Tony Tran / Love Tenderly
After his previous powerful performance Brotherly, inspired by Irish step dance, the solo performance Love Tenderly takes us under the skin of choreographer Tony Trinh Tran. As a Norwegian-Vietnamese gay man, raised in Norway in a Catholic family with Vietnamese roots, he feels the distance between the ideal of a world where identity does not matter and the real world, where one constantly has to fit in somewhere.
Love Tenderly is the translation of his father’s Vietnamese name, and in the performance the bodily experiences rise to the surface: desire and scars from prejudice and racism, as well as traumas accumulated through generations – with emotional, psychological, and social consequences.
Gradually, the story of a powerful liberation emerges, giving us the opportunity to look at ourselves with new eyes: Who am I? And if I am, how many?
CREDITS/CONTRIBUTORS
Choreography, performer, and concept: Tony Tran
Co-creating dancer in process: Benjamin Windborg Larsen
Dramaturgy: Thomas Schaupp Musician: Espen Reinertsen
Set and costume design: Shiva Sherveh
Lighting: Yasin Gyltepe
Outside eye: Loan Ha, Martin Lervik
Artistic advisor: Ngo Thanh Phuong
Creative producer: Andreas Daugstad Leonardsen
Co-production: SPRANG/Ål Kulturhus, BIT Teatergarasjen, Kloden Teater Residency partners: The National Center for Culture and Arts in Amman, Centro Coreográfico Rural de La Rioja, The Center for Art and Culture in Fljotsdalsherad (MMF)
Supported by: Arts Council Norway, Audio and Visual Fund, Nordic Culture Fund, Nordic Culture Point, Performing Arts Hub Norway Production Funds, The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Denmark, Buskerud County Council
