A special edition of the acclaimed work IBM 1401 – A User’s Manual by dancer and choreographer Erna Ómarsdóttir and composer Jóhann Jóhannsson will be presented at Dansverkstæðið on September 24 and October 1.

The piece is inspired by the story of the first computer to arrive in Iceland, the IBM 1401, and its “farewell song.” In a simple setting, body and machine meet through dance and music.

An Icelandic hymn, strings, electronic sounds, the noise from the computer, the dancer’s breath and movement — all merge into electric energy that unites the mechanical and the organic.

The work premiered in 2002 at the Dansem Festival in Marseille and has toured many of Europe’s leading dance and performing arts festivals and further.

Concept : Erna Ómarsdóttir & Jóhann Jóhannsson

Choreography and performer: Erna Ómarsdóttir

Music composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson

Orchestrated by Jóhann Jóhannsson and Arnar Bjarnason

Music contains a fragment of "Ísland Ögrum Skorið" by Sigvaldi Kaldalóns, performed by the IBM 1401 Computer, programmed by Jóhann Gunnarsson and Elías Davíðsson, recorded in 1971.

Duration : 45 min