Dan Robert Lahiani

Kung Fu | Performance and Installation | 28' | 2015 | d+y

“Kung Fu is a project initiated by Dan Robert Lahiani, who chose to bring back amateur video footage of Kung fu competitions from Yoanna Blikman’s childhood in Paris. Those footages show the inside of a Parisian gymnasium in which occurs competitions in the presence of prestigious Chinese and French Kung Fu masters. The footage were shot by Yoanna’s father and show her at the age of 11.

Yoanna tries to communicate with these videos. In this attempt to interact with the footage from the past, she both recollects memories in her body and find new connections through her dance faculties. The impossibility of a copy, of a perfect “unison” marks the beginning of the research in a different period and a different country.”

Press: about the performance festival “Chapter” ,The Sprout , April 2017, Cardiff, Wales

“Kung Fu a project by both Yoanna Blikman and Dan Robert Lahiani. This marvellous fusion of dance, Kung Fu, photography, home video and live editing may sound daunting, but is a brief and transfixing experience. Yoanna is a terrific dancer, with keen focus on her movement and has a grip on us all in every step she executes. Dan observes her, scouting every move, as old footage of Yoanna as a child is seen at at martial arts competition. Looking like a young Meridith Monk (pony tails and all), she’s wins 1st place, such is her power even then as an artist and athlete. In one hilarious and funky moment, two frames from her victory jump are remixed into a silly dance that she creates live in front of us. This is a special piece and a true highlight of the festival”