Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.11.2018, Blaðsíða 23

Dancing in Darkness
Getting to know the creative forces behind the
fourth and final piece by Erna Ómarsdóttir and
Valdimar Jóhannsson
Premiering in November at the arts
festival Everybody’s Spectacular, The
Best of Darkness by Erna Ómarsdóttir
and Valdimar Jóhannsson is the final
piece in a series of four works explor-
ing the human body’s vulnerability in
the absence of light. The pieces were
created in collaboration with music by
Sigur Rós and dancers from the Icelan-
dic Dance Company.
Hungry ghosts
Following in the footsteps of the duo’s
prior works, the inception of this fi-
nal installation stems from the idea of
hungry ghosts. “There is this idea of a
‘hungry ghost’ that is always with you,”
Valdimar explains. “It’s a ghost you
have to feed. It wants more and more
and you will never be happy unless you
separate yourself from it.” The concept
behind the hungry ghosts stems from
Eastern lore. Not knowing what kind
of nourishment would appease their
needs, they are unable to satisfy their
desires, doomed to eternally wander in
empty chaos.
Improvisation as
adventure
Cigarette twirling between his fingers,
Valdimar animates the evolution of the
creative process. “When I see the danc-
ers having a good day, you kind of get
these goosebumps because you see suf-
fering. But you see also contentment.
You see the frailty of being human.
Being human is quite complicated be-
cause you have no control over anything
you want to do.”
Valdimar’s own life traces the path
of his words and works. Before enter-
ing the world of contemporary dance,
Valdimar worked as a fisherman in the
Arctic, a DJ and even performed as an
extra in a German snowboard soap op-
era while living in Austria. Returning
to Iceland, broke after his adventures
around the world, he would take the
first job that he could find. “That’s a
common theme in my life,” he reveals
with a smile. “I went to work at the
docks, offloading trawlers while play-
ing in a heavy metal band. At one point
I was even breaking rotten fish heads.”
The adventures of Valdimar continued
after a friend, Jóhann Jóhannson, invit-
ed him to play guitar in a dance piece. “I
went to France and played in this show
called Mysteries of Love, where I met
Erna. We now have two children and I
became a contemporary dancer, among
other things,” he explains.
Uncertainty as inspiration
“You are never more alone than in com-
plete darkness,” Valdimar elaborates.
Whereas this could be a source of fear,
the artist views the vulnerability of
darkness as the foundation of explora-
tion. “One of my favourite moments
is when I close my eyes and dream be-
cause fantastic things happen in the
dark,” he muses.
In life, as in the piece itself, uncertain-
ty presents itself as a challenge that
Valdimar resolves through his posi-
tivity. “Uncertainty is the best human
trait,” he states. “I just take adventures
where they lead me. Don’t think about
it, just follow it. What would the point
be if you don’t have adventures, man?”

Words:
Mulan
Photo:
Subject's own
Words:
Alexander Jean
de Fontenay
Photo:
Timothée
Lambrecq
23
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Hello dancers, my old friends
Welcome
To Ice Pop
Singer-songwriter-producer KRÍA’s otherworldly
visuals and catchy sounds
KRÍA is an Icelandic singer-songwrit-
er-producer who has been exception-
ally busy for the past three years, while
managing to maintain a low profile …
until now.. Lately she has been playing
both local and international gigs on a
regular basis, gaining a reputation for
her visually pleasing, powerful and
emotional live performances, which
mix colourful and otherworldly visu-
als and electronic pop music that she
refers to as “ice pop.”
KRÍA enjoys discovering music
and sounds that manage to distort
her from the present. Electronic and
instrumental music gets her creativ-
ity flowing at the moment. “I can lis-
ten to just about anything,” she says.
Info:
See KRÍA perform
at Iceland
Airwaves at Húrra
on Nóvember 9th
at 8PM .
Info
See The Best
of Darkness
premiering on the
17th of November
2018. For more
information about
the performance,
visit www.id.is/
the-best-of-
darkness
“Electronic music’s early days as a
means of protest appeals a lot to me.
It can really sound like nothing you
have ever heard before.”
KRÍA commonly manipulates her
singing-voice heavily in concert with
effects and vocoders. “This is my at-
tempt to distance myself from the
audience,” she explains. “It’s similar
to a mask; a protective mechanism.
I used to be more anxious and inse-
cure, but now I feel I have a better
grasp over my creative process and
outlet.”
KRÍA has played both festivals
and smaller venues in Reykjavík,
including the independently-run
basement venue/rehearsal space
R6013 on Ingólfsstræti. “It’s tiny,
intimate and my favourite venue in
Reykjavík.I think the city could use
more venues like it,” she says. “I also
very much enjoy Húrra because of
the different kinds of musicians that
play there.”
KRÍA’s fourth EP is in the works,
which she says “will be a stream of
consciousness, much like my previ-
ous EPs. It’s something I had to get
out of my system. Working on it is
like a reminder for myself to keep
going emotionally, no matter what.”
Stay tuned for KRÍA’s upcoming
single “Pathogen,” a secret release
concert in [MONTH], some super
limited-edition merchandise, and a
debut DJ set— under another moni-
ker—early next year.
Don't Draw The Death Card
Poetry Brothel: Masquerade 2018
Nov. 22th - 20:00 - Iðnó - 3,500 ISK
We know you’re thinking of the
‘Phantom Of The Opera’ song, but
don’t worry, Andrew Lloyd Webber
will be nowhere near this murder
mystery masquerade. Thank God.
Anyway, enter a world of tarot card
readers, dancers, magicians and
poets in a haze of fantasy and
phantasm. The theme for this
iteration of Reykjavík's beloved
Poetry Brothel is ‘Where is
Hannelore?’ So get your detective
hat on, and, of course, dress to
transgress. HJC
Dad Rave!1!!
GusGus
Nov. 17th - 20:00, 23:00 - Harpa -
5,990-11,990 ISK
Do you miss the good old days?
Want to get fucked up and bust out
some cybertreffen moves while
listening to electro house, but you
feel like it’s a young man’s game?
Well, do we have the perfect
bourgeois party for you! GusGus is
playing in Eldborg in Harpa, home of
the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. So
welcome to the gala ball for those
24-hour party people that once
thought the party was never gonna
end. It did, though, when they had
kids. VG
Get Off Your Break
Everybody's Spectacular: Reykjavík
International Performing Festival
Oct. 25th - 20:00 - Iðnó - 2,900 ISK
You can’t dance? But you really—
and we mean really—like looking
at people move their bodies
rhythmically. Then you should stop
lurking in the corners of clubs like a
creep and get your booty to one of
this festival’s spectacular shows, no
pun intended. Along with a plethora
of groovy dance shows will be other
performances, including a play
based on ‘Friends.’ PIVOT! CS