Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-10-24T02:09:00.000-07:00

OK, so I slacked when I got back to the UK last time, no I slacked before I got to the UK, too much to do, not enough time to do it in. So I decided to do video blogs, guess what not enough time to put them up, all recorded but not all posted.

6/10/09

8/10/09

10/10/09

13/10/09

16/10/09

20/10/09

I mis-quote it's called Inclusive Cities

After all was said and done, this was one of the most amazing projects I've had the pleasure to be involved in. Not only was it making a significant contribution to the art history of Vietnam, but also taking art to the people to allow them to make their own minds up if they enjoy it or not. Rather than cultural gatekeepers saying, 'This is good or this isn't'. Yes there will always be an element of this, but it allowed people to experience art in their community rather than in the theatre.

A few images and words from the show

Today is created from the history of the past (YESTERDAY) and will become the history of tomorrow. It will leave marks in us whether intentionally or unintentionally. History shows us how we were created and each of our actions today will SHAPE history in future.
Whether we succeed or fail, every war or battle results in losses for both sides. From each individual’s emotional losses and weaknesses, the artists would like to remind us about history, wars and losses.

From two different cultures, two art styles and languages, they learn to share, to respect each other’s disparities, to coexist in an open environment.

Huhmmm...
Like a prayer for dead spirits…
Like a sigh over pains and losses…
Above all, it is a removal of dark corners in each soul in order to live together in a peaceful world.

The programme was put together by British Council, British artist Kwesi Johnson of Kompany Malakhi and Contemporary Dance Group +84

Ha Noi

2009-06-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

We had a revealing day today, apart from me getting lost on my scooter (not the children’s type), and seeing parts of Ha Noi that I may never have done, and waiting for a class to finish in the studio. We spoke for about two hours of different ways to approach some of the sections. We are establishing improvised sections and set moments. There was a misunderstanding through translation, there was a point where I thought Duc had said that sometimes in an improvisation in performance he will do something and jump off the agreed improv objective and not tell the other dancers. It resulted in a really interesting conversation as I was asking, ‘How can you then communicate with the other dancers to achieve your objective, if you go off track without saying or making clear what the intention is’. Some may say well it’s not improv if one has an intention. But by deciding not have in intention, this becomes an intention, so there is always an intention.

Anyhoo he wasn’t saying he would go off on a tangent from the idea, but it sparked a good conversation. It was also interesting that they are not so concerned with fixing material, which was intimated on our first few days. That’s great for me as long as there is some type of structure to the improv, some meeting points etc. The greatest musicians can improvise all night, but they have to set parameters, such as the key they are playing in and the style of music.

What he was saying was that he doesn’t like to fix everything in a performance so he can find new things all the time. Also free thinking and improv is his individual expression, after tiring of things that are so set e.g. technical training or maybe socialist governments. Some things fell into place in my understanding, for example Duc not wanting to write things down, again it could be seen as a reaction to a particular ‘ism’

None of this is negative, it’s about finding ways of understanding or at least accepting, which is what the super objective of the piece is.

More soon

Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-06-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

OK so I slacked off a bit, it's expected there's has been so much to do. Things take a little bit longer in hot countries, the heat drains you. Mmmmmm could the lack of heat in the UK be the reason a lot of choreographers get laughed at when we say, 'I'd like 12 weeks rehearsal please'. I must say though Vietnamese people work HARD, no really hard. Particularly market traders and shop keepers, I won't mention farmers. Members of the family help, but it's still tough. There are less beggars than one would see on a regular day in London. The government ran a scheme where they took beggars off the street, found out where their home province was and sent them back for their family to take care of, why they weren't before I don't know. People with disabilities and mental health issues, are looked after by the state. People only beg if they can't work, it's not a choice in most cases........off on a tangent there if think.

Well we have a really great piece of work simmering here. Some very strong imagery. I can't say everything about the piece for but I can give an idea of some of the imagery we are looking at using. The temple entrance you see below used to be the gateway to the temple where 1000's of Chinese soldiers are alledgedly buried, apparently there were others around the city, but were leveled and built over.

