RDF - Ösku(fj**dans)buska

A piano concert, a fairytale, ballet - exorcism, a stand-up and a cleaning screaming inferno.
Choreography: Erna Ómarsdóttir, Halla Ólafsdóttir and Saga Kjerúlf Sigurðardóttir

Cinde(f***ing)rella, or Ösku(fj**dans)buska, by Erna Ómarsdóttir, Halla Ólafsdóttir and Saga Kjerúlf Sigurðardóttir, is a work in progress in concert with Prokofiev´s original music score.

On stage, three dancers and two pianists lead us into a chaotic search for hope, while we revel in our discontent of being forced into a one-dimensional shape. Or a shoe.


In this version of the fairytale, an attempt is made to tell the story from the perspective of Cinderella’s stepsisters. They invite you into the cellar of the National Theatre as dancing narrators and storytellers, where the fairytale unfolds, revealing the cruelty, beauty, vanity, humour and desperation of the imperfect human soul.
Cinde(f***ing)rella invites its audience into a world where exertion and ecstasy feed one another, where exhaustion creates beauty, and the darkness of the fairytale is just as important as its light.
At its core, Cinde(f****)rella is a playful, unruly and visceral encounter between ballet-excorsism, music, voice, visual art and performance, using the familiar fairytale as a portal into something stranger, darker and more human.
BIO
Halla Ólafsdóttir is an Icelandic choreographer and dancer based in Stockholm with a master in choreography from Uniarts. Working collectively and from a feminist perspective, her practice often draws on art and popular culture, where she explores how materials change in new contexts. Halla has collaborated with international companies, as well as toured her own works in Sweden and globally. Her work includes amongst others: the Romeo & Ju­lia cy­cle (2018-2024) with Iceland Dance Company, Ballet Basel and Gertnärplatsteater. Sylph (2023) with Cullberg. Beauty & The Beast collaboration (2011-2025). Bitchcraft (2017- 2025) and The Knife (2013-2014).
Erna Ómarsdóttir is an Icelandic choreographer and dancer who graduated from P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios) in 1998. Her work explores extreme physicality, vocal elements, and raw emotional states through what she calls her “Ballet Exorcism” methodology. She has performed and presented her work internationally, touring extensively across Europe and around the world. Her work includes, among others, Romeo & Julia cycle (2018–2024), We Saw Monsters(2021), Sacrifice(2017), a collaboration with Matthew Barney, Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, and Ragnar Kjartansson, Dies Irae (2017), created with Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, and IBM 1401 – A User’s Manual (2006), created with Jóhann Jóhannsson.

Saga Kjerúlf Sigurðardóttir creates and performs through various, often collective forms of choreography, theatre, poetry and punk magic. She studied dance and choreography at ArtEZ University of the Arts (NL), later completing a BA in Theology at the Iceland University and an MFA in Performing Arts from the Iceland University of the Arts in 2017. Besides leading her own projects as a choreographer, Saga has worked as a co-creator and performer on numerous projects with artists and collectives including Marble Crowd, 16 Lovers, Erna Ómarsdóttir & Shalala and The Post Performance Blues Band.
Saga danced in Erna & Halla´s Romeo & Julia cycle with the Iceland Dance Company (2022-2025).


Dancers: Erna Ómarsdóttir, Halla Ólafsdóttir and Saga Kjerúlf Sigurðardóttir

Musicians: Erna Vala Arnardóttir and Romain Þór Denuit

Music: Sergei Prokofiev

Sound Design & Lighting: Valdimar Jóhannsson

Producer: Ragnheiður Skúladóttir

In collaboration with Lókal

Co-production: Iceland National Theatre, Rosendal Theatre and Dansehallerne.

Supported by: Artists' Salary Fund (Iceland) and Nordisk Kulturfond

The performance is part of the Reykjavík Dance Festival program. The festival program can be found at https://www.reykjavikdancefestival.com/