who took control of it. Feeling like a “caged animal” is also how Yaniv Cohen describes the social pressure he experiences towards taming his natural enthusiasm and hyperactivity. Acknowledging that he might be a “domesticated dog” is a liberating entry point to explore his hyper tendencies and potential within the existing power structures of art, culture, and society.

En person står i et scenerom. Hen har stillaser på hver side av seg. Hen holder i en liten skål i metall. Hen har på seg svarte klær, som går i ett med de svarte omgivelsene. To mennesker skimtes i bakgrunnen. English: A person stands in a stage room. They have scaffolding on either side of them. They are holding a small metal bowl. They are wearing black clothes, which blend in with the black surroundings. Two people can be seen in the background.
Foto: Antero Hein
En person opptrer mellom noen slags stillaser. Hen løfter den ene armen opp mot taket, den andre hånda foran ansiktet. Hen har på seg treningsklær. Ned fra taket henger noen slags oransje tau. Noen publikummere i bakgrunnen. English: A person is performing between some kind of scaffolding. They raise one arm up towards the ceiling, the other hand in front of their face. They are wearing workout clothes. Some kind of orange rope is hanging down from the ceiling. Some audience members in the background.
Foto: Antero Hein
En person danser på scenen. Hen står i en litt sammenkrøket posisjon, armene inntil kroppen, ansiktet vendt oppover. Et scenelys skinner rett bak personen. Ellers er rommet helt svart. English: A person is dancing on stage. They are standing in a slightly crouched position, their arms close to their body, their face turned upwards. A stage light shines directly behind the person. Otherwise, the room is completely black.
Foto: Antero Hein
Silhuett av en danser. Hen står litt framoverbøyd, med armene ut til siden. I bakgrunnen skinner to gule scenelys. Personen står ved et stillas. Engelsk: Silhouette of a dancer. They stand slightly bent forward, with their arms out to the side. In the background, two yellow stage lights shine. The person is standing by a scaffold.
Foto: Antero Hein
En person står med ryggen til kamera. Hen har på seg en adidas treningsbukse, med åpne knapper på siden. Ut fra åpningen i buksa, henger tøy med ulike sterke farger. Armene er dekorert med bånd i rosa og grønt. Foran personen skimtes skyggen av et stillas i gulvet. Engelsk: A person stands with his back to the camera. They are wearing Adidas track pants, with open buttons on the side. From the opening in the pants, clothes of various bright colors hang. Their arms are decorated with ribbons in pink and green. In front of the person, the shadow of a scaffolding can be seen on the floor.
Foto: Antero Hein
En person opptrer. Hen står med ryggen til kamera. Hen har på seg et fargerikt kostyme. Foran personen henger en installasjon i metall fra taket. Installasjonen kan minne om et stillas. Selve rommet er svart, og hvitt scenelys lyser fra taket. English: A person is performing. They stand with their back to the camera. They are wearing a colorful costume. In front of the person, a metal installation hangs from the ceiling. The installation resembles scaffolding. The room itself is black, and white stage lights shine from the ceiling.
Foto: Antero Hein
Nærbilde av en installasjon av metall, som kan se ut som et stillas. I bakgrunnen står en person, som blir blendet av et hvitt scenelys. English: Close-up of a metal installation that looks like scaffolding. In the background, a person is blinded by a white stage light.
Foto: Antero Hein
En person sitter på en stol, med overkroppen framoverbøyd. Hen har på seg kun en rød shorts og blå joggesko. Foran personen er en installasjon i metall som ligner på et stillas. Hvitt scenelys skinner på installasjonen. English: A person sits on a chair, with their upper body bent forward. They are wearing only red shorts and blue sneakers. In front of the person is a metal installation that resembles scaffolding. White stage lights shine on the installation.
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein
Foto: Antero Hein

About the artist

Yaniv Cohen is an acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and a professor of contemporary dance at the Oslo Academy of the Arts. His choreographic work has toured nationally and internationally; he has worked with Carte Blanche, Iceland Dance Company, and the Norwegian Ballet. His journey with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) has been both a personal and artistic exploration. Growing up with ADHD, Cohen closely experienced the complexity of masking—trying to hide the symptoms to conform to societal norms. This personal experience has influenced his artistic direction, where he explores ADHD and hypersensitivity as challenges and powerful drivers of creativity.

Credits

Choreographer: Yaniv Cohen
Performer: Yaniv Cohen
Dramaturg: Asher Lev
Script: Asher Lev and Yaniv Cohen, based on a lecture by Dr. Thomas E. Brown
Composer: Arvid Ingvarsson
Lighting Designer: Martin Myrvold
Set Designer: Carl Nilssen-Love
Costume Designer: Eyrun Leistad Müller
Producer: Madeleine Fairminer

Co-produced by: DansiT Choreographic Center, Rosendal Theater, Kloden Theater, Dansens Hus
Supported by: Arts Council Norway, Fritt Ord Foundation