[Herald Interview] Hanna Kiel’s ‘BODY’ to discover chaotic concord in cross-cultural dance collaboration at SIDance

When choreographer Hanna Kiel begins her artistic course of, she doesn’t hand out steps or sequences to her dancers. As an alternative, she assigns duties. The dancers interpret these assignments via motion, after which Kiel guides and shapes the ultimate choreography.

For instance, she would possibly ask the dancers to explain their most bodily or mentally difficult experiences. One dancer would possibly categorical the agony and frustration of rehabilitating from a again harm, whereas one other would possibly channel the frantic desperation of looking out for a loo however not discovering one in time. These private reminiscences encourage uncooked, emotionally charged actions.

“On this course of, you see the dancers’ distinctive actions and their private histories,” mentioned Kiel, a South Korean dancer turned choreographer, now primarily based in Canada, in a current interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul.

So, when the Seoul Worldwide Dance Pageant requested her to create its opening efficiency, she was intrigued by the concept of increasing her challenge throughout borders. She puzzled, “What is going to occur when folks from totally different social and cultural backgrounds come collectively? Is it attainable to speak utilizing solely fundamental physique language?”

The result’s “BODY,” the competition’s opening piece that includes 10 dancers — 5 from Canada and 5 from Korea. It’s set to premiere on Sunday at Sogang College’s Mary Corridor.

The youngest dancer within the group is 22 years outdated, the eldest 39, bringing collectively a variety of ages and private tales into what Kiel describes as a “collage of narratives.”

“That is about particular person tales merging right into a collective one, creating what I name ‘chaotic concord,’” Kiel defined. “It’s complicated, and everybody strikes in numerous instructions. In a manner, it displays our society. Every particular person has their very own course and position, however collectively, there’s a drive that drives society. That’s what we’re expressing on this piece.”

For Kiel, it’s essential that the viewers feels the efficiency along with the dancers, not simply via passive remark.

“Individuals typically suppose dance is one thing you watch along with your eyes and listen to along with your ears, and that’s the place the expertise ends. However I need the viewers to really feel it of their our bodies,” she mentioned.

“I need them not simply to look at, however to have interaction on a deeper degree. You understand how, once you watch a film, you empathize with a personality? I need that to occur with the dancers. I need them to really feel, ‘Oh, that jogs my memory of one thing I’ve skilled,’ or ‘That may very well be me,’ and even, ‘I need to stand up there and transfer with them.’”

Kiel, who in 2013 based her project-based firm, Human Physique Expression, is a longtime determine in Canada’s up to date dance scene, working with many dance firms within the nation. She has been the resident choreographer for The Nationwide Ballet of Canada and Canadian Up to date Dance Theatre, since 2019.

Kiel feels that up to date dance typically turns into too indifferent from the human expertise, and he or she goals to deliver it nearer.

“What we’re doing is for the viewers, in any case. I need to invite them in.”

After its premiere at SIDance, “BODY” can be carried out at Gunsan Arts Heart in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, on Sept. 5, and at Daegu Arts Heart in Daegu on Sept. 11. The manufacturing may also journey to Toronto, Canada, in March 2025.