Alan Lucien Øyen
Alan Lucien Øyen is a choreographer, writer, and director from Bergen, Norway. He is the founder and artistic director of the company winter guests. Early life and education. Øyen grew up in Bergen, Norway. Starting at age two, Øyen spent his childhood attending plays. This early exposure to theater heavily influenced his decision to pursue a career in the performing arts. His father, Yngvar Øyen, was a dresser at the Den Nationale Scen, the largest and oldest theater in Bergen, where playwright Henrik Ibsen once served as artistic director. Early career. After graduating, Øyen joined contemporary dance  company, Carte Blanche. He went on to dance for Amanda Miller's "Pretty Ugly Dance Company" in Cologne, Germany. In 2008 and 2012 he returned to Norway to create commissioned works for Carte Blanche. Career. Winter Guests. Øyen founded Winter Guests – an international company performing works in English, often using meta-devices – in 2006. They have produced over a dozen original works and toured in over 15 countries. Since 2009, he has co-written works with British-born actor and director Andrew Wale In 2014, Winter Guests won the Hedda Award for "Best Stage Text", for their 5.5 hour-long  Coelacanth, which also received nominations for "Best Production of the Year", "Best Director" (for Øyen), and for "Best Supporting Actress" (for company member, Yvonne Øyen. In 2016, Winter Guests was "Artist-in-Residence" at Robert Wilson's Watermill Center in Long Island, New York. Commissions and Other Work. Øyen has been an "Artist-in-Residence" with the Norwegian Opera and Ballet since 2013, where he often creates works. Known for combining dance, theater and text, Øyen has been commissioned to make many works across Europe. In 2015, he created "Timelapse" at the Norwegian National Ballet, and, for the Gothenburg Opera  in Sweden, "If We Shadows Have Offended" Further to this, he directed the stage play, "Stort og Stygt" by Olaug Nillsen at Den Nationale Scene in Norway. In 2017, Øyen directed Lars Norén's "Som Lauvet i Vallombrosa" at Det Norske Teatret, and created "Kodak" for the Gothenburg Opera. Øyen will create an original work for the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2018.