War and Remembrance

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• War and Remembrance
  January 24, 2008

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• Vietnam National Opera Ballet
• War and Conflict
• Government and Politics

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Choreographer Ea Sola was a teenager when her family fled from South Vietnam to Paris as the Vietnam War was winding down. After honing her skills in Europe, she returned to postwar Vietnam in 1989; six years later she unveiled the original and highly praised Drought and Rain, which viewed the Vietnam War from the perspective of its dancers: elderly village women who were forced by the war to abandon dance when they were young. As its title suggests, Drought and Rain Vol. 2 is a sequel — but this time employing intense contemporary movement to present a contemporary perspective. The dozen performers in Vol. 2 are young, highly trained dancers from the Vietnam National Opera Ballet, all born decades after the war but carrying stories and scars acquired second hand. With "Vietnam" and "quagmire" now regular references in discussions about Afghanistan and Iraq, Ea Sola's perspective on the legacy of war and violence could not be more timely. The work should speak eloquently to young Americans who, like the dancers, know the Vietnam War only from stories and film. Catch a brief video clip at www.uclalive.com. Fri., Jan. 25, 8 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 26, 8 p.m., 2008