From Form to Fumbling: Reflections on Creating and Collaborating from Archival, Choreographic and Performative Perspectives

Abstract Frå Form til Famling / From Form to Fumbling premiered on 2 nd November 2023 at Henie Onstad Art Center that takes its starting point in the material traces in the archive after Høvik Ballet. In this article, choreographer Solveig Styve Holte and performer Magdalene Solli reflect on the choreographic and performative parameters of this creation, with a focus on one piece of solo material that was included. How may archival material inform and transform how and what we create? In addition to investigating that topic, this article addresses how different modes of collaboration were explored in the creation process, as are recounted from choreographic and performative perspectives. This article is written from both perspectives, letting the different experiences from the process and the polyphony from the performance make it into the reflection at large. The process of engaging in transformation, transmission and transpositioning changes not only our understanding of the material but also our understanding of ourselves as dancers and choreographers. In that regard, this article recounts how our relation to the archive started, developed and transformed, both in our bodies and perceptions, during the long creative process. It also describes how the passing of time, and our time spent with the archives, affected us and the overall choreographic decisions made concerning the performance.