Today At The Reykjavík Dance Festival: Thursday, August 27

Much to the delight of dance enthusiasts, the August 2015 Reykjavík Dance Festival (RDF) kicked off yesterday. This past November, February and May, RDF created a platform for great performances spread out over several weeks at a time, but this is the big kahuna: five days jammed packed with performances, workshops, and more.

Navigating the schedule of overlapping events can be a bit daunting, so here is a short list of things to look out for today.

‘Firsts: The Drop Dead Diet’ by Gígja Jónsdóttir & Guðrún Selma Sigurjónsdóttir

‘Firsts’ are a series of works at RDF that bring together Icelandic dance and performance makers. Created by Gígja Jónsdóttir, Guðrún Selma Sigurjónsdóttir, Anna Kolfinna Kuran and Björn Leó Brynjarsson, the performances are all held at Smiðjan, the student theatre of the Iceland Academy of the Arts. ‘The Drop Dead Diet’ is a comical dance performance that introduces a new fad diet.

17:00 Smiðjan at The Arts Academy, Sölvhólsgata. Admission 2,200 ISK, tickets can be purchased here. Check out the Facebook event.

‘ATLAS REYKJAVÍK’ by Ana Borralho & João Galante

Ana Borralho and João Galante have worked together on performance art, dance, installation, photography, sound and video art since 2002. Their varied background allows their works to remain free to move across platforms and not remain in a dance-only cubbyhole. Rather than using dancers to make a point about society through art, ‘ATLAS REYKJAVÍK’ uses 100 people of different professions to show how art must play a more active role in society.

19:00 Borgarleikhúsið. Admission 2,900 ISK, tickets can be purchased here. Check out the Facebook event.

‘Macho Man’ by Katrín Gunnarsdóttir

After a successful premiere this past March, Saga Sigurðardóttir will again perform Katrín Gunnarsdóttir’s solo piece, ‘Macho Man’. The piece looks at the choreography of masculinity in society through the body of a female soloist. It is explores masculine movement through wrestling and fitness with an emphasis on rituals and voyeurism.

22:15 Hafnarhúsið. Admission 2,900 ISK, tickets can be purchased here. Check out the Facebook event.