The Room 1

The Room 1, 2021-2022
Dance-theater | ‘Mirrors of Confinement’ project
30 minutes

The Room 1 is a cross-disciplinary work conceived by Chi L. Nguyễn, in collaboration with choreographer Nguyễn Duy Thành and performance group Without A Hitch.

This work was part of the project entitled Mirrors of Confinement, initiated by Chi L. Nguyễn and supported by Goethe-Institut Hanoi during the COVID pandemic. Inspired by Café Müller - a dance-theater work by German choreographer Pina Bausch, Mirrors of Confinement consists of the performance The Room 1, a screening of Pina - a film by Wim Wenders, and a virtual talk with dance-actress Nazareth Panadero from Tanztheater Wuppertal. Mirrors of Confinement was a tribute to the legendary artist Pina Bausch, as well as an artistic response to the pandemic.

In The Room 1, Chi continued her engagement with reflective materials by incorporating red mirrors in the stage installation alongside her paper mache sculptures. These reflective screens, in one way, act as observers and communicating devices - merging reflections of the audiences and unseeable angles of the protagonist, creating interpersonal communication and a unique mode of spectatorship. They offer a liminal space of negotiation, of connection in times of contact restriction and struggles during the pandemic.

Concept & Stage Installation
Chi L. Nguyễn

Choreography
Nguyễn Duy Thành

Assistant Choreography
Vũ Ngọc Bảo

Dance-actress
Đào Nhật Vy

Costume
Phạm Đăng Khánh

Lighting
Đặng Xuân Trường

Music
Ian Richter

Photography
Lac Hoang
Đặng Xuân Trường

Filming
Lê Anh Tuấn

Dance-actress Đào Nhật Vy through the red mirror during the performance at Goethe-Institut Hanoi

Dance-actress Đào Nhật Vy during the performance at Goethe-Institut Hanoi

Rehearsal with dance-artist Trần Minh