During my Moving Forward Residency, I spent my time working on and refining some of the materials, including sound and participatory elements, for my new cross-cultural performance work Fluid Memories (FM). This project is set to premiere at Dancehouse, which will then be followed by a 7-hour durational performance at the Immigration Museum.
FM is a special project for me as it marks my first full-length work presented in Australia and is brought to life by a multi-cultural creative team. Centring Vietnamese-Australian diasporic voices, FM navigates the entanglements between personal and political histories of body and place through the lens of post-war Vietnam. Combining dance, video installation, sound, and participatory practice, I invite audiences into an embodied encounter with migration, memory and belonging.
This project was initially incubated during my participation in the Independent Choreographers Program at Dancehouse (2024) and was further developed through the Front Studio Residency at Temperance Hall (2025), and is now approaching its final development phase during the Moving Forward Residency.
My time spent at WXYZ Studios was invaluable for me. Through this process, I learned that sometimes, for a project to move forward, it also requires moments of slowing down and pausing to look back on its past journey and developments.
I’m grateful for having this opportunity and thank you to LGI and its team for their support.
About Chung Nguyen:
Chung Nguyen (he/they) is a Vietnamese dance artist, somatic movement facilitator and registered Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist based in Naarm/Melbourne, with 15 years of international performing experience. His work is situated at the intersection of choreography, live art, and healing through interdisciplinary, embodied, and participatory approaches. His current interests are in the examination of his personal political stories and Queer identity in relation to Vietnamese culture and history - exploring the dialogue between embodied cultural knowledge and new lived experiences within the context of his Australian migrant experience.
His performances, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaborations have been presented at international venues and platforms across Southeast Asia, Australia, the United States and South Korea, including Temperance Hall and Dancehouse (Melbourne), Cont-act Contemporary Dance Festival (Singapore), No Cai Bum Art Week and Performance Plus (Vietnam), American Dance Festival; The International Choreographers Residency (USA), to name just a few. https://www.nguyenchung.info