ImPulsTanz 2013 © Aldo Lee & Jérôme Bel

Jérôme Bel

Pichet Klunchun and myself

“What is dance to you?” – “And to you?”
Mutual amazement. Two strangers, who are fascinated by one another, show each other what it’s all about. It’s a meeting of two greats of contemporary dance in an artistic double act. Not in the stand-up comedy sense but still making use of its play with apparent superiority and inferiority. Jérôme Bel from France is a conceptual choreographer. Pichet Klunchun from Thailand is a dancer of the traditional royal khon dance. They both know that Europe and Asia are two worlds still foreign to one another to this day. It is precisely this very real cultural chasm which separates them from each other and at the same time connects them, that fascinates Bel and Klunchun more than superficial friendliness. Out of this fascination, the two highly intelligent and quick-witted performers match their wits, thereby disclosing more about the respective other culture than many a travel guide. An added bonus: aspects of their own culture that are still or have again become mysterious.

July 31 + August 2, 2013 | Weltmuseum Wien