Tone Pernille Østern

At SKH, I teach and supervise on the Master’s Programme Dance Education, with course coordinatorship for the Degree project. I am also course coordinator for the open course A/r/tography in Theory and Practice in Higher Education.

As Professor of Dance Pedagogy, I develop the field intersectionally and norm critically, especially through the hybrid methodology of a/r/tography. I work with expanded choreography as both theory and practice, approaching dance curation, pedagogy, strategic work and research artistically and as sites for change. The shifting potentiality of choreography inspires inclusive and innovative pedagogical approaches.

Central in my work is to understand, resist and help transform an art's field shaped by ableism, with a particular focus on combining expanded choreography and critical disability studies. My research is grounded in practitioner research, especially a/r/tography, where I act, teach and create as I research, engaging actively in local and global dance pedagogy communities.

Together with Arnhild Staal Pettersen I established Inclusive Dance Company in 2000, The Dance Laboratory in 2003, and Multiplié dance festival in 2004. The Dance Laboratory and Multiplié are now part of DansiT Choreographic Center in Trondheim, Norway. 

I am also Professor in Arts Education with a focus on Dance at the Department for Teacher Education, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, where I lead the research group How to do things with disability.

Doctoral thesis

Østern, T.P. (2009). Meaning-making in the Dance Laboratory. Exploring Dance Improvisation with Differently Bodied Dancers. Helsinki: Theatre Academy.

Dance Articulated

Editor-in-Chief for Dance Articulated (ISSN: 2703-8327)

Network for Dance in Teacher Education / Center for Dance Practice (Norway)

Leader of the network 2026–28

Selected creative practices and publications

Østern, T.P., Mabingo, A., & Skånberg, A. (Eds.) (2025). Dance Education and Pedagogies in Contemporary Contexts: Danspedagogik och dansdidaktik i samtida kontexter. Stockholm University Press. https://doi.org/10.16993/bcx 

Østern, T. P., Reppen, C., O’Connell, S., & Daneberg, M. (2025). Choreographer/researcher/teacher: Developing a/r/tography as an approach to dance pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts in a professional learning community of teachers. Nordic Journal of Art & Research, 14(2), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5460 

Decolonizing tertiary dance education. Time to act (2022) Conference 7–8 April 2022, arranged by Stockholm University of the Arts and Makerere University (project leader)

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For full CV and all research results see: https://www.ntnu.no/ansatte/tone.pernille.ostern