Summer academy for dancers and musicians

It was a stroke of luck for the Goethe-Institut that Heiner Goebbels accepted the invitation to lead the two-week creative camp for nine musicians and nine dancers/choreographers. This very special workshop had been encouraged by Tran Lyly in her capacity as director of Vietnam National Opera & Ballett (VNOB and by Maestro Than Vuong-Thách, director of the Ho Chi Minh Ballett and Symphony Orchestra (HBSO), a long-term partner of the Goethe-Institut in the field opera production. The summer academy was generously hosted by the Dance College of Hanoi.

Heiner Goebbels (*1952) is world famous for his stage works and his music. His compositions for ensembles and big orchestras have been performed between 50 and 150 times at major music and theatre festivals in Europe, the USA, South-America, Australia and Asia. He also taught for 20 years at the Institute for Applied Theatre Studies of the Justus Liebig University in Giessen. He has been in charge of artistic practice academies, seminars and scenic projects, as well as cooperative projects with the students and professionals of international institutions.

His summer academy aimed to strengthen the artists‘ conceptual thinking and wholistic performing practices. The focus was on the interdependencies between movement and improvisation, and between choreography and composition. The workshop also served as a forum for choreographers to push their ideas for realization in their next production. The workshop ended with eight presentations for a professional audience and for the interested public.

The musician Thuy Linh summarized for herself: "When practicing together and listening to Heiner commenting on the performance of each participant, I learned a lot, not just about music. As a result, I realized that all kind of contemporary art has a common voice. What I also gained from this workshop was the enthusiasm and spirit that everyone here has and their devotion to art practice. Only two weeks and I feel like I have been maturing a lot. Now the camp has finished and I feel a bit sad. After this experience going back to normal feels a bit odd. I hope to have the opportunity to meet and work with everyone again." (from her interview with Ut Quyen, 2018 )

An unexpected side result of the Summer Academy was the invitation of Nguyen Duy Thanh to take part in the theater installation Everything that happened and would happen by Heiner Goebbels. This major international theater work was shown at festivals in Manchester (2018), New York (2019), Bochum (2019) and St. Petersburg (2019). Nguyen Duy Thanh took part.

Related Links

Summer camp with H. Goebbels
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GOSZ5by0nU