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UNDER is a captivating solo performance about the emotions and memories that swirl within a person when they are alone. Praised by Dagsavisen’s reviewer as “a small gem of a performance,” it shows how loneliness becomes part of body, mind and identity — and therefore something that concerns us all.

Humans are social beings; being alone goes against our nature. Yet loneliness is something most people know, some more deeply than others. For choreographer Sølvi Edvardsen, who has always been fascinated by human beings, loneliness becomes fertile ground for reflection.
Seated alone on a bench, a woman invites us into her inner world, communicated through dance. Her movements are marked by both strength and fragility, while the work never offers simple answers or becomes too obvious. It leaves room for personal reflection, and together with its intimate form, this gives the performance an unusually personal quality.

UNDER uses very little floor space to express great emotions. The work was created in close collaboration between choreographer Sølvi Edvardsen and dancer Cecilie Lindeman Steen — more than thirty years after their first collaboration. Edvardsen has described movement as her “true mother tongue,” and Steen speaks it fluently.

UNDER was named one of the year’s best performances by Dagsavisen’s performing arts critic Inger Marie Kjølstadmyr.

Direction, Choreography & Costume Design Sølvi Edvardsen Performer Cecilie Lindeman Steen Composer Åsmund Fejdje Lighting Design Paul Vidar Sævarang Sound Design Roy Knudsen Film Elin Osjord & Sølvi Edvardsen Musician Bjørg Lewis Costume Construction Taran Anne Sæther Bench Design Mona Irene Grimstad Photography Elin Osjord

Co-produced by Dansens Hus and R.E.D. Residency Eina Danz. Supported by Norsk Kulturfond and Fond for utøvende kunstnere