Choreographers

Tran Ly Ly is Vietnam’s most active choreographer for new, modern dance. She was trained at Vietnam National Institute of Dance in Hanoi majoring in Professional Performing Arts – Ballet and was educated in Dance Teaching and Management at Box Hill Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.

She worked at the Ballet Atlantique/ La Rochelle for choreographer Régine Chopinot, who heavily influenced contemporary dance in France. In 2003, Tran Ly Ly received a Bachelor of Professional Performing Arts from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia.

Since then, she teaches at Vietnam National Institute of Dance. After various smaller choreographies, her works Mot Ngay – One day and Cuoc song trong chiec hop – Living in a Box had premiere in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Tran Ly Ly won the Young Talent Award of the Vietnamese government several times and received the Laurel Martyl Award for Prospective Choreographer of Box Hill Institute of Technology in Melbourne.


Artist Statement

“Contemporary dance is still an unfamiliar concept for the major public in Vietnam. It is discussed, if at all, only in the professional community. This is such a big shame, since contemporary dance is life around us.

First of all, what is “contemporary dance”? To me, contemporary dance is life that is presented through the filter of dance language. Contemporary dance has no formulas or chapters. Contemporary dance is just a flow of feelings inside body language. It is a dialogue between the choreographer, the dancer and the audience.

I think that contemporary dance has not begun just recently, as some literature says. Contemporary dance itself exists alongside the entire human history, although it was not until the last few decades that people started to give it a name, try to systematize it and bring it into some school training programs. Therefore, what can be called the “standards” or “norms” for contemporary dance is something quite relativistic and relevant to its time. Standards for some periods in time may or may not apply for others. What is exciting about contemporary dance is that it is so close to real life and reflects life in a genuine and intimate way through the author’s thinking, or in other words: It is about specific individuals at a specific time in life.

To me, the language of contemporary dance is one that is versatile and ever-changing, as choreographers and dancers will not cease to seek new dynamic reversibility and exceed physical and intellectual limitations in order to bring about new feelings and explorations for contemporary dance in particular as well as dance in general.”
Tran Ly Ly


Selected Works

Cuoc Song Trong Chiec Hop – Living in a Box (2008)
Mot Ngay – One Day (2007)