The perfect birthday present!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Kai Somby from "Sapmi Music - Musikk i Finnmark" called me tonight and had great news for me!!! Musikk i Finnmark is an organisation that works for musicians in the north region of Norway -Finnmark. The last few years thay have had a "consept" where they spend alot of money on one sami artist a year to make them more visible for the world. Touring and stuff like that. :D

www.sapmimusic.com


So he called me and told me I was chosen to be that artist "The artist of the year 2011"!!!!! That means next year all that money and help goes to me! And that is just ecxactly what I wanted, needed and dreamt of! It is once again the perfect timing cause I have so many things I want to do, and they will help me realize what is important... help me with my priorities and also help me with organising and things like that! This is so great I dont know what to think anymore! I think I have died and gone to heaven!!!! :D
This will help me tremenduosly towards making a living out of my music and dancing.

Thank you thank you thank you!!! GIITU KAI JA HARALD!!! JA EARAT GEAID IN DIEDE GEAT LEAT!!!
HUGS/ÁVÁ

By:Larm 2011 here I come!

THIS IS AWESOME!!!

I got a phonecall when I was taking the bus where I was told I was chosen to play at By:Larm! This is a great oppurtunity for me and the best thing that could happen at this point! perfect timing! It was just overwhelming that they wanted me to play there!!!! It is so great I dont know how to explain the feeling I got when thay called me... Its like "yess! I did it!"- feeling! Like winning the lottery!!!! Still in shock, but I am preparing for this event by recording a new single that will be out in february 2011 for my gig at By:Larm. See you theeere folks!

www.bylarm.no

My grandma is funny!

My Grandmother,Inga, who is now 90 years old and has lived most her life in the mountain house "Gárdin/Ravnastua Fjellstue" says alot of funny things. I have put a conversation with her on my album "Jiknon musihkka-Frozen music" on a hidden track and she also talks about her life at the muontain house on the track "Jorri calmmit/Twirling eyes"

This is a story from back in 2005 when I released my EP "Lahka". The CD had gotten good reviews in the regional newspaper "Finnmark Dagblad" and next to my review was a review of a new album of Eric Clapton. In Norway it is usual to show a dice on reviews and the dice will tell you how many "points" you get, 1-6. Both Eric Clapton and me had gotten 5 points. My grandma looked at the paper and said: So Eric Clapton is as talented as Elin is...

Hihi, yeah thats a funny way to look at it! She didnt know who Eric Clapton was of course..

Bilderammer fylt med høstblader

Speil med reinskinnkant

Dette speilet har jeg pyntet med strimler av reinskinn som er limt på rammen.

This mirror is decorated with pieces of reindeer-skin glued to the edge of the mirror.

Oppvaskmiddelflaske som pynter opp!

Jeg liker å ha zalo-flasken lett tilgjengelig på oppvaskbenken, men den er ikke spesielt innbydende der den står, derfor fant jeg på å lage ett trekk til flasken. Dette er laget av fotenden av grønne nylonstrømper med pålimt smykke. Nå ser det fint ut på benken min! :D

I like to have my the dishwashing soap easily available on the table, but it doesnt look very good. Thats why I got this idea of this bottle-wrap. It is made out of the end of green nylon stockings with a glued on piece og a necklace. It looks nice on my table now!

My Gothla.uk experiences. Discovering tribal fusion heaven!

Picture from my class at Gothla.uk 2010. Photo by Heike Humphreys

Gothla.uk is a Fusion bellydance event in Leicester ....England..... 3 days of workshops, shows, open stage and souk. The first edition in 2007 was a real eye-opening experience for me. It was quite a discovery to see how people use the dance to do all these crazy fun stuff, without any boundaries. Her Royal Hellness Lucretia aka Christine Emery made a huge impression on me. She made things her own way. She felt like doing a zombie-bellydance, so she did. And she did it with success! I had myself started to think about how to combine my Sami background with my dancing. Given that the oriental is just the opposite of the “stiff” Sami people. In the beginning I thought it was impossible. We don’t even have a known traditional dance. Sure there was some kind of dancing, but no one knows anything about it.....

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Rosie, one of the organisers (which I was buying Afghani belts from over the internet from) mentioned Gothla.uk, and that I should come. She promised it would be well worth it, so I went. Ariellah was there, and her being one of the dancers I was mostly inspired by, I was ecstatic when I was able to do all her classes and see her live! When I came back from my first Gothla.uk I was so full of impressions and inspiration that it was quite a turning point for me. A whole new world opened up for me. Everything was possible. I had just started teaching in ....Norway..... A little ATS and some Tribal Fusion. But after Gothla.uk I only wanted to continue doing Tribal Fusion, and I wanted to do it dark. That first Gothla.uk has stayed in my mind since, I will never forget how I felt being there, it was like going to Tribal Fusion heaven!....

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The next year I unfortunately couldn’t travel to Gothla. In ....Norway.... I continued the work with bringing my Sami background into my dancing. I danced onstage on concerts with Sami artists and bands in ....Norway.... and choreographed to Sami music and tried making Sami dance costumes. ....

