Side Step 2024: Cullberg & Halla Ólafsdóttir - Sylph

In her first work for Cullberg, choreographer Halla Ólafsdóttir takes inspiration from the mythological creature the sylph, an ethereal being with the power to shape-shift. Rougher, rawer and louder than humans, the sylphs have an airy voice and a giant body. Like the wind, sylphs are constantly on the move. They wander in and out of the ballet’s mysterious forest, dancing, whispering, rustling, knocking and chewing. They call this hobby “listening to the wind,” and for many sylphs it becomes an obsession. Sylph is created in collaboration with the dancers, the composer Shida Shahabi, set and lighting designer Chrisander Brun, and costume designer Hanna Kisch. Sylph examines what happens choreographically when sound, costume, set design, lights and dance have equal roles. Sylph dabbles in the occult, merges it with classical ballet and explores sounds that are meant to generate a sensorial experience, a sort of a low intensive euphoria. Choreography: Halla Ólafsdóttir Performers in Helsinki: Anand Bolder, Anna Fitoussi, Eleanor Campbell, Eszter Czedulas, Freddy Houndekindo, Lilian Steiner, Shai Faran, Katie Jacobson, Noam Segal, Mohamed Yousry Fathy, Vincent Van der Plas Music: Shida Shahabi Set and lighting design: Chrisander Brun Costume design: Hanna Kisch Makeup design: Johanna Larsson Rehearsal directors: Agnieszka Sjökvist Dlugoszewska, Patricia Vazquez-Iruretagoyena Co-producer to the tune House of Sylph: Daniel Fagge Fagerström Production: Cullberg Premiere: May 4, 2023, Dansens Hus / Elverket, Stockholm Part of Zodiak – Center for New Dance's Side Step Festival.