Kim
The dance theatre piece “Kim” is based on the novel “Wo auch immer ihr seid” by the award-winning Berlin journalist Khuê Pham, in which she deals with the effects of the Vietnam War (or the “American War”, as it is called in Vietnam) and the resulting dispersion of her family to several continents. Kim stands for the German name the protagonist gives herself in order to escape the constant questions about the pronunciation of her Vietnamese name and her origins. The book describes the feeling of being lost between cultures, the speechlessness about the past and the relativity of concepts such as good and evil.
Against the background of the book’s story, the German-Taiwanese choreographer Fang Yun Lo, together with Khuê Pham and five dancers, all of whom have intercultural experience, explores the protracted search for identity of young people from immigrant families. In an impressive mixture of dance, literature and film, they ask questions that affect everyone: What made me the person I am today? Who are my parents – and how do historical catastrophes affect the lives of entire generations?
Creation, Dance: Kati Masami Menze, David Le Thai, Lan Mi Le, Ta Vu Kha Chanh, Nam Tran Xuan,Text: Khuê Pham (btb/Penguin Random House), Director: Fang Yun Lo, Video: Andrés Hilarión Madariaga, Video sound: Alicia Luz Rodríguez, Dramaturgy: Betty Yi-Chun Chen, Stage design: Cheng-Ting Chen, Costume design: Cristina Lelli Music: Patrik Zosso, David Le Thai, Lighting design, technical direction: Max Rux, Production management: Sabina Stücker
“Kim” is a co-production of Polymer DMT / Fang Yun Lo with HELLERAU Dresden and PACT Zollverein Essen.
Supported by the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia (top-level support for dance), City of Essen/Cultural Office, Kunststiftung NRW, Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen KdFS, as well as Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of NEUSTART KULTUR.