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The third edition of Gothla.uk in 2009 I was able to go back, and it was once again a powerful experience for me. The impressions where overflowing! Everyone, organisers, teachers and students where again just fantastic awesome people! I signed up for the open stage and was dying from my nerves. I was, like always on dancing weekend events, tired, overworked, and the body was hardly functioning from booking too many workshops… but I kept going! (will take better care of myself from now on) I danced at the open stage, could hardly breathe and was terrified by the thought that Ariellah and Morgana, two of my biggest inspirations would actually sit in front row watching me. At this time I felt I had no progression at all in my dancing, and wasn’t sure if I should continue my work with Tribal Fusion in the extend that I had been. I remember thinking: “If Ariellah says it is good, I will believe her. If she thinks it good, it has to be, and I will continue dancing and never think about stopping again”. I danced to Beats Antique- terrified, and aching, but gave everything I had. Afterwards Ariellah said, “You are that Sami artist, aren’t you?” (we had talked on myspace before, and met in class, but I never expected her to remember me amongst all the people she meets around the world.) I answered “Yes, how did you know?”, and she said something like “You showed it in your dancing. It was good!” And it was like she screwed a lightbulb on my head! Of course! I showed it in my _dancing_! Not the music and costume, but in my dancing! The piece I danced had nothing to do with Sami culture. The group Beats Antique is from ....USA...., and the moves where all known Fusion dance moves. But my expressions and the way I put together moves, and how I execute them tells everything! It’s not so much about costume and music, its all about expression! ....

I realised then that all the classes I had given, where I had been talking about expressions, feeling and focus, I was really trying to educate myself, and tell myself how to combine Tribal Fusion and Sami tradition without it being unnatural and full of clichés . Now I realised how simple it was! Dancing has a lot of acting in it. But acting is acting out a part of _yourself_. And dancing is acting out a part of yourself. Yet another turning point for me thanks to Gothla.uk.....

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After this performance I was invited to teach at Gothla.uk 2010. To be asked was really overwhelming and I couldn’t really believe it. I was so surreal. I had everything to thank Gothla.uk for. It had been my biggest source of inspiration, and now was my chance to inspire other people. I felt so lucky to be able to give something back when I had received so much. The spirit of all dancers there is so alive. Everyone is so dedicated. I haven’t experienced this spirit so strong in other dance events, and to be able to be a bigger part of it now makes me feel really privileged! ....

After my performance at the show, I couldn’t sleep at night. The only times in my life I can’t sleep is when I get new ideas and make up new projects for myself. And this time I saw clearly how my dancing would grow from this point on. I knew exactly what I should be doing to continue my Tribal Fusion road trip. This Gothla made me realise exactly what it is that I can bring to the table, what makes me the dancer I am, and how I can use it when I create. ....

My workshop “Tribal Fusionze Yourself” went really well. The dancers I talked to afterwards said they had been so inspired, and had started thinking about their own path in dancing. That is exactly what I wanted with this workshop, so it couldn’t have gone better! I am really happy now! Thank you Rosie, Heike, Bridie, Susie, and everyone else I have been in contact with at Gothla, you all make my life special! :D....

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P.S. Yes Heike, when I said I know what I wanted to do, I meant will do a forrest-fairy-troll-fusion. Heheh Its going to be awesome! ....

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I have an older blog too!

For older posts go to my Myspace blog:
For eldre innlegg gå til min Myspace blog:
www.myspace.com/elinonstage

My album gets 5 of 6 points!

NRK Sami Radio has reviewed my album and it was 5 og 6 points! Thats great! yaaayyy!! reviewer is Håkon Isak Vars.

If you want to listen to it (sami only), go to:

http://www.nrk.no/kanal/nrk_sami_radio/ardna/1.6903359

Album release 8th december 2009!

yeaaaaaahhhhh!!! I finally have a release date! I have signed with the Saami Label DAT, wich have helped me so much to get this CD out this year! Thank you! I have been waiting so long, and finally I can release my debut album Jikŋon Musihkka-Frozen music! I am sooo happyyy!!!

Márkomeannu 2009

1. of august we played a concert at Markomeannu, which is a sami Fesival on Troms, North of Norway. It is outdoors and there is always a really nice atmosphere there. We had a great gig, people were curious of my performance and I felt really welcome. :D

The days before the concert I held a Tribal Fusion workshop for childen. It was so much fun! The kids where enjoying it so much, they didnt want to stop dancing! :D Some of the children even danced some of the moves I thought them at my concert. Thats so flattering!

My first pre-release concert!

Today we played the first pre-release concert in my hometown Karasjok. I have the best band ever! Jan Martin Smørdal, Juhani Silvola, Jonas Howden Sjøvaag and my producer Ole Jørn Myklebust played with me. My sworddancing went well and the audience liked it! Unfortunately my videocamera is broken, so I wasnt able to film it. This sucks cause it was a historical concert -for me anyway. I hope I get some pictures from it soon. ;D We only played songs from the coming album "Jiknon musihkka/Frozen music" and "in goassige" from Lahka EP. It was nice I got to have my first concert in Karasjok where it all begun... :D Tomorrow we play in kautokeino!

"Banden" on NRK P3 radio

Hihi Today this guy from a funny radioshow interviewed me. it was cool, cause he had never heard about the Sami Grand Prix, like many others non-samis.

To look at his blog go to www.nrk.no/banden/sami-grand-prix

Practicing with the band!

Those really really talented guys who are playing concerts with me are the best ever! Hope they will play with me FOREVER! HAHAHA They all have names with J and that must be the reason why they are so good together! hehehe Wow its going to be exciting concerts this easter! I'll be dancing alot, and also with my sword, so I hope the sami people like that! :D

Stem på meg på midnattsrocken.no

Jeg er visst en artistene man kan stemme på til å bli "finnmarks favoritt" og dermed ende på scenen til midnattsrocken iår! Det hadde vært kjempekult å spille der, så stem på meg! :D yeaaaahhh!!