Europe Meets Vietnam in Contemporary Dance

08 and 09 Sep 2011, 8 pm
Youth Theatre

From Goethe Institut:
An initiative from EUNIC in cooperation with the Vietnam National Ballet and Opera

Under the title “Europe meets Vietnam in Contemporary Dance”, trends in the European contemporary dance scene can be experienced in Hanoi on 8th and 9th September. Each evening, three very different pieces will be presented.

Fire Fly’s Season, a new piece by the VNOB about love in its various forms, will be the opening performance.
The Belgian Company Dame de Pic / Karine Ponties will present as a Premiere “Benedetto Pacifico”, performed by Ricardo Machado. This is a mysterious piece on the theme of the Scarecrow about the fears that we all carry within ourselves and the mysterious figures they embody that haunt our imaginations. Belgium has a particularly innovative dance scene. Karine Ponties’ pieces are played around the world, but this is the first time that she presents one to Vietnamese audiences, on the invitation of the Wallonia-Brussels Delegation.

The last piece will be a German-Vietnamese co-production. The German choreographer Hans Henning Paar, invited by the Goethe-Institut, developed a new piece with dancers from VNOB, working over a period of several weeks. To the passionate music of Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828) the dance piece “Death and the Maiden” was created. The story of Death wooing a young girl – who at first resists, but then gives in – and finally gently leading her away from life, has always inspired artists. Now this story is staged in Hanoi as modern dance theater. Hans Henning Paar previously worked with the VNOB in realizing the choreography of the music theater piece “Through the Valley,” which was performed in January with great success at the Hanoi Opera House.

“Europe meets Vietnam in Contemporary Dance” is a new collaborative project from EUNIC, the network of European cultural institutions, with the VNOB. It will be staged this year, but it is the hope of the organizers that it will become an annual event in Hanoi’s cultural calendar.

As a prelude to “Europe meets Vietnam in Contemporary Dance”, on the 4th, 5th and 6th of September the Goethe-Institut Hanoi will show three films of major dance productions: In “Rhythm is it!” 250 children and teenagers rehearse the choreography to “Le Sacre du Printemps” by Igor Stravinsky, played by the Berlin Philharmonic under Simon Rattle. “Café Müller” shows one of the most famous productions by Pina Bausch (1940 – 2009), with which she gained international recognition as a creator of modern dance theater. Along with Pina Bausch, Sasha Waltz (born 1963) also took the path of combining dance and theater into a new artistic form in which modern themes are reflected. In “Avenue of the Cosmonauts”, the Berlin-based choreographer Sasha Waltz shows a family history as dance theater.

Screening Schedule:
4 September, 7pm: Rhythm is it!
5 September, 7pm: Café Müller
6 September, 7pm: Avenue of cosmonauts
Goethe-Institut Hanoi, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc
Free Admission.

“Europe meets Vietnam in Contemporary Dance”
Public Dress Rehearsal on 7 September, 7 pm
Performances on 8 and 9 September, 8 pm
Youth Theater Hanoi, 11 Ngo Thi Nham

You can download dance program here: EUNIC Dance Program

For further information see website of Goethe and Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation.

Free tickets available from Monday, 5 September at:
Goethe-Institut Hanoi, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc
Tel. 04-37342251/52/53 (máy lẻ: 9)