Eun-me Ahn’s dance company has performed at 11 major international festivals, including the 2002 FIFA world cup in South Korea. Ahn’s latest extravagant production ‘Dragons’ sees the avantgarde choreographer connecting with Asia’s next generation of talent through her joyful riot of dance, music and non-stop movement. Her goal is to bring together modern and traditional dance styles from across Asia. Taeseok Lee’s vivid and colourful projections bring forests and clouded skies to life 
and an evocative soundtrack from Jang Young-Gyu seamlessly blends contemporary pop and electronic with a traditional score.
Performances like Dragon are as special but the meaning behind them is as important as the performance itself. In creating this production, Ahn has placed layers of meanings and symbols together with the elements of a dragon – the concept sees her extraordinary company of dancers interacting on stage with stunning projections of five inspiring young performers from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan.
“Five young dancers from five different countries across Asia, gathering up the inherited legacies of their bodies and, through the process of projection onto each screen-body, actually exploring new strata and topographies to build a time and space of the dragon. At the point where the world itself overflows, where place becomes moment and moment becomes place—here, all things become possible.”
The decision to choose Dragons as the title for this performance is an interesting one. Growing up in the UK we are taught to fear dragons, and that they are monsters or threats that need to be eliminated. However, in other areas of the world, the dragon has “long functioned as a symbol of transcendent authority and wisdom, able to bestow upon humanity the power and courage necessary to overcome great worldwide upheaval, not to mention the flexibility and resilience to adjust and thrive amidst rapid change.”
In Asia, the dragon represents lightness, joy and optimism. Ahn believes that dragons tell us a lot about ourselves, and is quoted as having said:
“When we look farther, actually taking apart the iconic structures of meaning around this compound image, what we find is twofold: first, the deep fear of fate, that which is too powerful for us to control with our merely-human strength; and second, the anticipation of and aspiration toward a construction of truly unlimited potential.”
Ahn believes that dragons can inspire as to think differently about our potential. She wants people who find themselves feeling disillusioned with the promise of shared prosperity to ponder the answer to the question:
If we were to imagine a true dragon of the 2020s, say, looking ahead to the 22nd century, what should it look like? What if we could free ourselves from the molds of taxidermied tradition, those shackles of approval and safety that take the form of endless reinterpretation, and create an entirely new monster of infinite transformation, belching flames into the future — what might that be like?
There’s a really great article by the Guardian on Ahn that has been published recently, in goes into detail about Ahn’s desire to shake off traditional norms, and you really get a good sense of her spirit. If you click here you should be directed to the website where you can read it.
UK premiere of Dragons is at the Barbican, 20-23 Sept 2023 barbican.org.uk
The Lowry, Salford, 26-27 Sept 2023 thelowry.com
Credits and information:
Eun-Me Ahn Company on stage: Eun-Me Ahn, Jeeyeun Kim, Hyekyoung Kim, Haejin Yun, Gaon Han, Sunjae Jo, Uiyoung Jung, Yongsik Moon
Dancers on screen: Nur Syahidah Binti Hazmi (Malaysia), Akari Takahashi (Japan), Jiwan Jung (South Korea), Siko Setyanto, Dwi Nusa Aji Winarno (Indonesia), Guan Ting Zhou (Taiwan)
Choreography and artistic direction: Eun-Me Ahn
Music: Young-Gyu Jang
Costumes and set design: Eun-Me Ahn
Lighting design: Jinyoung Jang
Video direction: Taeseok Lee
Motion design: Taeseok Lee, Minjeong Lee (Addnine)
Creation technical director: Jimyung Kim
Production: Eun-Me Ahn Company, Gadja Productions. Presented by The Barbican in association with The Lowry. On Tour with the support of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, Korean Cultural Centre UK.
Co-Produced by: Yeongdeungpo Cultural Foundation, Busan Cultural Center, Théâtre de la Ville – Paris, Biennale de la Danse de Lyon, Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Les Halles de Schaerbeek, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts – Weiwuying
With the support of: Arts Council Korea, Indonesian Dance Festival, ASWARA – Akademi Seni Budaya Dan Warisan Kebangsaan, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse N°1