There are times when you start to forget why you liked dance to begin with. Too many performances seem to sap all the enthusiasm you ever had for the art form. Then there are those pieces of work that bring it all rushing back and you remember just why you love this art form so much. IBM401 A Users Manual performed by Erna Ómarsdóttir and Jóhan Jóhannson is one such piece of work.
It may have the most improbable title you ever heard but this piece, performed by the duo based in Reykjavik Iceland, is a powerhouse of superb solo movement and outstanding choreography from Erna Ómarsdóttir and excellent live music from Jóhan Jóhannson.
The work was performed as part of the [8-Tension] series for young choreographers at Impulstanz in Vienna. For Article19 it was the best performance on show by a long way and this was in a festival featuring DV8.
It is very difficult to do this 35 minute piece justice in the 4 minutes and 30 seconds we have for you here so if you get the chance to see this piece live then we suggest that you take the opportunity, you will either love it or hate it but our money is on the former of those two options.
For more information about IBM401 you can contact Johann Johannsson or Esther Welger-Barboza using the email links below.
This feature was updated on December 20th 2003 with a new section of video.
[This video was upgraded and extended on December 1st 2009 ]