Soft Ice
An ensemble piece based on slides
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Tap dance Vilma Kananen, Gaëtan Farnier, Håkon Sigernes / Janne Eraker
Understudies Mari Marie Øinæs Nyvoll, Rebekka Undrum Guitar Juhani Silvola Choreography Janne Eraker Light Ane Reiersen Sound Ragnhild Nelvik Bruseth Outside eye Karen Høybakk Mikalsen Album cover Daan Botlek Co-produced by DansiT, funded by the Norwegian Arts Council Soft Ice is a new piece with three tap dancers and a guitarist, based on all kinds of slides. Zooming in on these specific steps, the material is both very traditional and weirdly new. Inspirations are classic masters like Jimmy Slyde, patterns and rhythms by a drummer's brushes, shapes and style from ice skating, and minimal, polyrhythmic work by artists like Steve Reich and Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker. There's also a little bit of banana-peel slap stick! Soft Ice - the album Three scenes of Soft Ice will also be released as an album on the premiere on January 23, by the record label Esc.rec. It will be available on all digital platforms except Spotify. The tracks are: Dot/Line, The Arctic and Mosquito Blues. In Dot/Line and The Arctic you can hear various types of scrapes, some are rough, with the edge of the tap, some have a smooth, ASMR-like quality. Dot/Line has strict improvisation rules, where one can only start and stop a line connected to someone else’s dot. The Arctic has a more free approach, but in turn only allows two types of movements; a half drag turn and an even circle with the ball of the foot. In Mosquito Blues the tap dancers are on socks (no taps = unamplified), and the guitar player is unplugged. We zoom in on the tiniest sounds, but in a traditional blues form. The material is a regular Hoofer’s timestep, with emphasis on the slide. There’s some creaking from the floor as well… |
Shows in 2026:
June 19: at Oslo Jazzdansfestival January 29: at Dans, dans, dans, Riksscenen, Oslo January 23 + 24: Premiere + show at Rosendal Teater, Trondheim More info: Suitable for ages 8 - 88 Duration: ca 45 min. Space: 8 x 10 m People travelling: 5 - 6 prs. Scenography: a big, adjustable, portable tap dance floor |
