Reykjavík Grapevine - des. 2021, Blaðsíða 23

23The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 12— 2021
Reach Out And Dance
The Reykjavík Dance Festival: connecting communities and moving the masses
Dance should be the most accessible,
comfortable, familiar art form known
to mankind. Everybody has a body, and
most people can move theirs—even if
only in part—making the ability to
dance an almost universally shared
experience.
And yet, dance as performance is of-
ten perceived as culturally ring-fenced;
intended for those aficionados who “get
it”, but not so much for the common
folk.
The Reykjavík Dance Festival, which
wrapped up the performances of its
19th year last month, is having none of
that nonsense. Directors Brogan Davi-
son and Pétur Ármannsson, the Anglo-
Icelandic couple who took the reins of
the festival only at the start of this year,
are quietly determined to democratise
dance.
“It's something we really think
about, and one of the problems that we
face with this festival,” Brogan reflects
after the event. “And one of our inten-
tions this year was to make it more ac-
cessible.”
The dance of the common
folk
One way that the festival fosters that
accessibility is to balance the virtuos-
ity of professional festival performance
with the dance of ordinary people. As
Pétur observes: “How does my grand-
mother dance in the kitchen with my
grandpa? How does our baby daughter
dance to CoComelon on Netflix? It’s our
responsibility to tap into this folky side
of dance.”
Normally, folks are able to get danc-
ey at the various parties which form the
fabric of the festival around its perfor-
mances—in “the spaces between”, as
Brogan calls them. A COVID-19 rapid
test regime for audiences saved this
year’s scheduled performances. Un-
fortunately the same approach wasn’t
possible for those more freewheeling
interactive elements, and much of the
action in the spaces between simply
wasn’t possible.
However Brogan and Pétur did man-
age to save the festival’s Baby Rave, (lit-
erally a rave for babies—surely the ul-
timate in youth outreach), by following
the format of recent times and stream-
ing the event from their living room. Its
success is one that they hope to bring
to next year’s programme, along with
more symposiums, workshops and art-
ist talks to optimise access for audi-
ences.
Open and reflective
Accessibility is a theme clearly embed-
ded in the DNA of the Reykjavík Dance
Festival. One of the standout perfor-
mances this year was ‘Stefnumót’, (Ice-
landic for ‘Rendezvous’), three pieces
created by bringing together a per-
former with a disability and one with-
out. Each resulting show was accompa-
nied by a candid conversation between
performers and audience about the cre-
ative process, its challenges and the
insights revealed.
“I think it really embodied the fes-
tival,” Pétur reflects. “It was diverse,
it was subversive, it was surprising,
it was funny. And it was accessible for
everyone else. So we're really proud of
that event.”
As well as being accessible, dance
should naturally reflect the social and
political issues touching those who cre-
ate and experience it. As Pétur observes:
“Good art is of this world. I think that
to connect with people it needs to be
somehow in the same space as them.”
Such connections were made this year
through performances like ‘Dance If
You Want To Enter My Country’, in
which Michikazu Matsune reflects on
racism and the nature of identity. And
‘When The Bleeding Stops’—a piece
by Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir focus-
sing on the silence and sense of taboo
surrounding menopause—was a hot
ticket, clearly connecting with a com-
munity touched by that theme.
Making connections
Outreach is a large part of the festi-
val’s purpose. It is active in the com-
munity all year round, and is probably
best thought of as an arts foundation
that holds biannual events. Thanks to
a commitment of long-term support
by the City Of Reykjavík, the festival
is able to lead programmes engaging
underserved social groups. One such
initiative is the Litla Systir project, an
evening “school” encouraging creative
activity and critical thought in teenag-
ers, and offering participants an active
role in helping curate the festival.
So the festival’s mission might be
described as bringing dance to the
people. However Brogan is quite un-
derstanding that those new to dance
might fear that they won’t understand
the culture. “If people are coming in
and maybe seeing dance for the first
time, they might worry that they won’t
understand the ‘rules’ of the space,”
she observes. But with an interactive,
innovative and experiential approach,
Brogan and Pétur hope that these need-
less barriers can be dismantled. It’s all
about getting dance to the people, and
getting the people to dance.
One of the ravers in question
“It was diverse, it was sub-
versive, it was surprising, it
was funny. And it was acces-
sible for everyone.”
Words:
John Pearson

Photos:
Owen Fiene
and John Pearson
Culture