Soldier M.I.A.

In the organizer's words:

The collaborative dance performance Soldier M.I.A. seeks to re-imagine a Chinese queer feminist future through the story of the soldier Hua Mulan (花木兰).

According to legend, Mulan is a young woman who disguises herself as a man to join the army and go into battle in place of her father. On the surface, the story seems to advocate for women's empowerment and emancipation, but at its core, it instrumentalizes female representation and bodies for patriarchal and nationalist purposes.

Soldier M.I.A. is set up as a fictional search and rescue mission and plays with the idea that Mulan has somehow disappeared in action (Missing. In. Action.). Four "experts" from different Chinese backgrounds - a dancer, a dramaturg, a sound artist, and a costume designer - team up to find Mulan, using a mix of literary references, video footage from Chinese operas, and personal stories. Together, with the help of the audience, they attempt to reconstruct the story of Mulan through a queer and feminist lens. Their task is to bring forth a new Mulan-in-action (M.I.A.). What battle will the soldier M.I.A. participate in today? Which flag will she raise... or burn? This content has been machine translated.

Price information:

11.00 - 17.60€ plus service charge