Dancers rehearse a scene from 'BODY' during the preparation phase in Canada in August 2023. (Kendra Epik/HBE)

When choreographer Hanna Kiel begins her creative process, she doesn’t hand out steps or sequences to her dancers. Instead, she assigns tasks. The dancers interpret these assignments through movement, and then Kiel guides and shapes the final choreography.

For example, she might ask the dancers to describe their most physically or mentally challenging experiences. One dancer might express the agony and frustration of rehabilitating from a back injury, while another might channel the frantic desperation of searching for a bathroom but not finding one in time. These personal memories inspire raw, emotionally charged movements.

“In this process, you see the dancers' unique movements and their personal histories,” said Kiel, a South Korean dancer turned choreographer, now based in Canada, in a recent interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul.

Hanna Kiel (HBE)

So, when the Seoul International Dance Festival asked her to create its opening performance, she was intrigued by the idea of expanding her project across borders. She wondered, “What will happen when people from different social and cultural backgrounds come together? Is it possible to communicate using only basic body language?”

The result is "BODY," the festival’s opening piece featuring 10 dancers -- five from Canada and five from Korea. It is set to premiere on Sunday at Sogang University’s Mary Hall.

The youngest dancer in the group is 22 years old, the eldest 39, bringing together a wide range of ages and personal stories into what Kiel describes as a “collage of narratives.”

“This is about individual stories merging into a collective one, creating what I call ‘chaotic harmony,’” Kiel explained. “It’s complex, and everyone moves in different directions. In a way, it reflects our society. Each person has their own direction and role, but together, there is a force that drives society. That’s what we’re expressing in this piece.”

For Kiel, it’s crucial that the audience feels the performance together with the dancers, not just through passive observation.

“People often think dance is something you watch with your eyes and hear with your ears, and that’s where the experience ends. But I want the audience to feel it in their bodies,” she said.

“I want them not just to watch, but to engage on a deeper level. You know how, when you watch a movie, you empathize with a character? I want that to happen with the dancers. I want them to feel, ‘Oh, that reminds me of something I’ve experienced,’ or ‘That could be me,’ or even, ‘I want to get up there and move with them.’”

Dancers rehearse a scene from "BODY" in Seoul. (SIDance)

Kiel, who in 2013 founded her project-based company, Human Body Expression, is an established figure in Canada’s contemporary dance scene, working with many dance companies in the country. She has been the resident choreographer for The National Ballet of Canada and Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, since 2019.

Kiel feels that contemporary dance often becomes too detached from the human experience, and she aims to bring it closer.

“What we’re doing is for the audience, after all. I want to invite them in.”

After its premiere at SIDance, "BODY" will be performed at Gunsan Arts Center in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, on Sept. 5, and at Daegu Arts Center in Daegu on Sept. 11. The production will also travel to Toronto, Canada, in March 2025.