Wen Hui / Living Dance Studio

»How can we share a space of trust, empathy and strength through movement and dance?« – Wen Hui

Choreographer Wen Hui is considered a pioneer of Chinese contemporary dance theatre and an important voice in the fight for women’s rights. Her international breakthrough came in 1999 with, among others, ›Report on Giving Birth‹, a work for which she questioned female factory workers, doctors, journalists, midwives and her own mother about their experiences of pregnancy and giving birth. Today, 24 years after the premiere, she and three female dancers dare to look at bodies that read as female from a new perspective.

In powerful, playful, poetic and intimate choreographies, they encounter each other as mothers, non-mothers and women with histories of migration from China, Thailand, Iran, Italy and Germany. ›New Report on Giving Birth‹ translates the realities and attributions associated with these roles and explores how structural violence and control become defined in bodies. Here, dance is both a means of communication and a moving archive: and seen in a wider context, the distinct stories and experiences point the way to empathy and resistance.

Concept & Choreography: Wen Hui / Living Dance Studio Dance & Performance: Alessandra Corti, Patscharaporn Distakul, Parvin Saljoughi, Wen Hui Dramaturgy: Alexandra Hennig Music: Matthias Engelke Video: Morvan Hauray Light design: Matthias Rieker Sound: Willi Bopp Dramaturgical advice & research advice: Zhang Zhen Production: Katja Armknecht Operational production management: Nadine Branca Outside Eye & Advice: Julia Alsdorf Distibution: Damien ValetteProduction: Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm im Rahmen der Tanzplattform Rhein-Main, i****n co-production with Hellerau - Europäisches Zentrum der Künste, PACT Zollverein, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, Festival d’Automne Paris und HAU Hebbel am Ufer.