Imagine a drum call, bringing the public to the show, they gather at the bottom of the staircase, they see smoke filling the archway, illuminated by light it resembles a portal to another world, it is, our world of ritual theatre. They ascend through the arch to be greeted by images of a dancer moving, projected onto varying sizes of thin silk flags flowing in the wind hanging from the trees and attached to standing branches. The image darts from one piece to the next, darts, jumps and vibrates, across the material.

The lights reveal a real dancer, we see the dancer and the virtual dancers interacting. The audience continue to file past, it begins to rain in the area where the dancer is, the audience are guided along the path by large candles. As they listen to passages of The Requiem of lost Souls. They descend the other side of the mound to be greeted by the drummers at the base of the mound. Three dancers wait preparing for a long journey, ritually moving, repeating, checking and pacing with the drummers winding up the energy.

The route to the Quang Trung is lit with more candles reminiscent of a runway.

The dancer on top of the mound is now with the rest of the dancers preparing they begin, he begins to lay a path unfolding, a 50 metre white sheet extending along the floor between the candles. The group continue with the drummers, he continues to lay the path. He has returned, the audience turns to see the white sheet peppered with his footprints.

The group move along the path lifting, leaning and supporting each other on the long route, then the audience sees..........

More tomorow

17/06/09

2009-06-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Day 3

A result!

It was a much lighter feeling today, we didn't really need to add many more ideas, we spent time making our original concepts richer, and having a good time doing it. Play is important. It's tricky because we have to just spend this time that I'm here, working on the collaborative section of the piece, and then we work away from each other when I return to the UK. Then as I said we have 5 days to pull it together in August. It's going to be fine though. It has a feel of a ritual, in the sense that the community are involved in the performance, not performing per se but their input from placing objects in certain places and witnessing image, music and movement. The publics contribution is key. We feel this is really important that they contribute to the final result.

One of the main issues when creating any type of art in Vietnam, unless you are a state run company, then one has to get permission from the government to present anything. They have to see a preview a few days before the public do. They are checking that nothing is being said against the country or the way the government runs it. It has been known to stop releases of films, literature and visual art if it doesn't tick the correct boxes. It must be frustrating as an artist, as that is what we do, we shed light and bring fourth alternatives.

We have a meeting with the authorities on Monday to run our ideas by them. I'll let you know how we get on. I'll let you in on some of the ideas when they have some more meat on the bones.

That's it for now

Until next time

16/06

2009-06-16T03:11:00.000-07:00

Today wasn't as fruitful as yesterday. I think we burned out. We were trying to nail down the what and the why. Fundamentaly we are saying the piece needs the same things but the approach to get there is different, that's also why I'm doing the project, to experience different creative approaches, so tomorrow we will return to the mound and see what happens, as HDC said they would like to be there, as it helps with creating ideas, it's different for me because I close my eyes and I'm there, I'm dreaming, but maybe I'm being too cerebral. I'm interested in going back to see how the visceral experience changes the response. Would we get he same ideas if we don't go? Who knows? As long as the ideas flow for us all, it doesn't matter where they come from. I don't think the ideas will be a challenge, it will be selecting the most effective ideas that can be achieved in the short time we have.

We had an interesting conversation about site specific work, I feel what we create has to relate and respond to the site, or it wouldn't be site specific, if it doesn't respond to the site then we could make the work anywhere and perform anywhere. HDC approach it from a different angle, which we will be looking at tomorrow.

Contemporary dance is quite new in Vietnam, or at least in public spaces it is, so we want to make a piece that doesn't over explain each section, but finds a commonality with the images as anchor points for ourselves and the public. Duc's starting point is also the space, I do think we both lose bits in translation, so it will be good to work on some movement and images tomorrow, we need no translation if the intention is clear and the body and image communicate that intention, the way we want it to.

We discussed freedom, as this is one of the things we agreed that Quang Trung gave to the Vietnamese. As we were writing and drawing on the sheet, Duc said he doesn't feel free if he has to write it down, good point, he showed us how it moved, so we decided to put an arrow towards where he was sitting and when we reviewed what we had, he would make this freedom movement. We then also discussed that freedom doesn't always have to be wild and spontaneous, it's what one chooses it to be.

