Review: DANCING GRANDMOTHERS at Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre

Reviewed by Fiona Talbot-Leigh, Saturday 27th October 2018.

Korean choreographer, Eun-Me Ahn, travelled her native country to meet the everyday women who founded modern Korea, many of whom are now grandmothers. Dancing Grandmothers all started in 2010, with no planned itinerary. Ahn started a nationwide tour with four dancers and three cameras. As they toured Cungcheong, Jeolla, Gyeongsang, and Gangwan provinces, they asked the grandmothers they met along the way to dance for them and recorded them doing so.

Most of these women were Korean farmers in their 60's, with some in their 90's. Ahn recalls that they all looked so happy when they danced. They were happy that they could still dance and that someone had asked them to. Their dancing was so natural and uninhibited as they were asked to dance and were filmed wherever they stood; in the street, in the fields, in the middle of a busy shopping precinct, and in their homes.

Ahn's dancers became so enthralled with what they saw on that tour that the idea for a show began to form, and Dancing Grandmothers was created.

It starts off slowly, with Ahn dancing on an empty stage to a video backdrop of scenes from Korea. The music then starts and, as the tempo rises, the number of dancers on stage do the same and a couple of things become clear. One is the fact that there are males in the cast, contrary to the title, and the other is that the cast of dancers are split into two groups, the younger dancers and the grandmothers.

It is a lovely contrast between the old and the young, the latter's energy never waning from start to finish as they throw their lithe bodies around the stage in what sometimes looked like very organised chaos. The show is abstract and, at times, absurdist, but it comes together beautifully, due in part to Jinyoung Jang's great lighting design.

As well as creating the intricate and fast-paced choreography, Eun-Me Ahn was also the costume designer. She has a wonderful eye for colour, detail, and practicality and the costumes really added to the dynamic of the show with their brightness and free flowing styles.

The show was divided into two halves with an interval of video. The audience were treated to some footage of the grandmothers' dancing, and it was clear to see from where Ahn and her team of dancers got their inspiration. To see this glimpse into another world was a real highlight and I felt the audience lift as they, too, received inspiration from the smiles and the dancing of these Korean women.

It was the second half of the show that was nearly entirely dedicated to the grandmothers who had the stage to themselves for most of the time, with the younger ones punctuating their moves in between.

This was a very uplifting show not just because of the performers but because of the respect that resonated between them all. There was a very prominent respect from the younger dancers to the old and a realisation and acknowledgement of their worth. This was the underpinning to the whole performance and, as the show drew to a close, impromptu applause broke out from the audience as these grandmothers and their counterparts had endeared themselves to all there and we couldn't wait until the end of the show to show our appreciation.

Dancing Grandmothers is Eun-Me Ahn's ode to the women who have been the backbone of her country. It is filled with energetic dancing, video, music, and laughter and, as the show draws to a close, Ahn invites all there to join her and the dancers on stage. Under a multiple disco balled ceiling more than half of the audience obliged and a mid-afternoon dance party ensued. This was a truly unique and wonderful experience.