Bleu Neon | Kim-Sanh Châu (Montreal)
Mile Zero Dance Presents
Bleu Neon | Kim-Sanh Châu (Montreal)
In a distant, fictional Vietnam, the echoes of pop music on cassette tape reverberate against the sounds of modern Vietnamese rap. Châu Kim-Sanh inhabits this space, metamorphosing through bodily states generated by the presence of coloured neon lights.
Of this evening blue erupts a purpleness: “bầu trời màu tím xẩm” – an uncertain translation. Eyes closed, the neon haze returns her to the sensation of her ancestral land. Saigon, like many cities in South Asia, is flushed with these vivid lights. Here, embodied memory and the imaginary take a ride on a Honda Dream II motorcycle, across a humid sky whose wetness whips the face.
This solo is performed in its entirety from the squat position – a typically Asian posture. Audio recordings bespeckle the choreography, navigating between fantasized nostalgia, loss of language and sexual objectification – all three widely experienced by Asian diasporic populations. In Southeast Asia, rap is very popular – giving a voice to a population marked by silence. Along with her music collaborator and Laotian brother, Chittakone Baccam, they pursue together their quest of lost homeland. Rap is a prayer.
This performance will take place on February 1 (evening show) and February 2 (afternoon show)!
Saturday, February 1
7:30 PM | TICKETS
Sunday, February2
2 PM | TICKETS
Tickets | $35/$30 MZD Members
Mile Zero Dance is located at 9931 78 Ave
Photo credit | Kinga Michalska
Show Credits
Choreography & performance | Kim-Sanh Châu
Music | Chittakone Baccam / Hazy_Montagne Mystique, JONAIR, Rắn Cạp Đuôi
Technical & Lighting: Jon Cleveland
Mentorship Kim Phuong Nguyen, Chuong Trinh, Vladimir 7Starr Laurore
The project was supported by:
MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels)
Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay
CCOV (CA)
Institut Français & Dancenter (VN)
FTA (Festival TransAmériques) Respirations
Conseil des arts de Montréal
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec
Conseil des arts du Canada
Featuring
Kim-Sanh Châu
Kim-Sanh Châu is a dance and video artist. Her practice comprises choreographic installation and video making – with an interest for the emergence of imaginary landscapes through the body – distilled from far away dreams, imaginary memories and psychotropic reminiscences. Her creations have been presented in Canada at Arsenal galery, Tangente, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), l’Écart, festival Accès Asie; as well as internationally at the Factory, Krossing-Over festival (Vietnam) and SIDance (Korea). Châu is also a filmmaker, dancer (recently for Compagnie Katie Ward, Compagnie Carpe Diem/Emmanuel Jouthe and Catherine Lavoie Marcus) and the Artistic Director at Studio 303. She graduated in Dance (MA UQAM), finance (MA ASB Denmark / Harvard USA) and international business (BA ACU Australia).