Land Before Time

A wave of magnetic energy with philosophical undertones

Land Before Time is an artist-driven duo of Joanna Holewa Chrona and Yared Tilahun Cederlund. With their roots in street dance, their collaboration has evolved into a fluid and unique dance practice, deeply inspired by the rhythm and movement of water.

The work Waterkind explores the invisible yet powerful connection between two bodies without actual physical contact. Through improvisation, the duo engage in a finely tuned dance dialogue. Each movement forms part of a flow reminiscent of the perpetual currents and rhythms of water. This is dance that combines freestyle and popping as a powerful and distinctive language. Waterkind is an artistic inventory of the invisible ties that bind us together – both engaging and seductive in its expressiveness and presence.

Joanna Holewa Chrona

Joanna Holewa Chrona is a Malmö-based dancer, choreographer, project leader and DJ, working in both Sweden and South Africa. Her dance practice is rooted in a number of movement traditions, including popping from the USA, isiPantsula from South Africa, Sabar from Senegal and Afro-Cuban from Cuba. Since 2020, she has focused on her own stage performances, festivals, exchanges and workshops.

Joanna began her South African collaborations in 2015 and has since been increasingly involved through her own non-profit organisation AFIA. AFIA hosts an annual festival that has been showcasing South African culture since 2016. Many of Joanna’s works are inspired by South African music, lyrics and movement, and she strives to respectfully combine cultures and perspectives in collaboration with all participating artists. One of AFIA’s recent and still most widely touring works is Yebo Yes!, a co-production with Dansnät Sverige.

Yared Cederlund

Yared Tilahun Cederlund is a dancer, composer, choreographer and DJ, active on the street-dance scene in Stockholm. He began his dance journey at the age of 9 and has since performed on stages throughout the world. Yared has spent many years studying techniques from street-dance vocabulary and exploring various types of dance, resulting in his own unique language of movement. Between 2006 and 2013, he was mainly active on the battle scene, participating in international events such as Streetstar (Sweden) and Juste Debout (France). In recent years, he has performed as a dancer in shows by Erik Linghede, Viktor Fröjd, Björn Säfsten and Niki Tsappos, among others. As a composer, he has also created music for artists such as Bambam Frost and Dansnät Sverige’s co-production Yebo Yes! by Afia.

Credits

Choreography: Joanna Holewa Chrona, Yared Tilahun Cederlund
Dancers: Joanna Holewa Chrona, Yared Tilahun Cederlund
Music: Yared Tilahun Cederlund
Vocals: Ntsika Fana Ngxanga
Producers: Land Before Time
Distribution: Nordberg Movement
Duration: 26 minutes
Foto: Alam Ali, Margarita Matiz Bergfeldt, Erik Linghede

Waterkind was selected by Aerowaves as part of their Twenty25 artists line-up and was presented at the Spring Forward Festival on 24–26 April 2025 in Gorizia and Nova Gorica (IT/SI).

Tours with Dansnät Sverige spring 2026