judit neilsdottir
The principles of dance are time, space and energy. In my performances, I concentrate on energy and the feelings generated from movement within my body. These feelings surface as emotions when I become aware of them.
All performance works on the idea of emotional contagion - the energy sent between performer and audience riding on waves of feelings generated within all bodies present. When audience and dancer work together to bring these feelings to consciousness, then emotions are shared on a very deep level. This “transference loop” is what I depend upon to realize the dance.
As I improvise, I encounter memory-images from both my personal unconscious (contents which I have buried over time) and the collective unconscious. I don’t know what will emerge but I have learned to trust in this creative process.
In studying the work of the psychologist Carl Jung, since my college years, I have had visceral experiences with my shadow and my animus. I had read about these terms in his work but, until I experienced their transformative energy through my dance, I thought they were just interesting theories to kick around inside my head.
The theory seems to realize itself in my dance as though the audience and I were trolling for fish. Trollers set up 2 poles, move back and forth between them, and work to pull out fish in the course of their time on the water. The path between the poles is the recorded music chosen for the dance. The dancer and audience work together, through the transference loop, to cast our lines into the water. Below the water (the unconscious) swim fish (everything we have forgotten, intentionally or not) who we hope to catch (hope to bring up into our consciousness). So what has been locked away inside us, we take with us from the dance experience and grow to become more aware individuals.
I see my solo improvisational dance as following the ancient way of creating stronger community and individuals.
- judit neilsdottir (2025)
judit neilsdottir was honored to be able to present “μένος” in September 2025 as one of the events celebrating the Lowertown Lofts Artist Cooperative’s founding in 1985. Snakes created by the late Bernel Bayliss (an original member along with judit neilsdottir).
Also in 2025, she was asked by artist and friend, Del Bey, to appear in a collage music video created for Peter Gabriel’s 50/50 project. https://youtu.be/ZX0iWjtUO5g?si=Tk_h1W2QeFbAZXXI
Coming up, during the Spring 2026 Saint Paul Art Crawl, she will open the doors to her studio (#303) to present one of her informal Dance At A Glance performances on Friday, April 17th at 8:00pm entitled !midnight! - diving into the dark, darker, darkest darkness.
She continues to work on a new formal solo improvisational dance entitled “THIS IS THE TIME OF REMEMBERING” and hoping to present it in a sanctuary setting. More information coming in later 2026.
Here is a link to see some select members of the Lowertown Lofts Cooperative back in 1997 with an interview of Judith (now aka: judit neilsdottir) by members Michelle Mayama and Chris LaFontaine (video). https://youtu.be/bZM26Q2hn24?si=JVU4HhACG9U4Xz83
