Lisa Janbell (she) is a dancer and choreographer. Her practice and choreographic work specialize in ritualistic performance and ceremonial practices. With an education in Cuban folk dance from el Instituto Superior de Arte, Cuba, and a dance education from Brazil, as well as anthropology studies at Stockholm University, her research lies in the relationship between the collective body, affinity, and the subconscious mind, tuning into spirits and spirituality. The work is developed through proposals, aiming to share and find an opening to the transcendental. Through a feminist and intersectional perspective, elevating emotional work and soft values, Lisa’s work guides the audience into a caring space in which performers embody non-western witchcraft practices. This artistic strategy is manifested in warm and welcoming spaces where the audience can rest and recover while experiencing detailed textures and carefully elaborated dance works.
Lisa’s desire is to propose collective utopias as a form of critical practice, and so far it has manifested in works such as Trans[e]ición (2015), Trans[e]ición C edition (2016), Studio Barnhus A/V show (2018), KONTAKT (2020), Lead us (2021), SEARCH (2022), SWEET & STICKY (2023), and Another spell (2024). Since 2010 and 2012, respectively, Lisa has been part of the performance duo Dos Oké in collaboration with Camilla Sivam, as well as the artistic director of the Swedish-Cuban dance collective SOMOS. Lisa’s work has toured extensively through Sweden, Europe, and Cuba, at places like Inkonst, MDT, Norbergfestival, Augenblick Mal festival-Berlin, and Teatro Raquel Revuelta-Havanna. Lisa has also developed commissioned works, for instance, as choreographer for the Studio Barnhus A/V show that played at Sonár (Barcelona), Way Out West (Gothenburg), and Cirkus (Stockholm).
