Parzival Der durch das Tal geht

The international co-production team consisted of Hans Henning Paar (choreographer), Pierre Oser (composer, conductor), Tankred Dorst and Ursula Ehler (playwrights), Beverly Blankenship (director), Christoph Meier-Gehring (dramaturgy), Andreas Lungenschmid (lighting design). More than 100 artists participated in the performance.

For the audience DER DURCH DAS TAL GEHT is an innovative and emotionally breathtaking work in all aspects of stage art. The elaborate stage set is supported by projections, with actors in imaginative costumes and an impressive lighting design. A multi-layered story is told, but it communicates well to the Vietnamese audience because of its universal validity and human depth. The preparations for this production were thorough, extensive, and inclusive. The solo dancer Phạm Trí Thanh could prepare for the production already at Theater am Gärtnerplatz, Munich with Hans Henning Paar. The stage designer Đỗ Doãn Bằng was several months observing and learning at the Schaubühne Berlin.

A second cooperation between the Muffatthalle Munich, the VNOB followed in 2012 with Hennig Paar's choreography Der Tod und das Mädchen (The Death and the Maid). For the young dancers from VNOB, such intensive days of rehearsals and performances were a time of learning and broadening their artistic experiences.

The large interdisciplinary stage project DER DURCH DAS TAL GEHT started the annual dance festival Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance, initiated by the Goethe-Institut. The European Embassies (members of EUNIC, the European Union Network of Cultural Institutes) take turns to participate. Vietnam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) is the local partner. The goal of the annual festival is to promote appreciation for new dance forms and styles in Vietnam as well as to build an international bridge for the exchange of experiences between artists and for co-productions. Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance is organized by the Goethe-Institut until 2017. Since then, the costs for transport, residencies, and production are no longer feasible without local contribution. 

The European embassies (in association with EUNIC, European Union Network of Cultural Institutes) and Japan Foundation took turns supporting this annual effort. Vietnam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) was the local anchor. The festival aimed to promote public appreciation for new forms and styles of dance in Vietnam, create an international bridge for artists to share experiences and engage in co-productions. Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance could be kept alive until 2017. Without local support, the costs for transport, accommodation, preparing the stages etc. this endeavour of cultural presentation and coproduction became unaffordable.