Performance Interpretation

Ann-Charlotte from Ave Produktion recently finished chatting with me about her work on Melodifestivalen. Her company has been working with Melodifestivalen for four years now, including this year. They also work with Swedish TV broadcaster SVT on other projects, such as the yearly TV Christmas Calendar.

She explained the process of turning the songs into something that can be understood by someone with hearing difficulties. The interpretation artists working at Ave begin by transforming each song into an entirely new performance, while still keeping close to the original meaning of the song. Metaphors are difficult to translate, Ann-Charlotte noted, so the artists transform the meaning instead of translating them. In Sweden, there are about 10,000 people who require sign language but 100,000 who tune into the work Ave Produktion is involved with on a daily basis. Performance interpretation work for Melodifestivalen begins in early summer and lasts until the final show in March.

Ann-Charlotte also mentioned the popularity of Ave's performance interpretations with the hearing community. She explained that Ave's interpretation work provides a third dimension for the hearing community. The general public can hear and see the songs, but Ave's work allows them to experience the songs as well.  Last year, the company received larger recognition within the press when their work was uploaded online. Clips on YouTube helped introduce the concept of performance interpretation to the general public.

Their interpretation work is shown side by side with each Melodifestival broadcast and can be accessed online via SVT Play while the show is underway.

Take a look at some of their work from last year: