Reykjavík Grapevine - 16.06.2017, Side 45

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Dance Dance
Evolution
The REAL Collective gets the
dance scene moving
Words: John Rogers Photo: Art Bicnick
In late 2016, Iceland’s dance
scene got a fresh addition when a
group of LHÍ students decided to
form the REAL Collective. Hav-
ing been fascinated and inspired
by an improv workshop from Is-
raeli dancers Emma Rozgoni and
Noam Carmeli, the aim of the
group is to investigate and ex-
press the possibilities of group
improvisation, through research,
workshops and performances.
Selma Reynisdóttir, Yelena Ar-
akelow and Erna Gunnarsdóttir
are three of the founding mem-
bers. “We’ve been dancing a lot to-
gether, at school,” smiles Selma.
“It’s like a funny, disrupted fam-
ily.” Yelena adds:
“You spent twelve
o r f o u r t e e n
hou rs together
in a small stu-
dio, body on body,
going in and out of the shower.”
Aware and connected
This level of intimacy was perhaps
a factor in forming the REAL aes-
thetic. Along with the spontanei-
ty and freedom of improvisation,
they share an inter-
est in developing a
mindful style of si-
lent communication.
“We train a lot
around awareness,”
says Yelena. “How
much awareness you
have of yourself, your
body, your move-
ment, and what the
group is doing. We
found some k ind
of magic in it… it’s
like flocking, when
a huge amount of
birds move together.
Sometimes you have
a moment that’s mes-
merising, like you
start to develop a col-
lective body. You take decisions to-
gether that are suitable for every-
one. And that’s a certain artistic
message, for life—to be present.”
“They’re plugged-in moments,”
adds Erna, “when everyone is
totally on board.”
The group also host work-
shops, at which the public are
invited in their spontaneous,
mindful and mutually supportive
technique first hand. “It’s differ-
ent every time,” says Yelena. “We
judge what we do on the crowd,
how used to moving they are and
their age. We work on some trust
exercises, and loosen up the bod-
ies. Then we have an open session,
where everything is allowed.”
“The audience is responsi-
ble for the space,” says Erna. “We
give them some tools on how to
approach it. Our workshops have
been going well. It’s blossoming.”
Jumping ahead
The collective recently ran a suc-
cessful campaign to raise money
for a trip to Israel to further their
studies, exceeding their €14,000
goal on the Karolina Fund crowd-
funding platform. While there
isn’t a huge amount of money
around to fund dance projects,
Selma explains that with that
comes a certain sense of freedom.
“People often say art is on the
bottom of the budget—and dance is
at the bottom of the arts,” she says.
“So it doesn’t belong to a capital-
istic wheel... so it can do whatever
the fuck it wants. It’s a young scene
here in Iceland, with a lot of inde-
pendence. And it’s growing fast.”
The audience for dance in Ice-
land is also on the rise. “Dance is
often linked to high
culture, and people
don’t feel like they
understand it,” says
Selma. “But there are
so many things hap-
pening, in Central
Europe, and Swe-
den. They’re chore-
ographing book s,
and asking, ‘What is
choreography?’ And
choreography is just
organising things
in time and space.”
“People are getting more
used to it and starting to under-
stand it a bit more,” finishes Ye-
lena. “Today, people are starting
to understand that movement
and dance aren’t connected to
a specific genre like ballet. It’s
jumping ahead, as an art form.”
Flocking and wheeling
at Breiðholt Festival
gpv.is/art
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“Sometimes
you have a
moment that’s
mesmerising,
like you start
to develop
a collective
body”
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