French chorographer Ea Sola once described her chorography style as ‘like an animal. I don’t have a lot of thinking, but a lot of feeling.’ Chorography is an emotional, intuitive act for her. The result provokes astonishing thoughts. Ea Sola grew up in Vietnam and moved to Paris after the war. However, the trauma of the war remains and reflects in her work. The incredible ‘Drought and Rain’ (1995) is based on elderly village women, and how their lives serve as a requiem of the war.

‘The White Body’ is Ea Sola’s latest work after four years, a chorographic metaphor of the foundation of Western civilization — free will and democracy. Taken from the ‘The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude’ by French political thinker Étienne de la Boétie, it discusses the position of individual freedom in the chaotic modern world.

‘The White Body’ is a co-production by Hong Kong Arts Festival, Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), Holland Festival, Auckland Festival and Grand Theatre Groningen. It is debuting in Hong Kong Arts Festival 2009.

Text: Ron Lam | Translation: dilettante | Photo Courtesy: Hong Kong Arts Festival
Update: 20 Feb 2009