The Juliet Duet is inspired by Prokofiev’s classical ballet Romeo and Juliet. The idea for The Juliet Duet originated from Erna Ómarsdóttir and Halla Ólafsdóttir’s collaboration on the dance performance Romeo ❤ Juliet, which premiered at the Gärtnerplatztheater in 2018. In The Juliet Duet, the two Icelandic choreographers now focus entirely on the character Juliet.

The Juliet Duet uses the language of classical ballet, its technique, composition and pantomime, and merges it with aerobics, screaming practices, witchcraft filled with elements of housekeeping, prosthetic body parts, hair, confetti, fake blood, sweat, tears and love. Sergei Prokofiev’s score from the 1930s is contrasted by an original score by the American noise and industrial musician Stephen O’Malley. 

In the performance, the two Juliets wander the stage as two love-sick teenagers, as two menopausal dancers, as two subterranean nymphs, as two friends and as two lovers. They dance to old words. Their dance moves the words across the stage and sweeps the past away like dust. Together, they become poetry. Choreography and music become one and the voice turns into an invisible body in the space, whispering sweet secrets through its bloody dance.

The Juliet Duet is: Shaking, shifting, screaming, shaping, milking, bleeding, pretending, dancing, miming, breathing, growing, forgetting, remembering, writing, faking, aging, leaving, teenaging, rottening, mating, cooking, cleaning, jumping, stepping, turning, flying, stretching, drawing, forming, translating, understanding, tracing, misunderstanding and transforming. 

The Juliet Duet is part of the program Dansehallerne x Betty and is presented in collaboration between Dansehallerne and Betty Nansen Teatret.