Open, but never obvious, about loneliness.
UNDER is a captivating solo performance about all the feelings and memories that swirl around within us when we are alone. Described by a Dagsavisen reviewer as “a little gem of a performance”, it explores how loneliness becomes part of the body, mind and identity – and, in doing so, something that concerns us all.
Human beings are social creatures – being alone goes against our nature. Yet loneliness is something most people experience, some more than others. For choreographer Sølvi Edvardsen, who has always been fascinated by people, loneliness becomes fertile ground for reflection.
Sitting alone on a bench, a woman invites us into her inner world, communicated through dance. Her movements are marked by both strength and vulnerability, while the work never offers clear-cut answers or becomes too obvious. It leaves room for our own thoughts, and together with the intimate setting, this gives the performance an unusually personal quality.
UNDER is a piece that uses very little floor space to convey powerful emotions, created through 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 theatre critic Inger Marie Kjølstadmyr.
Cast & creative team
Direction, choreography and costume: Sølvi Edvardsen
Dancer: Cecilie Lindeman Steen
Composer: Åsmund Fejdje
Lighting design: Paul Vidar Sævarang
Sound design: Roy Knudsen
Film: Elin Osjord & Sølvi Edvardsen
Musician: Bjørg Lewis
Sewing: Taran Anne Sæther
Bench: Mona Irene Grimstad
Photography: Elin Osjord
Co-producers: Dansens Hus and R.E.D. Residency Eina Danz
Supported by: Norwegian Cultural Fund and the Fund for Performing Artists
Reviews & features
“Movement is my true mother tongue” – interview with Sølvi Edvardsen by Margrete Kvalbein for Danseinformasjonen, in connection with the premiere of UNDER at Dansens Hus in January 2024.
“I have to work with what I truly care about, and that is always people. The beautiful and the difficult things about being human.”
“UNDER is a little gem of a performance” – Inger Marie Kjølstadmyr, review in Dagsavisen, 27 January 2024.
“Elegance on the torture bench” – Grace Tabea Tenga, review in Scenekunst.no, 29 January 2024.
Dansens Hus Podcast – episode 37: Sølvi Edvardsen
In this episode, choreographer Sølvi Edvardsen talks about her long and eventful life in dance, her interest in filling form with meaning, and her fascination with loneliness as a sociopolitical and cultural-historical phenomenon.
