HARALD BEHARIE
Photo: Magnus Nordstrand
Harald Beharie(he/they) is a Norwegian-Jamaican performer and choreographer based in Oslo, Norway.
Harald's choreographic practice are collaborative voyages, navigating through realms of ambiguity and phantasm, punctuated by themes of deconstruction, hope and uncertainty, disinterest and emotional intensity.
They hold a special interest for the DIY and the vulnerability of being in the unknown.
Beharie is interested in how the body can function as a motor for dramaturgy—a force in itself that transforms through practice. In his works Batty Bwoy and Undersang—he has engaged with monstrosity as a tool for empowerment. By playing with disgust and transgressive energies, he challenges established bodily narratives about the Black body. He allows ritual to be the transcendent force within his practice, opening up to the unknown—the clumsy, the uncanny, and the awkward in-between spaces where understanding slips, and new possibilities emerge. A vibration is created—one that builds over time, an energy that becomes increasingly unbearable, twisting between the comedic and the unsettling
His work also explores friction, longing, and deep listening — how small “glitches” can disrupt our perception and open up unforeseen ways of being and moving.
Haralds work has received nominations for the Norwegian Critics prize for the performances " Shine Utopians" with Louis Schou (2020) and the solo work Batty Bwoy (2022). In 2023 Batty Bwoy also won the Hedda prize for “best dance production” and in 2024 the project “Undersang” won the Norwegian Critics prize 23/24.
Haralds work has been presented in museums, galleries, festivals and contexts including:
Impulstanz, Santarcangelo Festival, Gessnerallee , Sophiensæle, Les Urbaines, SPRING festival, Kampnagel, Centrale Fies, Donau Festival, MDT, ADC- pavillion, Zodiak , Salmon Festival, Kanti Gildi Saal, Fierce Festival, Fabricca Europa, Actoral Festival, Theaterfestival Basel, Skopje Pride, Black Box Teater, Stavanger Kunstmuseum, Nasjonalmuseet, Oktoberdans BIT-teatergarasjen, Vitlycke, Dansens Hus, Oslo, Munch Museum, Oslo, Vigeland Museum, Oslo, Galleri Entrée, Bergen, Tou Scene, Stavanger, Ravnedans, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Øyafestivalen, Oslo and Trondheim Kunstmuseum.
Harald's choreographic practice are collaborative voyages, navigating through realms of ambiguity and phantasm, punctuated by themes of deconstruction, hope and uncertainty, disinterest and emotional intensity.
They hold a special interest for the DIY and the vulnerability of being in the unknown.
Beharie is interested in how the body can function as a motor for dramaturgy—a force in itself that transforms through practice. In his works Batty Bwoy and Undersang—he has engaged with monstrosity as a tool for empowerment. By playing with disgust and transgressive energies, he challenges established bodily narratives about the Black body. He allows ritual to be the transcendent force within his practice, opening up to the unknown—the clumsy, the uncanny, and the awkward in-between spaces where understanding slips, and new possibilities emerge. A vibration is created—one that builds over time, an energy that becomes increasingly unbearable, twisting between the comedic and the unsettling
His work also explores friction, longing, and deep listening — how small “glitches” can disrupt our perception and open up unforeseen ways of being and moving.
Haralds work has received nominations for the Norwegian Critics prize for the performances " Shine Utopians" with Louis Schou (2020) and the solo work Batty Bwoy (2022). In 2023 Batty Bwoy also won the Hedda prize for “best dance production” and in 2024 the project “Undersang” won the Norwegian Critics prize 23/24.
Haralds work has been presented in museums, galleries, festivals and contexts including:
Impulstanz, Santarcangelo Festival, Gessnerallee , Sophiensæle, Les Urbaines, SPRING festival, Kampnagel, Centrale Fies, Donau Festival, MDT, ADC- pavillion, Zodiak , Salmon Festival, Kanti Gildi Saal, Fierce Festival, Fabricca Europa, Actoral Festival, Theaterfestival Basel, Skopje Pride, Black Box Teater, Stavanger Kunstmuseum, Nasjonalmuseet, Oktoberdans BIT-teatergarasjen, Vitlycke, Dansens Hus, Oslo, Munch Museum, Oslo, Vigeland Museum, Oslo, Galleri Entrée, Bergen, Tou Scene, Stavanger, Ravnedans, Kunstnerforbundet, Oslo, Øyafestivalen, Oslo and Trondheim Kunstmuseum.