I like to make notes and go off in tangents as I go along, or I forget my train of thought. It was interesting for me as Duc feels that an idea becomes too fixed if he writes it down. Maybe I am censoring myself and edging towards the western construct where the belief is, if it's not written down, it's not valid. I don't think I am though, I'm brainstorming, it's my process of remembering and tracing it back to the source idea. But the good thing is I am questioning myself. HDC also said that the process was different for them, so it's already turning out to be a good exchange.

Because the site is so important in commemorating part of Vietnams history, we all feel really passionate about it. Although my connection is not from a Vietnamese perspective, what I do connect with is the resistance and fight for ones freedom from an imposing superpower which encapsulates the story, and also the fact that a farmer became a king. This is an inspiring detail, because no matter where one feels they are, in the greater scheme of things, self belief allows one to reach their goal. Yes circumstance and being prepared for unexpected opportunities (some people call it luck) have something to do with too. Maybe it wasn't his intention to be king, but his actions motivated people and made him a hero.

So here are some mind maps (sketches) it will be interesting to see how they go from concept, to paper, to performance.

cho đến ngày mai

(until tomorrow)

Hanoi, Vietnam

2009-06-15T06:51:00.000-07:00

I'm new to blogging, yes you read correctly, a newby. The reason being I just don't have the time. So I'm not sure how long this is going to last, but here goes.

I'm in Hanoi working with the Hanoi Dance Company on a project called Creative Cities, developed by the British Council, see http://www.creativecities.org.uk

So the flight was long, it tried to stay awake as long as possible to drop into Vietnamese time, it worked. I arrived at 09.45, stepped out of the airport to be enveloped by a pillow of tropical heat, the temperature already at 29 degrees, that's how I like it.

If any one has been to Hanoi before, your first realisation may have been the traffic, and that there are no apparent rules, but it works, it really does. OK so I saw two accidents within the first day, but no traffic jams, it really is like this, if you look carefully you should be able to spot me, I'm on the red motorbike.

I haven't seen one bit of road rage, due to the chilled nature of the Vietnamese.

I had one day to adjust, but that was my time and I'm not blogging about that, but I did go to Lenin Plaza to watch the skateboarders, b boys (Mania Crew) and freestyle football, go if you are ever in Hanoi, there is a real community vibe there, it's really inspiring.

Skip to 15/06/09, I met with the Hanoi Dance Company today, Duc, Hien and Ngoc they all trained in France in La Rochelle and Marseille, so our mode of communication is Franglais (bit of French, bit of English). We are making a site specific at the piece Go Dong Da (Mound of the Multitudes), legend says that Go Dong Da was formed by the bodies of Chinese soldiers killed after Quang Trung's victory. When you watch the video below as you move up the staircase this is where the soldiers were buried, it's high.

Quang Trung Nguyen Hue, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguyen_Hue. In short if you don't want to read all of that, he was a farmer, who became king, due to his leadership in defeating the Chinese and freeing Vietnam, he is a national hero. It's a really inspiring story of a normal man who achieved amazing things, because of his will and belief in himself and his people.

We had a really productive brainstorming session today, drinking ice tea, sheltering from the frog sized raindrops, that made the tarmac steam. We discussed images, meanings and objectives, it was one of those let it all out moments, the thoughts becoming words and images, the ancestors of action.

When you watch the video here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pdXwqYlJAE

you will see the space in front of the statue is vast, so we are devising ways of filling the space with 20ft high pieces of silk, held up with helium balloons, we will project onto them as we glide them around the space, integrating it into the choreography. We are also taking inspiration from Requiem for All Wandering Souls and epic poem by Nguyen Du, one of the greatest Vietnamese writers.

One of the aims of Creative Cities is to allow local people to experience and get involved in the arts, within their immediate community and surroundings, by transforming public spaces into performance spaces.

I'll post our first drawings tomorrow, stay tuned.