Dancing Grandmothers
Eun-Me Ahn Company
Eun-Me Ahn is a master of contemporary South Korean dance. With “Dancing Grandmothers”, the choreographer and companion of Pina Bausch once again takes a closer look at the society of her home country through dance. The ensemble consists of dancers from Ahn’s company and the dancing grandmothers who give the piece its title.
In 2010, Eun-Me Ahn traveled to her native Korea to talk to older women in the cities and countryside about dance and capture their movements on film. The result was a very special kind of road movie. In a mixture of folk and electronic music, the older women are seen grooving and swinging in a hairdressing salon, laundrette, supermarket, on the beach or even at a train station. From these encounters, the filmed images in the provinces and the reactions of the dancers in her company, Ahn has developed a colorful and lively show. In the piece itself, young dancers dance with their grandmothers on a stage and folk songs awaken the fire of the 1960s. Asian kitsch explodes in comic sequences, bright colors and flashy costumes.
The loving interaction between the generations makes this very special insight into another culture universal. “Dancing Grandmothers” alternates between delicacy and complexity, between skill and humor and combines the different body languages of young and old dancers. An ode to life.
Duration: 1 h 30 min
No use of language
Fr 10.05. there will be an audience discussion held after the performance.
Sa 11.05. following the performance there will be a party to round off the evening
Ticket special
Four for three:
Buy four tickets, pay for three, enjoy twice.
Audio Description
Saturday 11.05. “Dancing Grandmothers” will be shown with live-audiodescription at 20:00 h. There is also the possibility of taking part in a tactical guided tour at 19:00 h, one hour before the performance starts.
Please register in advance to take part in the audiodescription and tactile guided tour with Jule Fuchs. Via E-Mail: barrierefrei@hellerau.org or via phone under the number: 0351 264 62 37.
Eun-Me Ahn is the leading artist on the Korean performing arts scene. She founded the Eun-Me Ahn Company in 1988 before moving to New York in 1991. In 2001, she moved back to Korea and continued her choreographic practice by revisiting classics from her country or – often in collaboration with amateurs – exploring social issues such as generations or relations between South and North Korea.
Dancers: Eun-Me Ahn, Hyekyoung Kim, Haejin Yun, Gaon Han, Sunjae Jo, Uiyoung Jung, Deokyeong Kim, Hyeonseok Lee, Yongsik Moon
Grandmothers: Chang Nang Ahn, Kisook Ahn, Chunja Choi, Kyungja Kang, Boksoon Kong, Jungtae Lee, Soonhwa Lee, Dongsun Noh, Nogsong Park, Okhyoung Shim
Music: Young-Gyu Jang
Set & Costume Design: Eun-Me Ahn
Scenography: Sunny Im/ Yunkwan Design
Light Design: Jin-Young Jang
Video Direction: Tae-Seok Lee
Images: Jiwoong Nam, Seunghwan KIM, Sangwha Lee, Taeseok Lee
Technical Direction: Jimyung Kim
Production & Partnership: Eun-Me Ahn Company and Doosan Art Center (DAC). Coproduction festival Paris Quartier d’Eté.
With the support of Arts Council Korea and Dancer’s Career Development Center.
