Festival explores the meaning of women, body, and space through dance
The global luxury group Kering officially presented the 3rd Women In Motion at West Bund initiative last week, held in partnership with the West Bund Museum.
On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, the event invited three Chinese and French choreographers with original vocabulary in body exploration, highlighting the creativity of contemporary women’s choreography and promoting artistic exchanges between the two countries.
Curated by Dew Ge, veteran curator and producer in the performing arts, this year’s festival featured the theme Body Matters, combining film, talks, workshops and an improvisational dance party to explore the meaning of women, body, and space through the language of dance, and write about contemporary beauty and freedom.
Julie Nioche, French mid-career choreographer and Hou Ying, Chinese first-generation choreographer, collaborated for the first time to create the dance duet Differences.
The two veteran dancers with over 30 years of dance experience are inspired by differences in body textures and cultural memories, and find mutual understanding and respect through improvisational dance.
Nioche’s another interactive performance, L’impassé-e, was co-created with young Chinese dancers, exploring a new way of bringing an artist and audience together.
Gu Jiani, Chinese new generation choreographer, showcased a special presentation of her latest piece, Morphing, which re-examines how modern time accelerates life through sharp and powerful movement textures.
Differences. Choreography and dance by Hou Ying, and Julie Nioche.
L’impassé-e. Choreography by Julie Nioche, dance by Hu Yingchao, Shen Yunqi, Sheng Xiaoyezi, Xu Xiaoling, Xu Yiming, and Zhang Xu.
Morphing Special Presentation for Women In Motion at West Bund. Choreography by Gu Jiani, performance by Wang Xuanqi, Ming Da, Yang Ying, Zeng Yulin, Zhang Jian, and Gu Jiani.
Meanwhile, the three choreographers and Dai Jinhua, cultural scholar and professor of Peking University, discussed “The Meaning of Boundaries: Reshaping the Body,” exploring dance’s unique ability to connect the body’s materiality and construction.
In the Talk “Dialogue on Improvisation: Understanding Differences,” Nioche and Hou shared their experiences behind their creation, and how differences become inspiration for creation and a path for understanding oneself.
On the topic “Slow Work Produces Fine Work: Slow Down, Our Times,” Gu opened up about her difficult creative process and discussed the current situation and future of young choreographers with contemporary performing researcher Zhang Yuan.
In 2015, Kering launched Women In Motion at the Festival de Cannes with the ambition of highlighting female filmmakers, both in front of and behind the camera. In recent years, the program has expanded in a major way to photography, art, design, and music. In 2021, the launch of Women In Motion at West Bund further expanded the influence of this program to choreography and dance.
“Women In Motion has always been committed to highlighting the creativity of female artists, creating a pioneer platform for mindset change through diverse art forms,” said Cai Jinqing, president of Kering Greater China. “This new edition of Women In Motion at West Bund not only continues to empower Chinese and French choreographers, but also expand space for ideas and inspirations.”
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