In Praise of Solitude – Kings Gardens Fountain, Stockholm/Concert Hall, Suffolk, England/Gothenburg International Dance & Theatre Festival/Swedish National TV

"In Praise of Solitude" was originally created in November 1997 for the Snape Maltings Concert Hall, near the English North Sea coast in Suffolk, where the marshland landscape was used as both set design and a vehicle for meaning in the piece. It was also the opening programme for the Gothenburg Dance & Theatre Festival, reimagined for the harbour and quayside environment outside the new Gothenburg Opera House.

Place

A solo-act premiered at The Snape Malting’s Concert Hall, Suffolk, England in November 1997. Also performed at the Kings Gardens Fountain, central Stockholm, September 1998, Gothenburg International Dance & Theatre Festival August ’99 and others. 20 minutes long. Script/direction/choreography/stage design/costume. Also a short TV film produced in cooperation with Swedish National TV in April 2002.

This clip is from the performance at the Kings Gardens Fountain, central Stockholm, September 1998. The classical architectural style of the park influenced our design of the female dancers’ costume, created by the scenographer Malin Kihlberg, making it over 60 meters of length.

Music

The music of ”In Praise of Solitude”, composed by David Österberg, a former member of Lucky People Center, is a heavy, slowed-down drum’n’bass piece, forming a suggestive curtain of sound in front of which the dancer Anja Birnbaum performs her ritualistic moves.

The piece was 20 minutes long.