Reykjavík Grapevine - Nov 2021, Page 20

Prowlin! Monsters,
Hidden Darkness
The Icelandic Dance Company meets The
Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
Words: Valur Grettisson Photo: Einar Hrafn Stefánsson
Occasionally, Icelanders have beau-
tiful northern lights, majestic vol-
canos and Godlike sunsets with all
the colours in the world painting
the sky. But none of this compares
to the incredible performance of
AI$N, where two of Iceland’s great-
est artists created a truly unique
night out at Harpa.
From Sweden to Iceland
After premiering the show in Swe-
den in 2019, the Icelandic Dance
Company (IDC) and Icelandic Sym-
phony Orchestra (ISO) brought
AI$N to the latter’s home base,
playing to a theatre of Icelanders
who have waited out a pandemic
to witness the award-winning per-
formance.
AI$N is the result of a collabo-
ration of world-renowned dancer
and IDC art director Erna
Ómarsdóttir, and incom-
parable composer Anna
%orvaldsdóttir. Both have
gained international at-
tention, with Anna previ-
ously shortlisted for best
composition in New York
Times and Erna being
more or less the reason
Icelandic dance is boom-
ing today, while also hav-
ing won multiple inter-
national awards for her
choreography and perfor-
mances.
Fusion
Anna’s dark composition
begins with Morpho-
sis. The dancers begin
slowly, sliding over the
stage, while the music
takes the reins with both
hands. All the while,
lights project liquid-like
streaks on the walls of Eldborg.
Now, there’s good reason Anna is
considered one of the best com-
posers in the world. Her heavy and
dark undertones and hauntingly
beautiful melodies stole the show
out of the gate. At moments I had
to remind myself that the dancers
were sliding around the stage until
they crept up to the conductor, who
then turned to control them with
her movements while also guiding
the orchestra. That was the mo-
ment the strong fusion really oc-
curred between the music and the
dancers. Little did I know, a battle
of forms had begun.
The monster
In the second composition, Tran-
scension, the dancers formed
a terrifying monster and voiced
out horrific, hunting sounds—a
signature of Erna’s creations. The
monster, formed by all the danc-
ers, exploded, squeaked and felt so
alive that it was truly a sight for the
eyes. The dancers commanded the
audience’s attention, fighting to
overshadow Anna’s composition.
Breaking the violin
As the performance progressed
onto Anna’s Entropia, the fu-
sion between the musicians and
the dancers became stronger.
Dancers walked around with the
violist, who bravely continued to
perform her solo without a hic-
cup. The dancers crawled around
the musicians like odd creatures
until in the end, the dancers each
took their own instruments and
danced violently. So violently, in
fact, that one of the violins being
swung around, shattered and shot
out into the audience (don’t worry,
no one got hurt).
The grand scheme of
things
The influence behind Anna’s com-
positions is supposedly the eco-
system and interplay of the ex-
istence of mankind in the grand
scheme of things. Al-
though this was not on
my mind while listening,
my thoughts often wan-
dered to the dark Atlantic
Ocean—a stronger expe-
rience than I anticipated.
And perhaps, because the
concept is so open, it fit
into the grand scheme of
things.
T h i s w a s a t r u ly
unique performance, and
it was a privilege to see,
and experience, two of
Iceland’s greatest artists
fuse together in such a
strong and powerful way.

Arti8 Gallery
Tryggvagata 16
101 Reykjavík
info@i8.is
t: +354 551 3666
www.i8.is
@i8gallery
N. DASH
K.R.M. MOONEY
B. INGRID OLSON
CARRIE YAMAOKA
Elisions
9 September - 20 November 2021
Open daily
10h00–17h00
artmuseum.is
#reykjavikartmuseum
Kjarvalsstaðir
Flókagata 24
105 Reykjavík
+354 411 6400
Guðný Rósa Ingimarsdóttir opus-
oups
02.10.2021–16.01.2022
It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt