Drought and Rain (re-creation 2011)

Photo by Le Anh

Part of EIF 2011

French Vietnamese choreographer Ea Sola celebrates historical and cultural memory and meditates on the human cost of war and imperialism in Drought and Rain (re-creation 2011). Together with a group of elderly women from the north of Vietnam, whose singing had consoled soldiers on the front line, and an ensemble of virtuoso traditional musicians, Ea Sola has re-created this moving and beautiful work. First seen in 1995 it offers deep insights into the tumultuous history and sufferings of Vietnam.

Shifting between hypnotically slow, graceful movements and urgent, almost visceral reactions, the choreography creates a spare, powerful and bittersweet account of the human legacy of war with performers who lived through it. Read more …