Creative Summer Jobs – Sinfonýja Trio
The performance art group Þríradda consists of Íris Ásmundar, Benedikt Gylfa and Hanna Hulda. They all come from different art forms, but are combining their talents to create a four-part piece as part of the Creative Summer Jobs in Hafnarfjörður, which will be performed on 12 August at Hafnarborg.
„We are three people who are behind the performance group Þríradda: myself (Íris Ásmundar), Benedikt Gylfa and Hanna Hulda. We all come from different art forms and are combining our talents to create a 4-part stage piece as part of the Creative Summer Jobs in Hafnarfjörður, which will be performed on 12th August at Hafnarborg.“
Triple-track
The lines between reality and the otherworld will become blurred.
„We in the performance group Thríradda are creating a performance that combines music, film-making and dance, based on the inner world of characters from a classical symphony. The piece touches on concepts and emotions such as ego, insecurity, perfectionism, grandiosity, the feeling of being out of place, and how this complicity manifests as a construction and a trace in the alter-ego. The lines between reality and the parallel world become blurred, and we explore how the concept of the self oscillates between these two worlds.“
Members of the performing arts group The Three Voices
Iris is a 24-year-old dancer from Hafnarfjörður. Íris decided early on that she wanted to pursue dancing, and first attended a five-week summer school with Boston Ballet at the age of fourteen. The following summers, she went to New York, San Francisco and Frome in England, where she attended summer programmes with the American Ballet Theatre, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and the Mark Bruce Company.
After graduating from Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð and the classical ballet programme at the Iceland Dance School in the spring of 2018, Íris went to London to study at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. There, among other opportunities, she had the chance to perform at the Royal Opera House and work with choreographers such as Julie Cunningham, Kim Brandstrup, Cameron McMillan and Vidya Patel. Íris graduated from Rambert with a First Class BA (Hons) degree in the summer of 2021. In 2022/2023, she danced with the Emergence Postgraduate Dance Company in Manchester, under the artistic direction of Joss Arnott. There, she worked on a production that toured the UK, featuring new works by Kevin Finnan, Gosia Mielech and Vidya Patel, alongside a restaging of Joss Arnott's choreography, Wild Shadows. In November 2023, Íris graduated with a Master's degree in ‘Performance and Professional Practices’ from the University of Salford. In the summer of 2023, Íris was offered a contract with the Austrian dance company Tanz Company Gervasi and danced in the piece Brown-1 in both Italy and Vienna. Recently, Íris has worked on various independent dance projects, as well as teaching at the Iceland Dance School, Kramhúsið, and on supply teaching at the Iceland Academy of the Arts. Íris was also part of the art duo Fljóðir in the summer of 2023. In June 2024, Íris, along with photographer Nicolas Ipiña, held a photography exhibition at Litla Gallerý in Hafnarfjörður, for which she also received a cultural grant.
Iris Ásmundar
Hanna Hulda She is 21 years old. She graduated in 2021 from the open programme at Hamrahlíð Upper Secondary School. Alongside the upper secondary school, she graduated from the advanced level of the JSB Dance School.
In the summer of 2021, Hanna attended a summer film-making course at the Prague Film School. In the winter of 2022/23, she attended The European Film College in Denmark. During her studies, Hanna worked on two final projects. She wrote and edited a 15-minute short film, Nina's Guide to a Perfect Life, as well as directing a 15-minute documentary, Hafey. The documentary was about Hanna's best friend, Hafey, and her serious illness when she was only thirteen years old, and how dance helped her to achieve both mental and physical recovery. That film was selected to compete in the Sprettfiskinn competition at the Stockfish Film Festival.
Last summer, Hanna directed a music video for the singer Lúpína and her song, 'Yfir skýin'. The video was nominated for Best Video of the Year at the Reykjavík Grapevine Music Awards and the Hlustendaverðlaunin. It was also selected to compete in the Sprattfish at Stockfish. Last autumn, Hanna began studying film-making at the Iceland Academy of the Arts.
Hanna Hulda
Benedikt Gylfason He was born in 2002. He studied classical piano from the age of 6 to 15 at the Tónskóli Hörpunnar and the Nýja Tónlistarskólinn, and also had private composition lessons from the age of 13 to 17. He has been in several choirs: first the Krúttakór Langholtskirkju, then the Drengjakór Reykjavíkur for 6 years, and finally the choir of Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð. He studied classical ballet at the Iceland Dance School and at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts for 6 years, performing with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, in Phantom of The Opera at the Harpa, and in adverts and music videos. He then competed twice for Iceland in the Nordic-Baltic Ballet Competition, as well as in an international competition in Grasse, France, where he won silver. Finally, he also attended a summer course at the Paris Opera Ballet School, and for two summers at the San Francisco Ballet School on a full scholarship.
Benedikt has been writing pop music since 2018 and released the EP “Maybe The Best Has Yet To Come” in November 2021. After graduating from Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð, he studied audio engineering at Stúdíó Sýrlandi, from which he graduated in 2022.
He studied at the Music Conservatory from 2020-23 on the rhythmic pop programme. There he studied singing under the guidance of Guðlaug Drafnar Ólafsdóttir, as well as jazz piano with Agnar Már Magnússon. He then completed an advanced examination in rhythmic singing in the spring of 2023. That same year, Benedikt took part in the Song Contest with the song 'Thora', which he wrote and produced with Hildur Kristín Stefánsdóttir. Benedikt is currently studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Benedikt Gylfason
The stage production combines music, filmmaking and dance.
„On the 12th of August, Benedikt, Hanna, Íris and I from the performance group Þríradda are going to perform our interdisciplinary stage piece, which we have been working on this summer as part of the Creative Summer Jobs in Hafnarfjörður. Doors open at 17:00, and the performance starts at 17:30 in the Pharmacy at Hafnarborg.“
Performers of the work:
- Íris Ásmundar & Benedikt Gylfason, together with cellist Rut Sigurðardóttir and dancers Sara Lind Guðnadóttir and Rebekka Guðmundsdóttir
- Description, set design and scenery: Hanna Hulda Hafþórsdóttir
We encourage everyone interested to attend a high-quality exhibition at Hafnarborg on Monday, 12th August at 17:30!
The group would like to extend special thanks to: Klara Elías, Iceland Dance School, MUNA Heavenly Wellness, Collab Iceland/Ölgerðin, Steindal ehf, Hafnarborg & Aldís Arnardóttir, Stéphan Adam & Ey Studio, Ágústa Ýr make-up artist, Úlfur Arnalds, Luca Furlan, Hugi Einarsson, Lína Rut Árnadóttir, The Gola Flute Duo, Hjördís Ástráðsdóttir, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Íspan.
About Creative Summer Jobs 2024
In the summer of 2021, the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður, in collaboration with the town's youth centre, Hamarinn, decided to revive the “Creative Summer Jobs” project, which had been run in the summer of 2017. Individuals and groups aged 18-25 were also invited to submit ideas for creative projects in Hafnarfjörður. Selected groups were given the opportunity to work on various creative projects in different artistic fields that would also liven up the town's social life, delighting tourists and residents in one way or another. The staff of Creative Summer Jobs, run as part of the Hafnarfjörður Summer School, are tasked with bringing the town to life, making it more fun, beautiful and diverse with artistic and creative events. The projects are varied and appeal to different age groups and interests. Klara Ósk Elíasdóttir is the project manager for Creative Summer Jobs.
This year, there are seven diverse groups and individuals working as part of the creative summer jobs scheme, and they will be featured weekly over the summer.