Reykjavík Grapevine - 13.09.2019, Blaðsíða 40

40The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16— 2019Music
Dancer and playwright Selma Rey-
nisdóttir’s show, ‘Independent
Party People’ is currently running
at Tjarnarbíó. To celebrate, we sat
down with Selma to find out what
made her the artist she is today.
My sister
I think the first appreciation of art
I experienced was when my sister
and her friends got into Blur.
Damon Albarn was who they
were mostly into. They were always
asking me questions like: Who is
the cutest? And I always had to an-
swer: Damon Albarn. I was five and
thought they were acting stupid
and promised myself never to act
this stupid about any boy.
Every time I hear “Girls and
Boys,” I can see the CD case lying on
our living room floor: The dogs rac-
ing, going somewhere but nowhere.
I think the cover is a good metaphor
to the Blur mania I witnessed. It
came into my life like someone had
released a pair of race dogs into our
house, but as soon as they had run
over every chair in the house they
were gone and me and my sister
moved on with our lives like noth-
ing had happened.
I go through something similar
when I am really into a project. The
project becomes like two race dogs;
running and knocking down all the
furniture. The only thing you can
do is to focus on the dogs while they
are there.
Dogs
I love dogs. The relationship be-
tween human and dog goes far back
and is complex. It can be beautiful
at times, but also disturbing. One
of my favourite books is ‘Timbuktu’
by Paul Auster, a story told by the
dog Mr. Bones. I am also a big fan
of the movie ‘Best in Show.’ At the
moment, I am looking into Amund-
sen’s expedition to the South Pole
from the sledge dogs’ point of view.
Feel Free by Zadie Smith
I have kept this book close to me
since this spring. The book is a
collection of her essays that range
from the topic of Brexit to dance
lessons for writers. Usually when I
read, I read with my brain and the
activity of reading keeps within our
social construct of dualism. I read
while my body lies or sits still. But
when I read this book my body is
active. Not only is it because some
of her essays describe how humans
move their body through the so-
cial-political landscape, but also
because of the rhythm in the text
itself.
Blood Orange
I once read it in an interview that
Blood Orange doesn’t want people
to immediately like his music; he’d
rather they be intrigued. I think
that is really cool and I like the
thought of people not liking your
stuff immediately. If I like some-
thing immediately things don’t
stay with my thoughts as much,
then I just put them straight away
to the “I like this” category. But if
I am intrigued first, then I get to
develop my love for the music or
whatever I am intrigued by. And
also Dev Hynes’ dog is named after
his album, ‘Cupid.’
How do people
get their moves?!
Those who share the dance floor
with me give me a lot of inspira-
tion. Lately, I have been wonder-
ing how people stylise their move-
ments, especially in Iceland where
dance is not a part of the culture.
How do people develop their per-
sonal dancing style? When I go out
dancing I see so many great danc-
ers, and I keep wondering how they
developed their personal dance
style. Have they practised at home?
Are they influenced by someone?
MAKING OF AN ARTIST
Life Is Like
A Pair Of
Race Dogs
Selma tells us about dogs, Sadie Smith
and the mysterious origin of dance moves
Words: Selma Reynisdóttir Photo: Art Bicnick
Dancer and playwright Selma Reynisdóttir shares her secrets