Piece of 6 performers
Duration: 55min
Premiere – 19 March 2024 at The Arts Centre – Edge Hill University – Ormskirk
“This is a performance which pushes at the boundaries of what dance can be (…)” ★★★★★ To Do List on Re:birth
Concept: Dam Van Huynh
Choreography: Dam Van Huynh in collaboration with the performers
Composer: Ian Tang
Lighting Design: Patricia Roldán Polo
Costume Design: Emma Lyth
Sound: Michael Picknett
Rehearsal Director: Tommaso Petrolo
Performers: Paul Davies, Laura Kenyon, Ieva Navickaite, Tommaso Petrolo, Marely Romero, Neil Yuen
Created with input from: Marc Krause, King San Lo, Wai Shan Vivian Luk, Divija Melally, Elaine Mitchener, Giacomo Pini, Marley Seville, MORUA, Dance Bridges Festival
Photography: redManhattan Photography
Texts by: Jenny Holzer, Jayne Cortez, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Mitsuye Yamada, Walt Whitman, bell hooks, Thich Nhat Hanh, Audre Lorde, Alan Moore, United States Declaration of Independence
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change.
I am changing the things I cannot accept.” Angela Davis
Honouring the art of assembly, choreographer Dam Van Huynh explores alternative methods of dissent, drawing on noise to embody defiance and celebrating the power of coming together.
Sounds of protest against inequalities take centre stage, creating a unique sensory experience through music, lights and movement. This is a dance between disruption and communion, an invitation to wake up our collective spirit in an act of solidarity and care.
Supported using public funding by Arts Council England
With further support from The Arts Centre at Edge Hill University, Pavilion Dance South West and Centre 151
‘Exquisite Noise is less about storytelling than about collective awakening. What emerges is an onto-epistemological choreography: a sensorial experience of bodies, lights, and sounds that redefines the essence of noise as a political gesture and a deeply human ritual.’ Dive(rse) Dance
‘Furiously outspoken, the work leaves you buzzing with confusion at the scope for cruelty that humanity possesses, but also with hope for better times.’ Dive(rse) Dance
‘Van Huynh’s interest in the power, freedom, strength and solidarity of protest and its ability to allow people to find their political voice, resonates with the terrifying present when democracy across the world is under threat and people’s rights and liberties are gradually being eroded.’ dance art journal
‘Van Huynh manages something quite rare here: turning very real, visceral anger into a thing of beauty. It’s a political, sweaty mess, and utterly human.’ Fjord Review
‘One saw an active body in peril, one of resistance and community, and all of this represents the power of dissent when used for a valuable cause.’ Gramilano
‘Visually and kinetically, Exquisite Noise is astonishing. The minimalist staging and strong lighting create a sense of exposure, of risk. There’s nowhere to hide.’ Erin Caswell – Salterton Arts Review
‘It’s loud, disorienting, and yet somehow beautiful.’ Salterton Arts Review
Interview
Dive(rse) Dance
‘The audience and myself go on the same journey and try to understand what [home] means.’
Upcoming performances: Exquisite Noise
Previous dates:
20 February 2024 – Pavilion Dance South West – Bournemouth (Preview)
19 March 2024 – The Arts Centre, Edge Hill University – Ormskirk (Premiere)
19 November 2024 – The Nuffield Theatre – Lancaster Arts
21 November 2024 – University Theatre – Bath Spa Live
4 February 2025 – Exeter Phoenix
7 February 2025 – Old Fire Station – Oxford
4 June 2025 – Blackwood Miners’ Institute
5 June 2025 – Trinity Centre – Bristol
10 October 2025 – The Place – London