“Maybe it’s a cliché, but there’s always communication in dance,” she muses. During the conversation, it becomes clear that Halla’s dance includes communication not only with the environment, but also with her inner parts: a rock star, a diva, a bitch. We talk to the creator herself regarding the capacity of practices and their connections with divinity.
– “What should the dance look like?” What do we allow ourselves to call dance?” is a quote from a conversation between you and creator Erna Ómarsdóttir. How would you answer these questions now?
– I am really more interested in the question itself than the answer to it. The question contains a curious look at where the limits of dance are, what tradition says regarding what is and is not dance. When I create, I always ask myself what traditions I want to break. There was a stage when I asked myself why I create? Does the world need another dance performance?
The practice of “rock star”, which is repeated in my work, has become extremely suitable for solving this dilemma. As a creator and performer, I began to focus on how to create a show that I would want to be a part of. I started experimenting with different ways of behaving on stage. For example, if the music freezes, no problem, I let it play once more; if I’m hot, I just take my shirt off. My goal is not to repeat the male rock star cliché from the 1990s, but to create something new by combining this image with contemporary dance.
– Can you tell us more regarding your other practice called Bitchcraft?
– This is 2017. a project was born, which gained continuity in order to nurture the ideas born and the collaboration with the artist Eliisa Erävalo. Together we created three pieces and held several workshops using this Bitchcraft practice. At the time, quite a few people were interested in witchcraft as a political movement and an idea of collectivity, and we drew heavily on that.
We were interested in looking at rituals as access to the dance that eventually ends up on stage. Such access creates a particularly strong sense of togetherness in the group. Exploring the occult has helped us open up to creativity and intuition in such a way that intuition takes on a whole new meaning in creation. Rituals are like a warm-up of the imagination, allowing you to insert something into the choreography that would not otherwise be there. You are heating up your imagination, and you hope that it will affect the audience as well.
Halla photos photo/Hjorthmedh divine
This is how the character of the “bitch” was born in this process. She shouts loudly, confronts, looks piercingly. The body of the “Bitch” character is heavy, noisy, takes up a lot of space, both with movement and sound. We allow the audience to look at us as objects, but we also look back at the audience. Also, the performance becomes a statement, a reclaiming of the word “bitch”.
– There seems to be a lot of certainty and responsiveness in your performance.
– I think that I pay a lot of attention to communication with the audience. I always raise the question of what our agreement is and how I deal with what comes up between me and the audience.
– How does withdrawing the word “bitch” relate to your aforementioned permission to be seen as an object on stage?
– I think it is impossible to avoid being objectified, especially when you are on stage. Together with the artist Amanda Apetrea, we explore a lot of female sexuality, passion as elements that belong to us. Also, working as a choreographer, I discover new ways to work with dancers and invite them to the themes of sexuality, without telling them what to do with their bodies, without imposing my personal experience.
– You seem to be very concerned regarding gender roles and how gender is projected in body movements. How important is this topic to your workshops?
– This topic is revealed in the content, the gender of the participants is not significant for me. I think the “rock star” character is a good example. I look at this practice as trying on a suit or something close to it drago for practitioners – the study of stereotypical movements. I’m very interested in how the combination of “diva” and “rock star” works in this theme of objectification, and how we can come up with something completely new by combining the two clichés.
– What excites you most regarding teaching others?
– The teacher’s role is conflictual because it is a position of power. I try to create a space where students can speak openly, reflect, criticize. Nevertheless, teaching is an inspiring activity for me, because I can be in a space with people who love dance, engage in the process with their ideas and bodies.
– How was the idea of ”The Divine Workshop” born?
– Zoë Poluch, Head of the Dance Program at Stockholm University of the Arts, asked to create a dance repertoire for second-year students. I was not interested in the idea of rebuilding an already created work, so Zoë suggested that I explore the archive of my works and methods together with the students and create a new work together from previously developed practices. We used Tarot cards while working in groups and looking for a topic. I found their collective interpretation very interesting. Among the cards, the theme of divinity emerged, which became the cornerstone.
– I counted 33 repetitions of the word “divine” in the workshop description. The reading itself resembles a divine mantra. Can you tell us more regarding the workshop and what attendees can expect?
– This workshop is a combination of my various practices. Lately, I’ve been increasingly incorporating subtle, soft sounds and exploring how body and sound work together. I think dancing and singing in a group can be a divine experience. So I’m looking for practices that have an effect on the dancer so that the effect is felt by the audience as well.
Although I do not aim to lead the participants into a trance state, I myself feel that singing and movement practices have a healing effect. In the workshop, I will invite you to shake and dance, but we will do everything through dance, not for the purpose of solving psychological problems. We will create an atmosphere through various practices that relate to the idea of divinity in one way or another.
Lithuanian dance professionals will be able to meet Halla Ólafsdóttir in August
“Divine workshop”, intended for professional dancers, choreographers and students of dance majors, will be held in August during the “Summer Dance Intensive Vilnius 2024” program. It is the largest educational contemporary dance event in Lithuania, intended for dance professionals and amateurs, held annually since 2000. You can find more information regarding the seminars of Halla Ólafsdóttir and other international lecturers here.
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2024-07-18 12:51:53
