Light and shadow: A scene from the multimedia dance A Flower, choreographed by Mikuni Yahaihara. The dance will be presented to audiences in HCM City on Thursday. — Photo courtesy Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Viet Nam

HCM CITY — Contemporary dancers from Japan and Viet Nam will showcase their collaboration in a multimedia dance/theatre project in HCM City this week.

The project, featuring A Flower and Chronicles of a Soundless Dream, was developed by Japanese visual artist Mikuni Yanaihara, choreographer Keisuke Takahashi of the Off-Nibroll group, and Vietnamese-American contemporary artist Tiffany Chung.

The trio were first brought together by Theatre Works Singapore in its 2007 edition of the Flying Circus project. They have said that they immediately felt a profound artistic connection with one another and began exchanging ideas about potential collaborative projects. The first result of this long-term process was an exhibition and performance entitled Fugawaga Shokudo, which received support from Art Matters New York and Fukagawa Tokyo Modan Kan Gallery in early 2011.

This week's HCM City performances, which will be presented to Vietnamese audiences for the first time, feature their second collaboration.

Their energetic and thought-provoking performances will bring together contemporary dancers from Japan and Viet Nam on one stage to further explore the concept of human struggle, endurance, life, death and everything in between.

Choreographed by Mikuni Yahaihara, the 40-minute A Flower is about the tsunami disaster on March 11, when thousands of lives were lost in Japan. The piece represents how people should re-think their associations and what they face in ordinary life.

The 35-minute Chronicles of a Soundless Dream, directed by Chung, is a story about a young Japanese man who explores his own country's history. Working as a dancer, he re-imagines life in Japan towards the end of 19th century and early 20th century through powerful choreographed movements and mesmerising sounds as described by his grandmother. As the man immerses himself in reinventing these narratives, he is taken on an emotional roller coaster to revisit Japan's glorious past and to learn about its decaying present.

Co-organised by the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Viet Nam and Arabesque Dance Company, the performances of A Flower and Chronicles of a Soundless Dream, will take place at Le Thanh Theatre, 25 Phan Phu Tien Street, District 5, on Thursday and Friday, at 7.30pm.

Free tickets are available at Galerie Quynh, 65 De Tham Street, District 1, HCM City, Tel: (08) 38368019. — VNS