Festival of Contemporary Dance 2013 “Europe Meets Asia in Contemporary Dance”

Pre-Opening: Wed 25 Sep, 8 pm
L’Espace
–
Festival: 26 – 29 Sep 2013, 8 pm
Youth Theater

From Goethe Institut:

“Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance” – The Dance Festival is taking place for the third time and is already a major event in the cultural calendar of Hanoi. Received by both media and the public with enthusiasm and applause, this festival has successfully contributed to a growing awareness of contemporary dance in Hanoi since 2011. “Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance” is an initiative of EUNIC, the Network of European cultural institutes and embassies in Hanoi, in cooperation with the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet (VNBO) and this year will be coordinated by the Goethe Institute.

Larger and more diverse than in the past two years, this year’s festival includes dance pieces from five countries: Belgium (Wallonie-Bruxelles), France, Great Britain, Israel and Japan. In addition, there will be one German-Vietnamese and one French-Vietnamese co-production. On five evenings the audience will experience a broad spectrum of contemporary dance to soundtracks ranging from hip-hop through electronic to classical music.

In the “pre-opening” at the Institut Francais – L’Espace, a French-Vietnamese group presents the piece Underground. Based on the historical reality of the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam, choreographers John Bateman and Nguyen Anh Duc offer a tribute to the resilience of human life. Like a living mass, a continuous stream, the dancers crisscross and intertwine.

At the invitation of the Wallonia-Brussels Delegation, Compagnied’Ici P. presents the solo piece Sillon of FréWerbrouck, danced by Sara Sampelayo Fernandez. Accompanied by a fragment of melody, the piece attempts to grasp sounds that capture the identity of a gesture, interrupted by moments of tense emptiness. A journey into weightlessness, alternating between rhythmic and a-rhythmic images.

For the first time a Japanese dancer joins the festival, at the invitation of the Japan Foundation. Mikiko Kawamura, making a clean sweep of New Artist Prizes in Japan, shows a delicate yet powerful solo piece named Alphard, made with her inspiration from the same name’s lonely bright star, standing alone in the position of the snake’s heart in the constellation Hydra. With light installations, the young choreographer divides the stage into nine squares, each with a different musical theme. It is like “stepping on the perceptions”, according to the artist’s statement.

Also for the first time, Israel is a guest of the dance festival. Mushroom Z, a work for three dancers portrays a group of people, all different, and their dealing with an urban society, where life is full of temptations, climaxes, ecstasy, routine and downfall, pleasures, hallucinations and more. Choreographer Nadav Zelner has enjoyed national and international success.

Lighting is the title and also the theme of the German-Vietnamese co-production. Igniting a movement in a group of people begins with a small gesture which becomes a great movement – like a fire starting from a tiny spark and burning ever higher. German choreographer Anna Konjetzky, at the invitation of the Goethe Institute, co-founder of the festival, has developed this piece for five European and five Vietnamese dancers. The four-week rehearsal and the premiere of this unusual piece take place in Munich, thus providing the young dancers of VNOB an extraordinary opportunity to present themselves internationally.

The British Candoco Dance Company, at the invitation of the British Council, present In Translation accompanied by a piano piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. Duets, trios or solos by the dancers arise and unfold from a single motion sequence. This piece conveys dance with a new meaning: one of the artists is a wheelchair user. CandoCo has become internationally known as a professional dance company that integrates disabled and non-disabled dancers.

The finale of the festival “Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance” is on Sunday the 29th September, with the French production petiteshistoires.com. The choreographer Kader Attou and his Compagnie Accrorap play with elements of hip-hop. With humor and acrobatics they build a bridge between the French street art of multicultural French cities and the stage of the dance theater.

Program

L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien: Wednesday, 25th September, 8pm
Pre-Opening Underground

Youth Theatre Hanoi, 11 Ngo Thi Nham:

Thursday, 26th September, 8 pm
Grand Opening with all artists
Sillon
Alphard
Mushroom z

Friday, 27thSeptember, 8pm
Alphard
Sillon
Lighting

Saturday, 28th September, 8pm
In Translation
Mushroom z
Lighting

Sunday, 29th September, 8pm
petiteshistoires.com

FREE TICKETS are available from 19 September at 2 pm at:

Goethe-Institut, 56-58 Nguyễn Thái Học, Hanoi
L’Espace, 24 Tràng Tiền, Hanoi
Japan Foundation, 27 Quang Trung, Hanoi
British Council, 20 Thụy Khuê, Hanoi

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Institut Français de Hanoi – L’Espace 24 Trang Tien, Hanoi